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I think Traction Control is one of the most dangerous implementations of technology ever foisted upon the driving public.
This morning, I drop the kids off at school and attempt to make my way thru traffic to get to work. I have to make a left hand turn against a never ending stream of traffic coming from left and right. Finally, a small opening! I press the long pedal while modulating the brake with my left foot to control the chassis. And the f***ing Traction Control kicks in and kills the power, leaving me quaintly rolling thru the gap like a granny on her way to her Saturday morning hair appointment.
I have been building and racing road race cars for the last 40 years. I don't need nor want an electronic nanny slapping my wrist when the least little bit of wheel spin may occur. The art of left foot braking to control a chassis is far quicker and more efficient than the the electronics could ever be. Yeah, I know I could switch off the TC, but what a PITA it is to remember to do that every time I climb into the car. Whereas, my motor memory was programmed long ago and it's fully automatic.
I know a few years ago I bought a plug-in chip for a C5 Corvette to default to TC off at start-up. Anyone know of such an animal for the GS350?
There's a button to turn it off. (page 312 of the manual). To turn off both TRAC and VSC, press and hold the button for more than 3 seconds. It doesn't turn back on until you turn it back on.
Those buttons are physical buttons with on/off positions.When depressed to on, it stays on. When you press it so it's in the up position (off) It stays off until you press it back in again. TRAC Off and VSC Off lamps light up on your dash when you turn them off. The manual says to press the button to turn TRAC back on and to press and hold for 3 seconds to turn VSC back on.
I am pretty sure you can change the handling characteristics of the car by switching to Sport or Sport+ modes. I've never tried the maneuver you described in the start of the thread, but when I need something less sedan like in traffic, I switch to those. I may not disable the traction and stability controls but it does change the handling characteristics substantially. Sport and Sport+ do revert to Normal when you turn off the engine and restart.
What? Me drive in something other than Sport+? Never!
It's just that the TC is so slow to release control once it takes over. I assumed that the TC switch was electronic and not mechanical. I'll check it out. Thanks!
I am not sure that it was the traction control that caused your problem. This could be the fix that was done a while back to eliminate accidental full throttle due to the pedal sticking or throttle control errors. If you go to full throttle and push the brake at the same time it will cut engine power. This was done across the board on all Toyota/Lexus cars and I am not sure if this can be defeated.
I am not sure that it was the traction control that caused your problem. This could be the fix that was done a while back to eliminate accidental full throttle due to the pedal sticking or throttle control errors. If you go to full throttle and push the brake at the same time it will cut engine power. This was done across the board on all Toyota/Lexus cars and I am not sure if this can be defeated.
That's was the point of my short and glib post. The 4GS features VDIM which doesn't completely cut power off like the older traction control but modulates power instead. You might notice you're only pulling 250 horses instead of 306 but it won't get to the point of no power either.
[edit]ItzFilyO, in my Jetta TDI, it cuts off regardless but there's a minimum speed in GS?
I am also a two foot driver from my racing days. I actually thought I had a problem with the fuel or trans when I've tried so many times to pull out into traffic with no power. Lexus told me if I'm on the brake at all the car will not deliver full power. Low and behold, this was my issue. Now, if turning off TC or any of the other nannies eliminates this, I'm all in, cause I still do it occasionally.
That's was the point of my short and glib post. The 4GS features VDIM which doesn't completely cut power off like the older traction control but modulates power instead. You might notice you're only pulling 250 horses instead of 306 but it won't get to the point of no power either.
[edit]ItzFilyO, in my Jetta TDI, it cuts off regardless but there's a minimum speed in GS?
That's how it works on my Camry, when ur moving and step on both pedals the brake takes over and it cuts the power completely and will bring the car to a complete stop. But when stepping on both pedals while the car is stopped, I can still feel the engine power wanted to take off. So that means it's not cutting the power completely.
I don't know if something changed in the Lexus line. I'll try that later.
Those buttons are physical buttons with on/off positions.When depressed to on, it stays on. When you press it so it's in the up position (off) It stays off until you press it back in again.
So I went to lunch and checked this out. The TC button is electronic not mechanical. It defaults back to "TC on" when the ignition is cycled. So I played a bit more; the TC cannot be switched off if the car is moving more than 30mph. Additionally, it seems as though VSC cannot be disengaged if the vehicle is move AT ALL.
For people who have learned the technique, left foot braking to balance the chassis is essential to handling the vehicle. Sounds like a job for a programmer.
04-11-17, 08:07 AM
Traction Control SUX!
