Traction Control Briefly Activating on Sharp Turns

[Abrian24]

Hello!

My 2021 Model 3 SR+ briefly activated the traction control today while I was making a sharp turn. I noticed the car all of a sudden slowing down and the traction control light blinked for about 2 seconds then turned off and everything resumed to normal.

I was driving down the street and made a sharp turn to enter my street. Has anyone else ever experienced this while making a sharp turn? Just wondering if this is normal and the model 3 assumed I was going to lose traction because of how I turned.

Thanks in advance!

 

[tm1v2]

Did you feel the car grab brakes, or refuse to give power that you know it's capable of?

On this car when it grabs brakes I think that's usually stability control, trying to make sure you don't oversteer. For traction control it mostly just reduces motor output because with an electric motor it can do that super fast, no need to waste energy using the brakes.

Traction control might sometimes use a brake to simulate a limited slip differential, but if it does, it's a poor simulation.

What you described sounds normal for this car. It likes to clamp down on things *before* you get to the point of maybe losing grip or traction.

 

[Abrian24]

Did you feel the car grab brakes, or refuse to give power that you know it's capable of?

On this car when it grabs brakes I think that's usually stability control, trying to make sure you don't oversteer. For traction control it mostly just reduces motor output because with an electric motor it can do that super fast, no need to waste energy using the brakes.

Traction control might sometimes use a brake to simulate a limited slip differential, but if it does, it's a poor simulation.

What you described sounds normal for this car. It likes to clamp down on things *before* you get to the point of maybe losing grip or traction.

 

[Abrian24]

Did you feel the car grab brakes, or refuse to give power that you know it's capable of?

On this car when it grabs brakes I think that's usually stability control, trying to make sure you don't oversteer. For traction control it mostly just reduces motor output because with an electric motor it can do that super fast, no need to waste energy using the brakes.

Traction control might sometimes use a brake to simulate a limited slip differential, but if it does, it's a poor simulation.

What you described sounds normal for this car. It likes to clamp down on things *before* you get to the point of maybe losing grip or traction.

Thanks for the reply!

It felt like a little of both. All of a sudden I felt the car slow down and my acceleration was limited. The traction control light blinked for about 2 seconds then everything resumed back to normal. So it did feel like it was actively limiting my acceleration and at the same time using the brakes so slow me down

From your feedback it does make sense. It felt like it was preventing me from possibly losing grip / traction.

 

[android04]

Hello!

My 2021 Model 3 SR+ briefly activated the traction control today while I was making a sharp turn. I noticed the car all of a sudden slowing down and the traction control light blinked for about 2 seconds then turned off and everything resumed to normal.

I was driving down the street and made a sharp turn to enter my street. Has anyone else ever experienced this while making a sharp turn? Just wondering if this is normal and the model 3 assumed I was going to lose traction because of how I turned.

Thanks in advance!

This is normal. I have a 2018 Model LR RWD and sometimes let off steam after work by taking a certain 90 degree left turn sharply and flooring the accelerator. The car has stability control that will reduce the electric motor's power output (and brake each wheel independently if needed) to try to keep you from getting too unstable. So every time I do that I can feel the power output decrease and the car maintains the path I've selected with the steering wheel, and it feels like I'm on rails. Depending on the tires you have, you will have a varying level of grip and it may also use the brakes independently to limit slip. The yellow traction control light usually lights up when at least one of your wheels is slipping a bit and the car is trying to control it.

 

[tm1v2]

This is normal. I have a 2018 Model LR RWD and sometimes let off steam after work by taking a certain 90 degree left turn sharply and flooring the accelerator. The car has stability control that will reduce the electric motor's power output (and brake each wheel independently if needed) to try to keep you from getting too unstable. So every time I do that I can feel the power output decrease and the car maintains the path I've selected with the steering wheel, and it feels like I'm on rails. Depending on the tires you have, you will have a varying level of grip and it may also use the brakes independently to limit slip. The yellow traction control light usually lights up when at least one of your wheels is slipping a bit and the car is trying to control it.

Yup what @android04 wrote is completely normal in this car. It does *not* like to give much power exiting a turn until you're basically straight. It greatly limits power even when the tires have a lot of traction left to give.

If you want to power out of a sweeping turn like you're on a racetrack, need to be in Track Mode.

 

[MCBalay]

Thanks for the reply!

It felt like a little of both. All of a sudden I felt the car slow down and my acceleration was limited. The traction control light blinked for about 2 seconds then everything resumed back to normal. So it did feel like it was actively limiting my acceleration and at the same time using the brakes so slow me down

From your feedback it does make sense. It felt like it was preventing me from possibly losing grip / traction.

Related but different; I have a 2018 M3 AWD. A new behavior started a few months ago. Accelerating out of a turn in wet road conditions started a couple of months ago. Plenty of tread on tires. Jerky skid starts and stops. I am wondering if this was caused by a change in Traction Control or Stabilty software.

 

[MCBalay]

Our driving both my wife and I is very normal when this happens. We are experienced autocross drivers ( not in Tesla) do know how to drive through skids in all road conditions.

 

[XPsionic]

Normal in a sr+, happens more frequently when road is lumpy or wet.

There's no track mode in sr+ or rwd cars, turning on slip start mode will allow you to squeal the tires a bit more and the car won't cut power as aggressively, traction control still works in this mode but to a much lesser extent.

 

[GtiMart]

I get that even on very gentle acceleration on a few specific corners. They are not flat and typically have a bit of sand inside. Normal
Edit: even on my awd

 

[Unclepaul]

If your tires are worn, or the road surface has poor traction, the Stability Control will sense that and reduce power.

 

[rpiotro]

You could head over to the Infiniti Q50 forum where this subject has been beaten to death.

Would you prefer useless wheel spin?