Hey all with the arrival of snow I figured it would be a good time to figure out what these buttons do. It's a 2003 GS430.

The button on the left says "power, normal/off, snow" and one on the right that says "vsc off".

I'm gonna take a look at the manual but can someone tell me what situations I'd have to use those buttons in?

Also when driving in snow, if my car begins to drift or slide... any tips on how to safely try to regain control?

 

sigh..........

 

If you want power, select power, if you are driving in snow, select snow. VSC stands for Vehicle Stability Control (aka traction control) leave it on!

 

The power button does not give you "power"...

OP, please search as what these buttons do has been covered numerous times.

 

The power button will let the engine rev a little higher before upshifting, it's mostly useful if the car is heavily loaded. The snow setting will limit the amount of throttle that can be used and have the transmission upshift sooner... use it when driving on snow. The car is naturally going to be pretty unstable in poor weather, as it is a large RWD V8 vehicle; snow tires and careful driving will help. The VSC off button disables the stability control, leave it on unless you know what you're doing.

 

When it starts to snow you should push the VSC OFF button.
Then you should toggle the power button on so you get moar power for the endless drifting sessions.

Happy driving!

 

Good advice and trollfest as well - if I knew what those buttons are called I'd have searched but I deserve it. I was told to turn VSC off in snow and to not use snow button as it makes car hard to control?

 

If you drive like T. Mäkinen you should be fine with the VSC off.
It's the unexpected moments of slippery that gets you in trouble so use it with caution.
Snow mode doesn't really make any difference when the VSC is off, imo.

In principle I'd keep it on, though I personally like to keep it off most of the time.

 

OK, I just drove around in 10-in of snow, and this car is not made for it. But, it's tolerable if you are in the right frame of mind. First, the best snow-tires money can buy are required. Second, the "snow" button is useful to keep simply spinning when leaving an icy intersection. Third, "VSC-off" most of the time leave it as-is, it keeps you from the classic tail-out spin when rounding a corner. BUT, in deep, deep snow it can get you stuck because some situations require a slight, constant spinning of the tires. Find a safe place to try out the various modes, this way you won't be surprised when activating one of these changes the behavoir of your car.