Traction Control Activating Unexpectedly
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 165
Likes: 28
From: Franklin TN
Traction Control Activating Unexpectedly
I have an '08 coupe. Love it. One thing I've noticed is on occasion, when I turn the wheel and go up a hill at very slow speed (i.e., turning off the street to go up my driveway) I'll hear a groaning sound and then see the display indicate "traction control activated".
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
Other than that, my car has been perfect. 15K miles in 5 years. JSB. Every time I see it I fall in love all over again.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
Other than that, my car has been perfect. 15K miles in 5 years. JSB. Every time I see it I fall in love all over again.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 165
Likes: 28
From: Franklin TN
Thanks for your quick reply. Actually the condition only happens when I'm turning and going 2-3 miles an hour...and it seems like the turning wheel has just contacted the hill portion of the driveway.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 46,295
Likes: 2,596
From: Northern, VA
St. Jude Donor '15
"In honor of jpee"
As mentioned, it could skidding. What you don't consider to be fast or a skid, the computer may. What's the condition of your front tires? Have they been aligned recently? any hard bumps, curbs, railroad tracks, potholes encountered? Can you get the same warning on a flat parking lot, doing the same turn, same speed?
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 16,012
Likes: 828
boofus1,
It looks like you have some excellent insights from dpigguy and AORoads. If you're concerned and decide to get this checked out, please keep us informed! We want to make sure we're available to provide any additional support we can.
Sarah (Assisting Kelly)
Chevrolet Customer Care
It looks like you have some excellent insights from dpigguy and AORoads. If you're concerned and decide to get this checked out, please keep us informed! We want to make sure we're available to provide any additional support we can.
Sarah (Assisting Kelly)
Chevrolet Customer Care
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,019
Likes: 2,712
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Does the differential (rear end) make any noises when doing sharp turns at low speed, like in a parking lot?
It's supposed to have internal clutches that will allow the two rear axles to disengage from each other when going around corners; if that's not happening then I suppose it could confuse the Traction Control system.
I think GM started using a different (much better) rear axle fluid in 2009, you can have yours drained and refilled with the new stuff if the rear axle is noisy or jerky around tight corners.
Or your problem might be something completely different...
It's supposed to have internal clutches that will allow the two rear axles to disengage from each other when going around corners; if that's not happening then I suppose it could confuse the Traction Control system.
I think GM started using a different (much better) rear axle fluid in 2009, you can have yours drained and refilled with the new stuff if the rear axle is noisy or jerky around tight corners.
Or your problem might be something completely different...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,492
Likes: 808
From: West coast CA
I have an '08 coupe. Love it. One thing I've noticed is on occasion, when I turn the wheel and go up a hill at very slow speed (i.e., turning off the street to go up my driveway) I'll hear a groaning sound and then see the display indicate "traction control activated".
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
In the mountains around here, there's a steep, twisty road that meets the main road at an angle, with a stop sign. A right turn on to the main road is something like 120 degrees, with a big change in grade. Traction control kicks in every time.
The intervention is extreme enough that I switch it off just before making the turn. The actual wheelslip is negligible. Weird circumstances like these are what the T/C button is for.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,308
Likes: 123
From: Raleigh North Carolina
I have an '08 coupe. Love it. One thing I've noticed is on occasion, when I turn the wheel and go up a hill at very slow speed (i.e., turning off the street to go up my driveway) I'll hear a groaning sound and then see the display indicate "traction control activated".
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
Other than that, my car has been perfect. 15K miles in 5 years. JSB. Every time I see it I fall in love all over again.
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it a problem/defect with the car?
Other than that, my car has been perfect. 15K miles in 5 years. JSB. Every time I see it I fall in love all over again.
Yes. I experience it quite often in my GS coupe but only when I'm in the mountains and slowly (under 5MPH) transitioning between roads with large camber differences. My guess is that the AH/TC sensors don't like it when the weight of the car shifts too quickly throughout the chassis and/or a drive wheel begins to spin without load. For example, one time I had the rear passenger wheel fully off the ground for a couple of seconds and the Active Handling aggressively kicked in mid turn. Since then I've learned how to progressively change my steering angle to keep the AH/TH systems from engaging.
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Drifting
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,308
Likes: 123
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Sounds like you're unloading a drive wheel and the system is doing its thing.
In the mountains around here, there's a steep, twisty road that meets the main road at an angle, with a stop sign. A right turn on to the main road is something like 120 degrees, with a big change in grade. Traction control kicks in every time.
The intervention is extreme enough that I switch it off just before making the turn. The actual wheelslip is negligible. Weird circumstances like these are what the T/C button is for.
In the mountains around here, there's a steep, twisty road that meets the main road at an angle, with a stop sign. A right turn on to the main road is something like 120 degrees, with a big change in grade. Traction control kicks in every time.
The intervention is extreme enough that I switch it off just before making the turn. The actual wheelslip is negligible. Weird circumstances like these are what the T/C button is for.
^^ Something went fishy with my browser because I didn't see this reply until I submitted my own.