Passat couldnt go up my driveway in blizzard out in NJ Traction control question!

[mikeymike214]

It took me about 2 hours to get home from work in the hercules blizzard out here in NJ last night. as i got home im thinking im going to be good going up my driveway even though the snow was deep plus i just got new Pirelli grand touring all season tires (had great reviews on tire rack and have been great so far). so as i attempt to go up my driveway (has a slight hill to go) and the car just stop accelerating. the traction control was going on still couldnt get up the driveway. had to dig out alittle bit and got up no problem.

my question is if i was to disable the traction control in my situation would have i been able to go up my driveway? or was the snow just too much for the car and wouldnt have made a difference?

 

[VernK]

Very hard to say. I've gotten to try the traction control in a very no grip situation (uphill sheet of ice) and it kept chugging along and climbed out, but there was no layer of snow to plow through either.

Yours
Vern

 

[JM Popaleetus]

In my experience, the lack of a TCS switch kills the Passat's ability to keep a steady acceleration in low gear needed to get up/through snow.

As soon as the computer detects the wheel slipping on snow it cuts power...effectively killing any momentum.

 

[kydsid]

In my experience yes you might have been able to make it up the driveway with the tc turned off. Been several discussions already on why and some good write ups on how to do it if you look here and at vortex.

Another option is to back up into your driveway next time.

 

[Dozenspeed]

I vote you could have made it with a TC defeat button, based on my experiences. I've been pushing my Jetta 6MT beligerently through the ECU's TC system flashing at me and overriding my wishes with it's maddening dethrottling in order to "train" it to what I need/want from the car. I don't drive in much snow, but this habit seems to have improved it's performance from "frustrating as hell" to "occassionally impressive acceleration on snow" with the system allowing far more slippage than it used to. In this case I believe Mr. Jeremey Clarkson's medicine is the prescription. (POWER!)

 

[CNNPress]

I am going to ask a dumb question. Did you try to reverse?

 

[mikeymike214]

I am going to ask a dumb question. Did you try to reverse?

Yes sir I did and same result I always reverse when parking and going into my driveway.

 

[Canuck64]

I dont find the TC that sensitive, at times I still have to feather the pedal to avoid tire slippage.

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

It took me about 2 hours to get home from work in the hercules blizzard out here in NJ last night. as i got home im thinking im going to be good going up my driveway even though the snow was deep plus i just got new Pirelli grand touring all season tires (had great reviews on tire rack and have been great so far). so as i attempt to go up my driveway (has a slight hill to go) and the car just stop accelerating. the traction control was going on still couldnt get up the driveway. had to dig out alittle bit and got up no problem.

my question is if i was to disable the traction control in my situation would have i been able to go up my driveway? or was the snow just too much for the car and wouldnt have made a difference?

the snow was too much for your tires.

This is why you get snow tires for the winter, yes even in NJ.

 

[TomB]

This topic has been beaten to death on here by me since day one in 2012.

Please do a search for the topic and you will see.

 

[50pascals]

Last night I had to plow through some snow that was halfway up the lower grille, and a standing start up a slight grade to boot. I shifted the tranny (DSG) to manual and had much better results than my previous experiences. I was able to rip through like in the old days.

The Traction Control light still blinked on the dash, and I felt some of the typical brakes/cutting throttle. But nothing like before when I left it in auto.

The snow was deep enough that I was already running through my list of who I would call to tow me out, getting the tow hook out of the trunk, etc.

 

[Driver_found]

I have the same Pirelli's on my Passat, and have experienced the same traction control annoyance. The Pirellli's rate very good in the snow, so I was surprised by their (not so good) behavior on a modest hill nearby. The ability to turn off the TC in my Jetta made it very good, even in blizzard conditions. I could just power through and get going (without loosing momentum). The Passat slows to a baby crawl, and barely makes it sometimes. I've used Michelin Ice-X tires in the past and know the difference. Hoping to hold off getting real snows for only 2 more months of winter driving.

 

[BMLO13]

The "hercules blizzard" what is that? Did 32" of snow fall somewhere in NJ? I must have missed it driving home this morning from Tarrytown. If you really need to get around in snow get real snow tires.

 

[Driver_found]

They really hyped this 'blizzard'. I've seen much worse over the years, and they didn't give the storms a name back then.
In 1996, we got @ 2-3 feet of snow in the S.E. PA/NJ region. Back then I had a Subaru Legacy AWD and had no trouble getting around. Had Michelin snows.
Went to work, made milk runs, towed people out of ditches. Observed a National Guard Humvee get stuck. He had the wrong tires on his vehicle and kept spinning his wheels, as I drove by.

