lexusrxus

My RX 350 Premium Package. When I press the 'Trac Off' button, it acknowledges as 'Trac Off' on the panel for a few seconds. What is the interpretation?
-What really does it mean to be Trac off?
-Does that mean the RX is running on Trac On, by default?
-When I press Trac off, does it stay off until I shut if off, and goes to 'on' mode once I restart?
-What is the advantage of Trac off?

What I am understanding is, normally its on, and helps with traction (which I appreciate greatly), but on certain conditions, when I dont care about traction, I can turn that feature off. But then, why would anyone want to turn that off? Does turning off get you better mileage? Sorry, just curious to know what is the experience out there? Thanks.

sightdev

I learned to effectively use this during snow storm.

TRAC OFF [quick push] will disable TRAC up to 40 mph and reset itself. If pushed for more than 3 seconds, it will permanently turn off the TRAC. In deep snow, I prefer to have TRAC OFF so the wheels can freely spin as needed to use momentum. All other times, I have TRAC ON [default] for safety.

lexusrxus

Thanks. Nothing beats personal experience. Not that I am an experienced driver, but I always thought having good traction would actually help in the snow. Interesting. So, once you permanently turn off TRAC, does it reset when you turn the car off? I would assume so, but I have not checked.

RXSF

so trac stands from traction control and it will basically brake the wheels that are spinning faster than the other ones. It can brake the wheel individually, or more than one at the same time. TRAC only works when you are starting from a full stop and you lose traction. Generally, you will want this to be on all the time as it works in conjunction with VSC (vehicle stability control) which takes it it one step further by measuring yaw rate while it monitors tire speed and will brake each wheel (or more) to stop you from skidding when making turns.

As for when you would want to turn it off? Think of a situation where you are snowed in. If everytime you step on the gas, your wheels spin, and the car will brake them, it will stop you from exiting where you want to be. Sometimes in the snow, you may want to step on the gas to see if the car will dig itself out (in other words, more power can be advantagous).

It will reset itself when you turn off the car each time and will be set to the ON position unless you push the button.

lexusrxus

Thanks. Now its making a lot of sense. Our area had more ice than snow last year, and I believe the same principle would apply on ice as well as the wheel(s) would have a tendency to spin.

LeoDLion

It would be nice to have an option to rock the car automatically. I used to live in Chicago and rocking the car when you get stuck is the first thing one does. Lexus can call the button Rock and Go.

sightdev

on icy condition, you may want to leave TRAC in ON mode as your vehicle will need additional control.

Only time I would use TRAC OFF is in deep snow/mud/sand. try out the system in deep snow/mud/sand when you get a chance. note, 10RX ground clearance is only 7 inches so deep mud is not advised.