Traction Control Problem

[subsince77]

I was driving the other night down a mountain road just before dark. It was snowing moderately, and the road had about 8 inches of fresh snow on it. In places there were tracks and ruts, so it wasn't difficult driving, but there was enough going on to keep you on your toes, and the car was getting pushed around just a little. At one point I noticed that the traction control off light was lit on the dash. I assumed that I had inadvertently turned the TC off when turning on the wiper heater.

 

I pressed the button to turn the Traction Control back on, but the light stayed on. I tried it several times and could not get the light to go off. Once I got down to a safer location, I pulled over, shut the car off, started it again, and the light went out. From then on I could turn the T Control on and off as usual.

 

The car handled fine, so I don't know if the traction control was actually off or not. I don't know for sure if I accidentally turned it off at first or not. i only know that the light was on and could not be shut off.

 

Is there any reason that the car would turn the traction control off on its own? Are there any conditions that could cause that? I still have a couple thousand miles of warranty left, so I am wondering if I should have it looked at. The nearest dealer is 2.5 hours away, and I haven't had any issues with handling. BTW, this is an 09 OBW AT.

 

Talked to the dealer today, they hadn't heard of this problem, so couldn't give any possible solutions. The light has stayed off all day, even through some donuts in a snowy parking lot.

 

Any thoughts?

[subsince77]

Ok, no thoughts from this board. That always am,Ed me nervous.

 

The dealer suggested that maybe a wheel sensor got overloaded with snow and shut the system off. I doubt it, but if so, the whole thing is a bad joke since these are pretty normal conditions for many Outback owners. The car handled just fine, so I'm not worried about it.

 

The dealer also said that if it was a "hard fault" the light would not have gone off again. I will just have to go back up there and find some more deep snow to see if it happens again. Beautiful mountain driving and a day of XC skiing in jaw-dropping scenery is a hardship, but such is the life of a test dummy.

[idosubaru]

weird since others aren't posting similar stuff happening.

 

the junk clogging up the sensors sounds plausible, i've seen it before on ABS sensors, metallic stuff all stuck on the end. and ice/snow can pack into wheel wells inches thick if the conditions are right. clean it off and good to go.

[subsince77]

weird since others aren't posting similar stuff happening.

 

the junk clogging up the sensors sounds plausible, i've seen it before on ABS sensors, metallic stuff all stuck on the end. and ice/snow can pack into wheel wells inches thick if the conditions are right. clean it off and good to go.

 

There was a lot built up on the wheel wells that night, but I usually have snow in there all winter long. This year has been mild so far, but most years it is just too cold to get the stuff off, sometimes for weeks at a time.

 

I took it up the same road today. Not as much fresh snow, but still a good workout and build up in the wells. No problems. Just have to see what it does throughout the winter I guess. The good news is that I am really liking the automatic in the snow. I didn't know if I would miss the manual more in the winter, but with the Sportshift and all, it seems to be working very well.

[nipper]

It may have lost contact with a wheel sensor and disabled itself. There may be a worn ABS sensor, as that is usually the traction control wheel speed input. As long as you don't use the TC to overdrive the car you are fine.

[rverdoold]

I have driven many different cars and vans with TC ESP and the indicator lamp (TC lamp) would start blinking when the system is active.

[subsince77]

Nipper, not sure what you mean by use the TC to overdrive the car. If I understand what you are getting at, I drive this car in difficult conditions the same way I drove the 97. Actually, I have always felt that the AWD and extra traction and stability of the Subaru can easily lull people into going too fast in slick conditions. I try to consciously drive a bit below what it feels like the car can do. People seem to forget that you still have to stop once in a while, and that particular road is not one where you want to suddenly get pulled off the side by some unexpected deep snow. It's a long way down.

 

So far, I can't even tell what the TC is doing if anything. As soon as we get some serious snow down here, I want to get in a safe place and experiment with it on and off. I just wanted to be sure I don't need to have something repaired while I still have a few weeks of warranty left.

 

River dude- the light never blinked. Just came on steady, and did not shut off until after a restart. The book says that means the system was deactivated. Having a wheel sensor covered in snow is certainly a possibility, but why make a system for snow that can't function in snow? Again, the good news is the car doesn't seem to need it to drive just fine.

[nipper]

Overdriving means driving too agressivly for conditions.

 

That "why make a car that can't drive in snow" is always an unreasonable comment. No mfg can recreate the long shot but just right combination of things to make a sensor not work 100% of the time.

 

Things wear out and weather condsitions sometimes will make that show up. Wheel speed sensors do wear and erode, but like anything else, it is hard or impossible to catch right away. You also may have had some water get into a connector, mud, dirt etc.

 

If you drive sanely you will never feel the TC come on.

 

 

What it does, first it will cut back power to the engine (you wont really be able to tell unless you are really on the power). Sometimes it will fiddle with the AWD depending upon the year of the car. Finally if it is a fairly mature system it will also apply a brake if needed to keep things under control. There are times to disable it, like when you are stuck or trying to out run zombies.

[subsince77]

Overdriving means driving too agressivly for conditions.

 

That "why make a car that can't drive in snow" is always an unreasonable comment.

 

I agree completely with your post. I didn't really mean it like that, I was just saying that since traction control presumably is aimed at times when conditions are wet or snowy, and since many, many, Subaru lovers live in snow country, and since these cars have always packed up snow in the wheels and wheel wells to a big degree, I would think they would try to make them resistant to failing under those conditions. They probably did. It may still happen. I get it.

 

However, I am an old guy, well, not that old, but I have been driving on snow and ice for, let's see, almost 40 years with no accidents. But I learned the old way. I still pump my brakes. I keep the car in control. I'm not used to all the sensors and computer driven stuff, so I'm trying to learn about it, understand it, and use it. I'm not complaining about it even if this happens once in a while when the wheels pack up. Just so I know it's probably no big deal, I'll just drive and see what happens.

 

Appreciate the input.

[subaruplatt]

In a ideal world we would drive around with a deicer and a sprayer for the wheels in the winter.

 

Once in montreal I had to waste two bottles of wiper fluid to get the ice of my rims. The wheel wobble would have hurt my wheel bearings with the long drive back to TO 6-7 hrs.

 

But back on the topic of ABS the best advice about ABS that I ever heard I read in a VW owners manual. It read " If you detect the activation of ABS, adjust your driving habits accordingly. ".

 

You freaked out your abs:drunk: