Spinning Tyre When Flooring Pedal

[Nicolai]

Now, as normal as this may sound, what puzzles me is that at trafic lights when flooring the accelerator my LEFT REAR tyres always spins. The other tires don't. The ESC kicks in. This happens on dry roads too. Does it indicate a problem with my LR tyre? I have read about Prius owners surprising boy racers being quick off the line, however, there is no way I can do this in my TS HSD. Normally I don't drive that way, but I wanted to test it out and the above happened.

Any ideas?

[timberwolf]

The Auris HSD is Front Wheel Drive and the power from the engine(s) is only applied through the front wheels, and Traction Control will prevent them from spinning.

Now to your rear wheels, they are not powered but the brakes can be independently applied to each wheel to ensure that the car does not spin out!

What you have probably managed to do is activate the VSC (Vehicle Stability Control), see the quote from the Toyota web-site below.

http://www.toyota-europe.com/cars/new_cars/auris/

Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
VSC automatically activates each individual brake as needed and controls engine output to help maintain stability and prevent skidding when turning sharply or cornering on slippery road surfaces.

[aCactus]

REAR wheel spinning - obviously a car that has been assembled back to front...

[cootuk]

Maybe a binding brake giving the impression of spin?

Obvious, but is the tyre pressure correct?

Do any dashboard lights flash indicating traction control or VSC?

[Nicolai]

When I kept pressing the accelerator when the spinning was there, the VSC light came on.

[steverally]

Could we be missing something here - has Nicolai been given a new 4 Wheel Drive model by mistake!!!!!

[timberwolf]

You can not spin the wheels in a Toyota Hybrid, if the driven wheels slip the HSD reduces power until the wheels gain grip again, if there is so little friction between the wheels and surface (usually ice <- frozen water) then all power is removed from the wheels, after this point the system will do a pathetic apply the power for part of a turn of the wheels (not spinning). The Traction Control has improved over the generations and I've yet to hear from a reliable source that it is possible to spin the wheels in a Toyota Hybrid.

As for spinning the non-driven wheels by keeping the accelerator pedal down, please explain how that is even possible?

[IanIanIanIan]

What are the chances that Nicolai IS spinning the rear wheel as he does not really own an Auris because the salesman conned him into something else and called it that.

(My mother was almost sold (until I had the chance to vet it) a Nissan which the salesman called a Mercedes A class which is what she was shopping for and had asked to see.)

[MSHasan]

What are the chances that Nicolai IS spinning the rear wheel as he does not really own an Auris because the salesman conned him into something else and called it that.

(My mother was almost sold (until I had the chance to vet it) a Nissan which the salesman called a Mercedes A class which is what she was shopping for and had asked to see.)

Lol I would highly doubt that, Nicolai has been bombarding this forum with countless threads for the past year and a half before he made his purchase, I would think he would be very hard to con with regards to a HSD Auris

[Nicolai]

I know the feeling of a spinning tyre and this is it.

[cootuk]

Video it and put it on Youtube

[Opifex]

I'm beginning to think Kingo was right about Nicolai after all.

[Cyker]

Only Nicolai could spin the rear wheel of a front-wheel drive car

Exactly why do you think a wheel is spinning?

Squealing? Smoke??

We should start a poll on what it really is; My vote goes to the VSC!

[kithmo]

Nicolai,...... Nicolai,....... wake up, you are dreaming, you have not bought an Auris Sports touring, you have bought a BMW touring hybrid estate.

[Peter Sale]

Answer is simple - Don't floor the accelerator at lights

Nearly put that in capitals but didn't want to shout.

Surprised that no-one has mentioned the T word yet ... and I don't mean Toyota.

[Awebb180]

I span the rear wheel of a hybrid the other day, it was in the workshop about 5ft in the air though. How do you think it is the rear wheel spinning when there is no drive to it?

the fact you are activating the traction control makes me think the surfaces are damp, are you getting a tramping effect when by the front wheels struggle for grip and send vibrations through the body of the car

Alex

[timberwolf]

Some videos of Prius wheel spin (as soon as I saw the first video I remembered it immediately - funny I don't recall the wheel breaking traction like that) and then the traction control kicking in on a Gen 2 - I'll assume the Gen 3 and Auris are similar? (although possibly improved?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y52iW82dupM

Part way through the second video is the slower wheel turn that I am sure I've experienced once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1k0tpBCNqY

Enjoy!

[Surv1v0r]

Snow chains would seem to be a good idea ;)

However, I notice that the "Preezer" in the first clip is using Bridgestone Turanza EL400s; I wonder whether it would fare any better with Bridgestone Blizzaks?

[Chris Dance]

To solve the Prius wheel spin problem in snow & ice conditions winter tyres are essential.

[Surv1v0r]

Is spinning front wheels on ice & snow a significantly greater problem with the Prius than with other cars? If so, why so?

[Nicolai]

Snow chains would seem to be a good idea ;)

However, I notice that the "Preezer" in the first clip is using Bridgestone Turanza EL400s; I wonder whether it would fare any better with Bridgestone Blizzaks?

Turanzas are what my TS came with.

[timberwolf]

Is spinning front wheels on ice & snow a significantly greater problem with the Prius than with other cars? If so, why so?

In the videos, the drivers are flooring the accelerators!

Nope not in my experience, it is the best, most well behaved car that I've ever driven on snow, and that is with the Summer tyres. If there isn't enough grip then the traction control can be sensitive and it removes all power to the front wheels. It also has quite a low front end, so it isn't good in deep snow.