This safety assistant is designed to help on wet roads and other extreme situations, but it has limitations on certain occasions
Traction and stability controls are mandatory in all cars sold in Brazil from 2024. They help maintain control of the car in extreme situations, in the rain and on low-grip surfaces. However, there are some specific situations where it is necessary to turn off the assistants to get out of trouble.
Although it is necessary to turn off the traction control in some cases, not all cars offer this option. The button that does this function has the design of a car, along with curved lines and the word “off”. It can also come “TCS off”, “ASR off” or “VSA off”. In some models, this option is in the multimedia center.
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By pressing the button you will be deactivating the traction control. This is indicated on the dashboard by the yellow light on steadily. When it is in operation, the light is off in normal situations and flashes when it comes into operation.
Traction control depends on wheel speed sensors to work, which are also used by the anti-lock braking system (ABS). The older systems, used by cars with cable throttle, used the ABS module to brake the wheel that was spinning falsely to prevent skidding.
The first car to offer traction control was the second-generation Chevrolet Vectra CD, released in 1996. He used this type of system that acts with the brake.
In newer cars, the most common thing is to cut off engine acceleration when the wheels spin falsely. This is possible thanks to the electronic throttle, which uses no physical link between the pedal and the intake butterfly.
More advanced traction control systems used in luxury and sports cars also act on engine ignition and turbo pressure. Thus, it has a more precise operation in sporty driving and can make the delivery of power to the wheels more gradual.
There are some specific situations where traction control can hinder the driver, such as driving on loose floors. On dirt, gravel or asphalt roads soiled by these elements, it is necessary to let the car distract a little to “dig” and find traction.
The director and instructor of the CWS 4×4 Training Center, Clécio William, explains:
On dirt and gravel road, you should deactivate traction control if you feel that the car is cutting the engine too much. If the car cuts power, it can’t go up.”
There are models that allow the car to distract a little in starts to get out of immobility on this type of surface, such as Fiat’s. However, others, such as Volkswagen, do not have this margin and cut the acceleration at the slightest sign of lack of grip.
The function that is deactivated by the traction control button is the anti-slip system, or ASR. According to Clécio, the stability control sensors continue to monitor the car and reactivate the ASR if the driver gives a blow to the steering. This is done to prevent accidents.
To fully disable the controls, you need to press and hold the button for 5 seconds or more. In 4×4 vehicles, the electronic controls are turned off when activating the reduced gear, giving the driver all the responsibility.
The next time you need to take a dirt road and notice that the car won’t move from its place, try disabling traction control. The system that helps save you from trouble in the rain has this limitation on off-road, no matter how light it is.
