Likely or Not?

CCer · Mar 8, 2016

A co-worker of mine was driving a late model Ford pick-up, in wintery mix, slightly out-of-shape, says Automatic Traction Control kicked in, and drove him Straight into a pole. Says he had no control for a bit........What say Ye?
I know tractors and heavy trucks will drive straight when difflock is on.

jon f mn · Mar 8, 2016

Sounds fishy

kub6040 · Mar 8, 2016

Maybe, or maybe one beer to many?

dr sportster · Mar 8, 2016

Well that and the Budweiser.

RBoots · Mar 8, 2016

Most traction control systems cut back engine power to reduce the likelihood of wheel slip, maybe his is different? Sounds like a good story though

Ross

K Effective · Mar 8, 2016

The traction control systems we have on two vehicles both limit wheel spin by braking the spinning tire, not by locking a differential that is already working with two different axel speeds. Maybe his is different, though.

Adirondack case guy · Mar 8, 2016

The wifey tried backing out of our driveway last winter and got the rear of our 2010 Impala into the road. She went to pull ahead to rock it and as soon as the TC sensed that the back wheels weren't turning, it would idle the engine down so it wouldn't spin the front wheels.
A total peice of crap in my opinion. On our hills around here when the snow gets bad on the roads, it would do the same thing until you were at a crawl and lost all your momentum. I'm just glad that we can turn the damed thing off. Did I say that I hate the F#$^! system.
Loren

Robert Major · Mar 8, 2016

Hi I'm thinking I have read on this forum about somebody and something similar in the last few years .If it wasn't here I heard or read it someplace for it to come to mind while reading this tonight. So going to say it could be possible somehow if alcohol wasn't involved in either case.
Regards Robert

CenTex Farmall · Mar 8, 2016

The more features and gizmos you put on a machine the more you increase the mathematical chances of failure.

db4600 · Mar 8, 2016

My work blessed me with a 1/2 ton two wheel PU. I've got around 500# with boxes and tools and the traction control won't let it pull itself out of a mud puddle.

farmerwithmutt · Mar 8, 2016

My gmc has a Eaton posi it's a little different critter it's got a locking pawl in it. When you go through a slippery spot and pull on to blacktop it is hard to turn something similar to john deere posi you can hear it fighting the turn . I've learned to be careful with it when you hit a corner and it's locked and the front end is slipping your going straight. It's nice in snow if you get it locked up and good tires you don't have much trouble getting around.

4play · Mar 8, 2016

I call BS, he either has no idea how the system works or what it actually does or he is just spreading mythical propaganda about a system designed to keep you safer. He probably doesn't believe in air bags and seat belts either, or the other numerous safety features and innovations in modern vehicles.

T in NE · Mar 8, 2016

How did Scotty put it?
The more you complicate the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain?

NCWayne · Mar 9, 2016

Not sure how his system works, but think about this. When sliding in 2wd, you steer into the slide to gain control. Anyone that has a 4wd vehicle knows the two handle differently. So, had he been steering into a slide, and traction control kicked it turning it into 4wd, the vehicle would have then started pulling in the direction of the slide, making it even worse.

Personally the first time I had a vehicle with antilock brakes that activated it just about made me crash into the car I was trying my best to avoid. I guess when I hit the brakes in preparation to swerving to avoid the idiot that slammed on brakes, made a hard right turn into a lot, and then stopped with the back half of the car still in the road, the braking system sensed it, and along came antilock. Instead of being able to swerve, the brakes activating on their own tried to pull me back straight. I missed the other car by maybe half a hair when I should have missed him by half a mile.

Ultimately I don't trust any of the new technology, if for no other reason than it causes people to completely rely on a machine that may fail at any moment, leaving them woefully unprepared to handle an issue on their own should the machine have a problem of it's own.

mj · Mar 9, 2016

(quoted from post at 22:10:18 03/08/16) I call BS, he either has no idea how the system works or what it actually does or he is just spreading mythical propaganda about a system designed to keep you safer. He probably doesn't believe in air bags and seat belts either, or the other numerous safety features and innovations in modern vehicles.

I don't know about all of that BUT I do know that so-called 'safety' features like ABS will get you into trouble, GM has a history of ABS failures that have resulted in a lot of lawsuits. Depending on a 'system' to replace bad driving skills and habits WILL get you hurt ...... or dead. He's right about traction control not getting you out of bad situations - just turn it off and DRIVE! 8)

paul · Mar 9, 2016

I don't know.

Abs seems to mean all braking subsides on my two pickups, when you need the brakes the most they turn off and you just keep going. Really scares me more and more vehicles have that stuff.

Paul

Bret4207 · Mar 9, 2016

(quoted from post at 22:40:42 03/08/16) A co-worker of mine was driving a late model Ford pick-up, in wintery mix, slightly out-of-shape, says Automatic Traction Control kicked in, and drove him Straight into a pole. Says he had no control for a bit........What say Ye?
I know tractors and heavy trucks will drive straight when difflock is on.

Having investigated a zillion car accidents, and having been in a few myself, I can confidently say that what people perceive to have happened and what actually happened aren't always the same thing.

Part Time Pete · Mar 9, 2016

ABS just makes it so you're only as good as your tire with the least amount of traction..

hd6gtom · Mar 9, 2016

had several people bring them to our ford mechanic to get fixed there is no fix. not drunks not buzzed, must be something to it.

Kent Petersen · Mar 9, 2016

I had a Lincoln Town Car 2001 worst dam think on ice i ever drove it used ABS brakes for limit slip take you to one side and then the other you could turn it off but it came back on every time turned the engine off a then stared it again real pain i got rid of it

ed will · Mar 9, 2016

Hi, I don't have a solution to the TC problem but I have abs brakes on my p/u . If the road is icy and I apply brakes, it just slides on the ice but you can hear a click, click, click. I found if I pump the brake like before abs it stops way better. Is this normal? Ed Will

CenTex Farmall · Mar 9, 2016

That last paragraph hits the nail on the head.

When I was flying we saw things fail that "weren't supposed to fail" and combinations of failures that couldn't be explained even by the manufacturer. This was on components and parts that represent the highest levels of human engineering, testing and manufacturing. Moisture, vibration, temperature swings and time will eventually take out any human made device.

Rollie NE PA · Mar 9, 2016

I don't know how traction control works, but when my wife bought her new Jeep Limited the sales person told her to never turn on the traction control.

My son in law is the inventory manager for a large Ford dealership and he is not a big fan of the traction control feature.

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