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Prius Shuts Down in the Snow, Reader Complains

Toyota Calls Automatic Power Reduction a Safety Feature

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 26, 2007

Toyota Prius • General Complaints • Availability • Battery • Fuel Gauge • Insurance Costs • Service Delays • Tires • Transmission • Happy Hybrid Owners --- Test Drive • Three Lead Feet Meet Little Fuel Sipper --- News • Unexpected Problems Confront Prius Owners • NHTSA to Hear 'Silent Killer' Complaints • Reports of Prius Price Gouging Rise with Gas Prices • Prius, Porsche Models Top Most-Satisfied Lists • Should You Buy a Second-Hand Prius? • Winter Weather Warning for Prius Drivers • Prius Again Tops Owner Satisfaction Survey • Prius Helps Toyota Knock Off Ford for #2 Spot • Toyota Recalls Floor Mats, NHTSA Warns Prius Owners • Feds Probe Prius Runaway Acceleration • Prius Owners Report More Unintended Acceleration Incidents • Runaway Acceleration Plagues Prians • Toyota Delays Third-Generation Prius • Sales Top 1 Million but Some Owners Find Prius Doesn't Age Well • Prius Owners Losing Ground in Traction Battle • Prius Traction Control Complaints on the Rise • Prius Stalls in Snow; Owners Steamed • Prius Shuts Down in the Snow, Reader Complains • Prius Supplies Increase as Sales Slow • Prius Discounts Popping Up in Showrooms • EPA Finds Prius #1 in Gas Mileage • Prius Owners Question Mileage Claims • Prius Tops Consumer Satisfaction Survey • Hybrids Don't Always Deliver the Expected Fuel Economy

The Toyota Prius is known to occasionally shut down its hybrid engine system for no apparent reason, wear tires quickly and unevenly, even drain a battery dry when parked for an extended period.

But here's one of the oddest Prius stories on file at ConsumerAffairs.com:

"When my car is on any kind of slick surface that causes one of the front wheels to slip, ALL power to the drive system is stopped," wrote Christopher of Reston, Virginia.

Christopher said he first experienced the problem with his Prius "on a sloped gravel driveway in July but discounted it as a temporary thing."

Then the snow fell.

"This past weekend I was on a snow-covered road with about an 8- to 10-degree grade. Driving at 20 miles per hour, one tire began to slip on the snow and the car came to a stop. The wheels then refused to engage, because one would slip a little, regardless of throttle position," he wrote.

Christopher tells ConsumerAffairs.com that he "had cable style tire chains and installed them properly on the front wheels and tried again. Still, a tire would slip on the 4 or 5 inches between the cables and the car would refuse to move."

Ultimately, he said, the only way to get the car up the remainder of the hill was to get out and push while his son put a foot gently on the throttle.

His Toyota service manager told Christopher that he was able to duplicate the symptoms on a level snow covered surface and apparently achieved the same results with two other Prius cars that were in the dealership fleet.

But after reporting the problem to Toyota, the service manager told Christopher that the Prius was operating as designed.

Christopher said that he "will consider this vehicle unsafe for road use under any snow or ice conditions and frankly feel that if all Prius vehicles are designed to do this someone ought to look into the situation to try to force Toyota to modify the design."

Not a Safety Problem

Toyota spokesman Bill Kwon agrees that the traction control systems in the Prius could impact performance in snow conditions but says that is not a safety problem.

"Prius has TRAC (traction control) as standard equipment," he said. "The purpose of traction control is to helps prevent wheel spin and minimize slippage of the drive wheels by applying brakes and/or reducing engine power."

Kwon points out that an 8 to 10 degree grade "is a fairly steep grade and combined with snow would cause a loss of traction which will activate the traction control system and therefore reduce or cut power."

"A vehicle without TRAC in those conditions," Kwon adds. "would probably just start spinning in place and eventually spin out of control. In my opinion, it's better to have the vehicle stop then to have the wheels spinning and out of control."

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