Traction Control

[iCruz]

Just a quick question....Do our cars have Traction Control?

[compdr59]

Only with ABS as an option. I've owned two PT's with traction control but it really doesn't help much. Just makes noise when my wheels spin. It tells me to let off the gas.

[iCruz]

ok that was another question...What about ABS?

[XtrmDC2]

That f**** traction control helps to break CV axles.

[Arthur]

Originally Posted by compdr59

Only with ABS as an option. I've owned two PT's with traction control but it really doesn't help much. Just makes noise when my wheels spin. It tells me to let off the gas.

What he said... especially with a turbo, even in third (manual). All it ever seems to do is flash a light at me, never seems to actually *do* anything to the traction and the ABS pretty much works on both wheels rather than individually

[Chromenut]

In using the DSP, you can program your PT to have the TCS off at startup. It aggravates me to have it on all the time, and I had to spend a couple of hours wiggling around to get it to work that way.

Now, when it's foul weather I definitely leave it on. For me, it should be an option to turn on, not off.

I can tell you it does work. And I can tell you that it may very well have saved my life, at least saved me from a wreck. I had thought that traction control on these was applied to the drive train but it's not, it's applied to the brakes. I was running back down highway 129, the Tail of the Dragon, trying to get off the mountain and out of the Smokies as it was pouring down rain. As I mentioned, I turn it on in foul weather and had done so here.

As most of you know, I can be a bit of an insane driver when alone in my PT, especially on mountain roads. Well, I was going a bit faster than the weather allowed, and coming around a very tight curve almost lost control. The PT started pushing into the oncoming lane, and I snagged the wheel a bit too hard to try and correct it. Thank goodness no oncoming traffic! Traction control started braking immediately when I started to slide. Two things this did : Kept me off the shoulder, which consisted of about a 200' drop, and kept the rear end from coming around. I slowed and got back in my lane and thought that, when I got home, I'd have to have my seat surgically removed from my rear end. So, lesson learned, traction control DOES work, and I ain't gonna drive like a retard in the rain again!

[compdr59]

What you're describing is Vehicle Stability Control. I don't know when that option became available. My 05 and my previous 01 only had Traction Control. It's supposed to prevent wheel spinning at low speeds.

[Fuzzyweis]

As far as I can find, stability control was never available for the PTs
IIHS unkind words about '08 PT link
ESC = Electronic Stability Control.

ESC should be standard: Among the small cars in this round of tests, only the Chevrolet HHR and Pontiac Vibe have standard ESC. It isn't available at all on the PT Cruiser and optional on the rest

ABS and traction control were definitely options though.
On most cars under $30k, traction control uses the brakes, and only works under 35mph or so.

What Chrome experienced sounds like the traction control, braking the front wheels, reducing understeer.

I had AWD, traction control, and ESP(electronic stability protection) on my Jeep Compass. ESP could get to be a pain in snowy conditions, as it was constantly going off, making groaning noises as the brakes kept working. You actually had to tap the button to make it less sensitive in snow, and hold it down for a few seconds to turn it all the way off. But, it was cool testing it out by turning onto my street on poorly plowed roads, it was fairly idiot proof as I could basically just turn the wheel and hit the gas and the car would right itself after a brief slip.

With the PTs, if you live in the northerly areas, it's probably a good idea to get some winter tires in the winter, even with the traction control and ABS.

[Chromenut]

It was traction control, I was doing a curve on the road in second gear, about 30 mph, which was 5 mph too fast. Right front tire started to spin, losing traction, causing the push to worsen and I started heading towards the edge of the road. With the input of traction control, the slipping slowed and I was able to get back under control.

[PiperGeorge]

Mine has a switch to turn the traction control off. 2010

All the traction control does is apply brake to the front wheel that is spinning