Over the years I've bounced around between Nokians and Michelins, along with a few Audi Quattros and some Jettas. The past few winters have been mild up here, so people were caught off guard, and seemed to have ended up in 'freak out' mode.

But back to the OP's topic. The Passat 'should' have an override for the TC setting IMO.
The wife's late model A4 does, and our 8 year old Jetta does.

 

[mikeymike214]

First all I wanna say thank you all for your input ! Well the passat with the traction control handled itself well better than the oem during the blizzard. It was that I couldn't get up the little Hill in my driveway.

after some research I'm going to invest in a switch for the traction control (anyone knows a link about where I can get it or a thread please inform me). Imho I don't think it's worth to invest to get snow tires because we don't get serve snow like other states it might be bad maybe nomore than 3 times a year. If you get some good all around year tires you can make it fine because I have. Also I had to drive home while the blizzard was going on and it was similar to last year's.

Was the blizzard overhyped? A little bit I expected at least 4 inches of snow and that's exactly what we recieved.

 

[mikeymike214]

Last night I had to plow through some snow that was halfway up the lower grille, and a standing start up a slight grade to boot. I shifted the tranny (DSG) to manual and had much better results than my previous experiences. I was able to rip through like in the old days.

The Traction Control light still blinked on the dash, and I felt some of the typical brakes/cutting throttle. But nothing like before when I left it in auto.

The snow was deep enough that I was already running through my list of who I would call to tow me out, getting the tow hook out of the trunk, etc.

I believe your in upstate NY correct? dumb question but does your car have snow tires? If not it's definitely worth the invest if your in that upstate area they get hit like crazy with snow up there.

 

[mikeymike214]

I have the same Pirelli's on my Passat, and have experienced the same traction control annoyance. The Pirellli's rate very good in the snow, so I was surprised by their (not so good) behavior on a modest hill nearby. The ability to turn off the TC in my Jetta made it very good, even in blizzard conditions. I could just power through and get going (without loosing momentum). The Passat slows to a baby crawl, and barely makes it sometimes. I've used Michelin Ice-X tires in the past and know the difference. Hoping to hold off getting real snows for only 2 more months of winter driving.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...urato+P7+All+Season+Plus&partnum=345HR8CP7ASP

Are those the ones you have also? cause those are the ones I have

 

[50pascals]

I believe your in upstate NY correct? dumb question but does your car have snow tires? If not it's definitely worth the invest if your in that upstate area they get hit like crazy with snow up there.

Yes, Western New York. I have 4 Hakka R2's. I live in Rochester and work South of Buffalo. This week has been awesome for driving!

I have the same Pirelli's on my Passat, and have experienced the same traction control annoyance. The Pirellli's rate very good in the snow, so I was surprised by their (not so good) behavior on a modest hill nearby. The ability to turn off the TC in my Jetta made it very good, even in blizzard conditions. I could just power through and get going (without loosing momentum). The Passat slows to a baby crawl, and barely makes it sometimes. I've used Michelin Ice-X tires in the past and know the difference. Hoping to hold off getting real snows for only 2 more months of winter driving.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...m=345HR8CP7ASP

I followed the link to the tires. I find it kind of laughable that those tires are rated good for the snow. They may have sipes and all, but any of the "5 ribs of rubber " kind of tires with 4 open channels down the length of the tread will not be good for forward traction in deep snow. The sipes will give some grip on a snowy road, but once the tire spins it's worthless (as you've experienced).

Note a "proper" snow tire type tread:

http://hakkapedia.fi/blog/fi/files/2013/03/Hakkapeliitta_R2.jpg

Brands vary, but tread elements will always be the same.

 

[mikeymike214]

Yes, Western New York. I have 4 Hakka R2's. I live in Rochester and work South of Buffalo. This week has been awesome for driving!




https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...m=345HR8CP7ASP

I followed the link to the tires. I find it kind of laughable that those tires are rated good for the snow. They may have sipes and all, but any of the "5 ribs of rubber " kind of tires with 4 open channels down the length of the tread will not be good for forward traction in deep snow. The sipes will give some grip on a snowy road, but once the tire spins it's worthless (as you've experienced).

Note a "proper" snow tire type tread:

http://hakkapedia.fi/blog/fi/files/2013/03/Hakkapeliitta_R2.jpg

Brands vary, but tread elements will always be the same.

if u have a recommendation for my next pair of all season tires that can at least be decent in the snow please let me know !!

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

if u have a recommendation for my next pair of all season tires that can at least be decent in the snow please let me know !!

no. Use your vacation time to stay off of the roads. If you can work from home... even better for those days.

Even cheap winter tires are better than all-season.

 

[buddy4406]

First all I wanna say thank you all for your input ! Well the passat with the traction control handled itself well better than the oem during the blizzard. It was that I couldn't get up the little Hill in my driveway.

after some research I'm going to invest in a switch for the traction control (anyone knows a link about where I can get it or a thread please inform me). Imho I don't think it's worth to invest to get snow tires because we don't get serve snow like other states it might be bad maybe nomore than 3 times a year. If you get some good all around year tires you can make it fine because I have. Also I had to drive home while the blizzard was going on and it was similar to last year's.

Was the blizzard overhyped? A little bit I expected at least 4 inches of snow and that's exactly what we recieved.

Here are 2 links that you should read.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6860254-ESP-Defeat&p=84262382#post84262382

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthre...nstall-guide&p=75758920&posted=1#post75758920

 

[phlfly]

I wonder if it's possible disable Traction Control thru the VAG cable/System?

 

[mikeymike214]

I wonder if it's possible disable Traction Control thru the VAG cable/System?

Negative u need to install a switch

 

[20IndigoBlue02]

The blizzard wasn't overhyped, it's just North Jersey didn't get hit hard. You should be glad it's only 4 inches. If North Jersey got the amount other areas got... you'd be complaining more than just getting into your driveway

 

[Driver_found]

Yes, I have these tires.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...m=345HR8CP7ASP
215/55R-17 Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus. They are better than the OEM Contis, which are better than the OEM Hankooks. As for snow traction, they are not bad turning, but forward momentum has been more of a challenge than I expected under certain conditions. Since this is the first real snow with this car, my confidence level was on the fence.
Having the ability to turn off the TC in my previous VW/Audicars, in deep snow, with regular all seasons, made me expect that maybe the Passat had some new algorithm in the TCU that would be so great that human input would be a thing of the past. IMO, we still need human input to react to unforeseen conditions.

When I used snow tires, I really didn't have to mess with the TC, as the traction from the tires were good enough. But that is an extra expense for a few months of driving. We had a string of warm winters, so maybe the tide is turning and we are going back to normal winters, and the need for snow tires.

 

[TDI_SC]

I'll give you a trick... I'm not sure if it works on a Passat, but on an Altima Hybrid (rental car) I had last winter, it helped a LOT... When the TC is doing its business, defeat it by doing a combination of gas pedal and brake. It saved my butt a few times with the Altima.

TDI_SC

 

[JM Popaleetus]

I'll give you a trick... I'm not sure if it works on a Passat, but on an Altima Hybrid (rental car) I had last winter, it helped a LOT... When the TC is doing its business, defeat it by doing a combination of gas pedal and brake. It saved my butt a few times with the Altima.
TDI_SC

Interestingly enough, I've read somewhere (I believe it was a VW response to an email asking why they didn't include the switch on our NMS) you're supposed to be able to defeat the TC on our cars just by continuously gassing. Apparently the computer is supposed to understand that you are trying to override it.

 

[unixb0y]

I'll give you a trick... I'm not sure if it works on a Passat, but on an Altima Hybrid (rental car) I had last winter, it helped a LOT... When the TC is doing its business, defeat it by doing a combination of gas pedal and brake. It saved my butt a few times with the Altima.

TDI_SC

Try either below if you don't have a switch

I believe you can disable traction control making the car think it has low tire pressure.

There are two ways of doing this.

1) disconnecting/reconnecting the battery.

When you do that, it resets the tire monitoring system and keeps it off until you push the button in the glove box.

2) Is to deflate one of the rear tires enough to give you a tire monitoring warning.

So either keep a wrench in the trunk to disconnect the battery or a 12v air pump in the trunk if you don't have the switch.

 

[cevans]

Oh physics.

All snow is NOT created equal - the snow we got over that blizzard was COLD, light snow that had extremely little grip. "Normal" snow that falls when its about 30 degrees out is much easier to drive on. We got about 30" of it here, and I had to clear my driveway of even the slightest piles to get through it.

 

[phlfly]

I thought coldest weather with "cold" is better traction, when wet snow is less traction, at least what I had experienced when lived in Russia. I always like that like light /cold snow when it makes crispy sound, tires has very adequate traction. But I hated and hate as they do here put so much salt and make slush and don't plow just wait for cars are melted all this mess. Of course is there are deep snow, it's nothing going to help even wither tires.
The deep light snow can be take by speed and the only.