Odd experiences in snow

[MarcusMaximus]

I took my S 60 out to a snowy area for the first time yesterday(Yosemite). Snow chains were required so I put them on. I noticed a few strange things while out there:

1. Traction control kept getting triggered, apparently just because of the chains.

2. Worse, I tried disabling it because it was clearly functioning incorrectly, and after disabling, it would stay off for about 1 second and then toggle itself back on, even when parked. Oddly, I found the button was just labeled "Traction Control" instead of "Slip Start". Maybe a bug with the 2.50.201 update I got this last week?

3. The front right tire pressure sensor showed low pressure. This happened roughly halfway through the day. As we left the park the reported value slowly rose from 37 up to 40 and eventually the warning cleared entirely as we got back into warmer weather. I'm not sure whether this would indicate a faulty sensor or be expected due to the temperature change(PV=nrT). The car is only ~2 weeks old, so I wouldn't expect an actual issue with tire pressure.


Anyone else have experience with any of these or thoughts on what I can do in the future to avoid these issues?

 

[jsmay311]

The part about the tire pressure sounds normal. Tire pressure can increase by a few psi just from the heat created by driving / rolling resistance. If you also saw an increase in ambient temperatures, that makes it all the more unremarkable. Either way, best to add some air to get even pressures in all tires, and when you do that you can use a gauge to compare the tires and make sure the sensor isn't inaccurate.

 

[Nietschy]

Oddly, I found the button was just labeled "Traction Control" instead of "Slip Start". Maybe a bug with the 2.50.201 update I got this last week?

It is only called slip start on the AWD models. If you got a RWD (like your S60 suggests) "traction control" is right. You can have fun without traction control in the snow with a RWD, but not so much with a AWD ...

I also found out that the settings resets itself sometimes if you over extend the possibilities. I guess it has something to do with how much you let the tires slip. But I could be wrong, used the feature only twice to get up a steep hill.
Try to set it while in park and double check it is really off before you start the drive. Enabling it mid drive seemed to have disabled it faster. YMMV

 

[MarcusMaximus]

It is only called slip start on the AWD models. If you got a RWD (like your S60 suggests) "traction control" is right. You can have fun without traction control in the snow with a RWD, but not so much with a AWD ...

I also found out that the settings resets itself sometimes if you over extend the possibilities. I guess it has something to do with how much you let the tires slip. But I could be wrong, used the feature only twice to get up a steep hill.
Try to set it while in park and double check it is really off before you start the drive. Enabling it mid drive seemed to have disabled it faster. YMMV

Ah, ok.

The traction control was actually turning itself off immediately even when parked off to the side of the road and not moving at all. I'd toggle it off, it'd pop up a warning asking if I really wanted to turn it off, I'd press the "disable" button(the other button was "cancel", tried that too regardless) and it'd show the toggle as off for about 1 or 2 seconds before turning itself back on, all while the car was motionless.

The traction control was making driving a bit scary, with the car randomly slowing down when other people were behind me.

 

[MarcusMaximus]

It gets stranger. Yesterday, while parked(not in a snowy region this time) I was poking around the menu again and saw that the toggle is now labeled "Slip Start" again. I could also toggle it off without it turning itself back on.

 

[BrokerDon]

What snow chains did you use?

 

[MarcusMaximus]

What snow chains did you use?

These cable style ones: Amazon.com: Security Chain Company SZ143 Super Z6 Cable Tire Chain for Passenger Cars, Pickups, and SUVs - Set of 2: n/a: Automotive

 

[Shock-On-T]

What snow chains did you use?

He dug them up in an old Indian burial ground.