Back end slipping/strange for some owners

[Tigermad]

So over the past few days there have been lots of comments from other groups about an issue.

Some owners have reported that the rear of the car feels like it’s skidding/slipping on ice now and again. This is on non frosty days and clear roads. Some of these owners have owned their cars for many years and never experienced this before. It happens when turning slowly out of junctions, on roundabouts and car parks etc.

A majority of replies are blaming the road conditions, salt, time of year and the way the people are driving etc. If that was the case how come the long term owners are only just experiencing this now after many years?

For most of these owners, because this has been happening for a week or so, they are saying an update may have messed around with the traction control or something else.

Has anyone else had a similar experience recently and just thought it was black ice or similar?

 

[spooksman]

There is one junction near me that used to be a nightmare for wheel spin in my Mercedes - my M3P has never had an issue (or spun is wheels) in 2 years...

Until last night, when it wasn't even that cold!

Probably just coincidence though...

 

[spdpsba]

So over the past few days there have been lots of comments from other groups about an issue.

Some owners have reported that the rear of the car feels like it’s skidding/slipping on ice now and again. This is on non frosty days and clear roads. Some of these owners have owned their cars for many years and never experienced this before. It happens when turning slowly out of junctions, on roundabouts and car parks etc.

A majority of replies are blaming the road conditions, salt, time of year and the way the people are driving etc. If that was the case how come the long term owners are only just experiencing this now after many years?

For most of these owners, because this has been happening for a week or so, they are saying an update may have messed around with the traction control or something else.

Has anyone else had a similar experience recently and just thought it was black ice or similar?

I have a RWD car I did not notice anything. May be it is true that lot of BMW owners are nowadays buying model 3, just kidding . I’ve seen so many m3 racing in car parks and of course in this weather that’s going to cause some rear end slips!

 

[debrooker]

I really wouldn't lose sleep on this - I suspect this is really just road conditions. These cars are not infalable, I have had my LR momentary lose grip on many occasions unexpectidly.

I have found that generally the grip is very impressive which has led me to take liberties which I wouldn't have dreamed of in my RWD BMW.

As the weather conditions change all the time, you'll never be able to prove it was down to a TC change

 

[Tigermad]

I really wouldn't lose sleep on this - I suspect this is really just road conditions. These cars are not infalable, I have had my LR momentary lose grip on many occasions unexpectidly.

I have found that generally the grip is very impressive which has led me to take liberties which I wouldn't have dreamed of in my RWD BMW.

As the weather conditions change all the time, you'll never be able to prove it was down to a TC change

I think they have changed something with the traction control in these updates. Why hasn’t this been mentioned every year though in winter. This year there is a spate of people.

 

[debrooker]

You may well be correct, unless it's stated in the Release notes I guess you'll never know for sure

 

[Bouba]

So over the past few days there have been lots of comments from other groups about an issue.

Some owners have reported that the rear of the car feels like it’s skidding/slipping on ice now and again. This is on non frosty days and clear roads. Some of these owners have owned their cars for many years and never experienced this before. It happens when turning slowly out of junctions, on roundabouts and car parks etc.

A majority of replies are blaming the road conditions, salt, time of year and the way the people are driving etc. If that was the case how come the long term owners are only just experiencing this now after many years?

For most of these owners, because this has been happening for a week or so, they are saying an update may have messed around with the traction control or something else.

Has anyone else had a similar experience recently and just thought it was black ice or similar?

That’s a fair point but hard to judge....long term owners might just be experiencing tyre wear....then again has the tyre manufacturers changed any specs? Also with the pandemic are the local authorities salting/gritting and maintaining the roads as before....just so many variables

 

[yessuz]

any tyre slip at temps below 8C in summer tyres should be expected as normal

 

[PITA]

I ride motorcycles all year round, and have done at a Professional level.

So road surface traction has always been a priority.

It has always amazed me how people think their car can change the laws of physics, and don't slow down during Winter.

Salt, grime, damp, ice, frost, tyre tread depth, tyre temperature, tyre suitability, road camber, grit, oil, micro climates, tyre pressure drops, .... all sorts play a part.

Just slow down, it's Winter.

 

[Tigermad]

I ride motorcycles all year round, and have done at a Professional level.

So road surface traction has always been a priority.

