ElGuapo88

I live in an area where we don't really get any snow, very rare. But when it does, everything shuts down because our city doesn't have the proper equipment (salt, plow trucks, etc.)

No one here owns snow tires, and we're all inexperienced.

It snowed today around the same time as the drive back home and it took forever because it was rush hour at 5:00 pm (Fairly populated city, around 440,000 people).

Needless to say almost everyone was going super slow, 20-25 mph. Couple of people in SUVs were going fairly fast, but generally everyone was being safe. I saw a couple of accidents but nothing too crazy. I had never driven in the snow before in my LS460L.

WOW. that was a stressful and long drive back. What normally takes me 30 minutes to get home took me close to 2 hours. While everyone was going very slow, I went EVEN SLOWER because of how nervous I was.

I felt like I never accelerated too fast or aggresively, and I did slow controlled braking (did not slam my brakes abruptly or anything). Yet every other time where I had to come to a complete stop, the rear part of my car would lose control and slide/slip to one side or another.

Is this normal? Or am I just a terrible driver? Again, I felt like I was driving cautiously slow (between 10-20 mph) and did nice and slow controlled brakes. But I seemed to be the only one on the road slipping and sliding when at a stop.

The conditions were pretty snowy, but by no means was it crazy (maybe an inch or two of snow). Something that would be laughable to those who are used to real snow (I'm looking at you guys from New York!)

What am I doing wrong? Or is this car just notoriously bad in the snow? That was a really scary and long drive. I am glad to be home. and I don't plan on driving my car out in the snow anytime soon.

ElGuapo88

Just to add more info: 2008 LS460L (rwd), 18 inch stock rim with all-season tires. Well maintained and at 69K miles.

caha14

Glad you made it home safely.

I would guess that the issue was that the pavement was super-slick, since it sounds like the roads were untreated. The car has ABS, and you weren't going fast, so it's hard to pin this one on you!

Similarly, the car gets pretty good reviews... Take a look at this currently-active thread; I think it'll put you a bit more at ease.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...g-on-snow.html

teamisf

Even an inch of snow can cause something like this happen.. Snow is no joke and can cause things to happen when you wouldn't normally think it could. But it could be just something as simple as your tire tread being low. Think about a new tire and its tread, maybe half inch deep pockets around the tire, well with 1 inch of snow, thats more than the tire can separate. Dont stress over it, consider it your crash course in snow driving.. Trust yourself and your car!

ElGuapo88

Thanks. Yeah, that thread I went through seems to emphasize the need for snow tires on this car.

You are absolutely right, we don't treat our pavements (I don't even think we have the proper resources to do that effectively).

efxonly1

Hey ElGuapo88, I experienced the same thing here in ATL last year during the snow and ice storm we had. No matter how slow I was going before coming to stop, the back would slide. I used to drive in CT snow, but I had fwd cars then and it never happened. Now of course the roads weren't treated with anything down here, but I always thought that rwd cars were not good for snow regardless of the tires.

ElGuapo88

Yeah the more I look into it, it seems like all-season tires are not literally "all-season". If the winters involve some snow, it is beneficial to get a set of winter tires. This is a foreign concept to me since I've lived in the south almost all my life.

And yeah the couple of times in the past where its snowed here, I've had a FWD car (Lexus ES350), and I never had the slipping/sliding feeling like I experienced today.

I just thought it was odd because I was going slower than everyone, braking in a controlled style, yet I appeared to be the only person on the road whose rear was slipping and sliding when coming to a stop.

I assume most cars are FWD or AWD?

ElGuapo88

I even turned on the "Snow" setting in my car. But pretty much every other time where I had to come to a complete stop, there was some degree of slipping and sliding.

Wow. I have never experienced that feeling before while driving.

Tec80

Put the car in neutral when slowing down in those conditions and it won't break traction. The residual engine torque at idle pushing through the torque converter is enough to break the tires loose.

Nospinzone

Yes, it is normal. Whether you are a terrible driver I can't answer (just kidding ).

An inch or two of snow can be harder to drive in than eight inches of snow. At least deep snow keeps you from sliding too far.

I don't know if you did anything wrong, but these rwd, light rear end cars are not good in snow, especially without dedicated snow tires. Adding some weight to the trunk will help a little.

Glad you got home safely, and you were right to go slowly, easy does it. As a very experienced winter driver I always laugh at the suv drivers going way too fast that you later see in a ditch. They may accelerate faster in slippery conditions, but they don't stop any faster (actually it takes them longer due to their increased weight and wider tires).

Nospinzone

+1

Good tip!

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

The problem with snow in the southern states is that it partially melts to form a slushy mess which then freezes to ice overnight. You're not a bad driver - driving on that ice is really dangerous. In the northern states, by comparison, the snow tends to stick for longer without the melt/freeze cycle. And, of course, they are better equipped to deal with it (plows, salt, sand/gravel).

CJITTY

Probably not you. I grew up in Colorado and lived in South Dakota and Minnesota. I will not drive here in Atlanta on snow days. The state is simply not prepared and does not have the resources. Drivers are not skilled enough or have experience on these roads that are barely pretreated. Cold weather states handle this stuff far better. Experience and resources are vital and warm states don't budget for this as the frequency doesn't not warrant it. So it is probably not you. And ice isn't good for any car or driver unless you have studs and no other cars near you. And even that should be avoided. Not worth it.


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Doublebase

I have snow tires and it has made a world of a difference in the snow performance of this car. I'm in the middle of driving through one of the worst winters New England has ever seen and my RWD LS has given me no problems. I've experienced no rear end kicking out problems and I think think the traction control on this car works fantastic. I've driven this winter in everything from an inch of snow to six inches of snow...ice...snow drifts...sleet...minus 17 below 0 just yesterday, and everything in between. So far, so good.

The thing I'm most worried about right now is the road salt destroying the car, and the fact that the snow banks are so high that I can't see over them at intersections.

7milesout

I 2nd this motion. But I'll add to bump it into 'N' on slow down just prior to the speed at which it starts slipping. And then keep it in Neutral all the way to a complete stop and keep it in Neutral while stopped.

When you're ready to go, if it is as slick as you just mentioned, I would hold the brake rather firmly when you put it back in D. That should keep the rears from trying to spin just by dropping it in gear. Then just let off the brakes ... if it starts rolling then add throttle as you see fit. If it doesn't start moving, just barely touch the throttle and get it rolling (even a small amount) before you add additional throttle.

We almost had a 2nd IcePocalypse here overnight. So I (prepared to) counter-measure it by plugging the block heater up to my circuit timer on my 4X4 truck. Course it wasn't nothing. Drove the truck anyway ... my car doesn't like getting the fender liners wet.


7milesout