What Does The Traction Control Button Do

Traction Control – what is it, and how does it piece of work?

All new cars are equipped with a traction control system but do yous know how it works and when to switch it off?

Nissan Note traction control

Traction control is a rubber feature that has existed for decades in various forms, only it became a compulsory requirement on all new cars built from 2011 onwards. As with many car safety features, it runs in the background and you may never even discover it, but a car fitted with traction command is undoubtedly safer than one without.

Put just, traction control is an electronic system that uses the same sensors equally the anti-lock braking arrangement (ABS) to reduce or prevent wheelspin. If a bike is spinning this means the tyre is no longer effectively gripping the road surface, this could so pb to oversteer (where the back of the car steps out of line) or understeer (where the car doesn't reply plenty to your steering inputs), both of which could prove highly dangerous on the road.

When was traction control introduced?

Traction command systems have been used in rider cars as far back as the 1970s but technological limitations meant that these earlier systems weren't particularly reliable or widespread. It wasn't until the late 1980s and early 1990s that traction control started to become more commonplace and sophisticated. Like much of the standard equipment we're accepted to in cars these days, the gradual standardisation of traction control is a result of the increasing employ of complex electronic systems inside our cars.

To start with companies such every bit Mercedes-Benz and BMW made traction control available on their high-end S-Course and 7 Serial models and it has gradually filtered down to lower priced models and out to other manufacturers.

How does traction control work?

The basic purpose of traction control is to detect when a tyre loses grip, causing the wheel to spin, and so work to cease or slow down the rate of spin. If the ABS sensors find that a wheel is spinning, the vehicle's on-board computer will momentarily cut the engine'southward output to let the wheel to slow and, ideally, regain traction.

Traction control tin can exist fitted to a forepart-, rear- or all-wheel drive vehicle and the principle is the same no matter which wheels are driven. In some cars this can almost feel as if there is a slight hesitation in the ability delivery, or even experience similar the engine has developed a misfire, but by and large speaking modern traction control systems are and then sophisticated that their intervention is often not detected from backside the wheel.

In addition to traction control, about new cars besides have an Electronic Stability Control system (often chosen ESP or ESC) which takes traction control one stage further by momentarily applying the brake to the wheel that is rotating faster than the others. Some systems tin can as well shuffle the engine'south power to the wheels that accept the nigh traction.

How do I know information technology's working?

As with many safety systems, the traction control system has a dashboard warning light that will briefly illuminate on startup to show that the system is operational. If the light stays on and does not extinguish when the engine is started, then this is indicating a fault with the arrangement, then this volition need to be checked past a professional person - A permanently illuminated traction control warning calorie-free will exist an MoT failure, too.

If the alert light briefly illuminates when driving, the organization is in active operation and working to prevent wheelspin. Traction control is virtually likely to activate when driving in choppy conditions - such equally heavy rain, snow or ice - or it may signal a diesel fuel spill or loose route surface under the tyres. If the system starts to kick-in more than frequently, this could exist a sign of excessively worn tyres.

Should I ever switch traction command off?

We wouldn't recommend turning traction control off during normal road driving – it doesn't thing how adept a driver you are, the traction command organisation tin can act to prevent a loss of control far faster than you are able to react backside the wheel.

Withal, there are some circumstances where it'south advisable to disable the arrangement. If you're driving on snow or ice or in very muddy weather condition so the amount of grip available to the tyres will be severely restricted and in these circumstances it'south preferable to accept some wheelspin to endeavour and gain some traction. If the traction arrangement keeps detecting a spinning cycle in these conditions information technology will proceed reducing the power which won't assist in giving the auto any momentum.

So if yous find yourself driving on mud, snow or water ice consider switching the system off if you feel the auto is getting stuck. Information technology'southward more often than not a switch that volition be marked with something like ASR, TSC, ESC or ESP depending on the auto's manufacturer, while on some vehicles information technology'll be in one of the menus on the auto's on-board infotainment system.

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