It has always amazed me how people think their car can change the laws of physics, and don't slow down during Winter.

Salt, grime, damp, ice, frost, tyre tread depth, tyre temperature, road camber, grit, oil, micro climates, tyre pressure drops, .... all sorts play a part.

Just slow down, it's Winter.

When you pull slowly out of a junction it happens. The roads near me have been the same condition for months. It’s only been happening for a few weeks. Traction control has been reduced. I’m sure of it.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

This has all mainly blown up from a few posts on a couple of FB groups. It's turned into a mild form of mass hysteria.
People are convincing themselves it's something to do with the last software update they had, but of course when you look more closely you find that the reports of this 'sudden loss of traction control' are on several different ages and models of Tesla with different software levels installed.
And all of this only in the UK. How can that be?

I wonder what these drivers would have blamed it on in their last ICE car? Probably 'diesel on the road' as that was always the go-to excuse for putting your car into a ditch when most of the time there was a much simpler explanation: Not being able to read or feel the road conditions well enough to moderate the throttle accordingly.

There's nothing more to it than that but I bet once the road conditions improve and it coincides with another software update, we're going to see posts about how Tesla has quietly fixed the 'bug' without telling anyone.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

When you pull slowly out of a junction it happens. The roads near me have been the same condition for months. It’s only been happening for a few weeks. Traction control has been reduced. I’m sure of it.

Sorry, but it hasn't. The roads are very greasy at the moment because of specific weather conditions a lot of the country is experiencing. It's nothing more than that but if you still believe it's a software bug, I'm sure they'll fix it in a future release. Probably around the time when the roads become less greasy.

BTW, where are all these reports you've found? Any links? Any of them outside the UK?

 

[PITA]

When you pull slowly out of a junction it happens. The roads near me have been the same condition for months. It’s only been happening for a few weeks. Traction control has been reduced. I’m sure of it.

"The roads near me have been the same condition for months..."

Says it all really... some people will never learn.

 

[paulobrien]

I have actually seen this and wondered if there was a problem with the rear motor, a jolt or slip when I wouldn't expect it to at all. Maybe only 3 times, but very strange. Definitely not related to road conditions and only a recent occurence (I've had the car coming up for 2 years).

 

[pdk42]

Sorry, but it hasn't. The roads are very greasy at the moment because of specific weather conditions a lot of the country is experiencing. It's nothing more than that but if you still believe it's a software bug, I'm sure they'll fix it in a future release. Probably around the time when the roads become less greasy.

BTW, where are all these reports you've found? Any links? Any of them outside the UK?

It’s on a number of Tesla FB groups. It’s classic post-hoc rationalisation based on a correlation rather than a causality - “oh yeah, now you come to mention it, the back end did swing out a bit last week. Thought it was strange, but it must be that software update as you say”. Now I’m not saying a software update couldn’t have tweaked the TC, but I think there are more likely causes - such as the weather!

 

[yessuz]

When you pull slowly out of a junction it happens. The roads near me have been the same condition for months. It’s only been happening for a few weeks. Traction control has been reduced. I’m sure of it.

I wonder what magic will happen if you switch to proper winter (or at least cross climate ) tyres...

 

[yessuz]

"The roads near me have been the same condition for months..."

Says it all really... some people will never learn.

"It's AWD - I can go on snow in summer tyres no probs mate"

 

[Dangerous Fish]

It's a consequence of cars with lots of electronic aids detaching the driver from reality. Then when something happens they aren't expecting it baffles them. So because they can't figure out what's happened, they need to find a scapegoat and that is usually something wrong with the car.
Same as unintended acceleration.

I'd wager that most, if not all of these people have never owned (probably never driven) a powerful RWD car without any traction control.

 

[spdpsba]

It's a consequence of cars with lots of electronic aids detaching the driver from reality. Then when something happens they aren't expecting it baffles them. So because they can't figure out what's happened, they need to find a scapegoat and that is usually something wrong with the car.
Same as unintended acceleration.

I'd wager that most, if not all of these people have never owned (probably never driven) a powerful RWD car without any traction control.

Nah! history says they all had a beemer!

 

[Tigermad]

"The roads near me have been the same condition for months..."

Says it all really... some people will never learn.

What’s that supposed to me?