VX Out of Control on Snow....HELP!!!

[Sheik-YurBooty]

Today was the 1st time I drove the VX on snow. I am extreemly careful when driving in wet weather. I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to make a rt turn. When it was clear for me to go, I started to make the rt turn. I was excellerating to no more than 3 mph & all of a sudden the VX almost made a complete 360. How could this be? The snow was about 1 or 1 1/2 inches on the ground. I still have the original 18" duelers w/ only 28k on them. I know I need new shoes , but they seemed to be ok for the amt of snow on the ground & for the low speed I was turning. I just missed hitting a passing car by inches( for sure I thought I was gonna hit the car, you know the feeling!) This is the Strangest thing that ever happened to me, & believe me when I say this because I used to be a maniac in my muscle & sports cars, & it never ever happened to me then! What if anything can be wrong, Im now scared to drive it in the light snow. Anybody.....?

[AlaskaVX]

I'm sorry but I think you need to work on your driving skills. I drive through snow 9 months out of the year and never had a problem. If you are scared of starting from a stop then start using the winter button and you shouldn't have any problems.

[Sheik-YurBooty]

hey , my driving skills a better than average, remember I said it was the Strangest thing to have happen, If it were due to poor driving skills, I would'nt have mentioned it at all!

[ISCE]

I have never had ANY problems in my VX. I was out this morning early. I actually get out as early as possible to get as much virgin road time as possible.

The roads this morning near my place were real slick, there was ice beneath the snow and was by far the slickest I've seen. Even with this the VX did awesome. I found the worse hill I could. There were 4x4 pickups (no weight in the back was their problem) that had to turn around. I went up, turned around, and back up at least 6 times and had a blast. The whole morning only saw 2 other vehicles make it up the hill.

Once I had to pull right off the road and actually up onto the sidewalk and nearly into someone's yard. 2 people were trying to turn around at nearly the same spot and a guy couldn't stop coming down the hill forcing me off the road to avoid collision damage. When I went to start again I couldn't get moving, even with winter mode.

I had to go into 4WD, which worked great and got me out of the deeper snow on the hill. That was probably the worse I've had and the VX did great. I just don't know what would have happened to you this morning. I have stock tires too.

Jay

Pic added to gallery before heading out this morning:
http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/sh...php?photo=3006

[VX_PA]

I've got about 8" inches of snow right now here in PA and the roads are not very clean. There is snow on every road. I floor the VX at every stop and slide sideways around turns on purpose, it's really hard for me to make the VX lose control, believe me I try real hard. When I came in to work this morning there was about 2 inches of snow in the parking lot, it took everything I could do to make the VX do 2 donuts on the snow. I'm running BFG All Terrains, so maybe the aggressive tire is stopping my fun. Sounds like the tires are causing your problem. Do like Alaska says and start out in winter mode.

[AREA 51]

Intersections are notorious for being slippery. warm tires compact snow and impress water into it. It's not the ice that's slippery, it's the thin film of water between the ice and your tires that make you slide. I've often been driving with no traction problems, but then come to and intersection and slide while stopping or starting off.

[Navigator]

Originally posted by Sheik-YurBooty
Today was the 1st time I drove the VX on snow. I am extreemly careful when driving in wet weather. I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to make a rt turn. When it was clear for me to go, I started to make the rt turn. I was excellerating to no more than 3 mph & all of a sudden the VX almost made a complete 360. How could this be? The snow was about 1 or 1 1/2 inches on the ground. I still have the original 18" duelers w/ only 28k on them. I know I need new shoes , but they seemed to be ok for the amt of snow on the ground & for the low speed I was turning. I just missed hitting a passing car by inches( for sure I thought I was gonna hit the car, you know the feeling!) This is the Strangest thing that ever happened to me, & believe me when I say this because I used to be a maniac in my muscle & sports cars, & it never ever happened to me then! What if anything can be wrong, Im now scared to drive it in the light snow. Anybody.....?

I never had a problem on snow or ice, but then I've been driving for over 22 years. Ice has a way of being tricky regardless of how many wheels are powered. Tires are very important, and 28k is high mileage for a truck tire given most are only good for 40k if well taken care of. I know most of us push our tires, and unless you drive like Granny on Sunday and rotate every 5000 miles, your tires may not be ready for another winter. BTW I have seen way too many over confident yet inexperienced SUV drivers wreck on just about every snow day. High speed and ice don't mix on the road, that is unless you have a big plot of private land to do as you will

The short answer is, sounds like your tires are done, replace them and drive your VX like it was meant to be driven

[Tonka]

I would say it's the tires. You could have the best 4WD in the world but if you have bad/bald tires, good luck. I drive in the snow all the time and hated the stock tires, they're just ok in my book. Also remember, 4WD helps you get traction, but it is all the same when it comes to ice! 4WD = 4W SLIDE!

[Leah]

If you do a little research on snow, wet weather conditions and tires, you will find that the amount of snow on the road makes all the difference. When there is a fine powder, the roads are actually slicker than when there is a build up. At intersections, the warm tires melt the snow, as has been pointed out, and the water raises oils to the surface. If the oil has already been raised and run off, then the melted snow quickly reforms as ice. Tread only works if it can channel water away from the surface of the tire. If the snow isn't deep enough to get into the tread, just like water, it will not be channeled away. At any rate, with deep tread on my tires and a powder on the road, my VX started sliding from a standstill. I was stopped at a sign and the weight of the truck on the thin layer of ice/water/snow, pulled it down the incline. I gave it some gas and took control of the situation.

I have lived in New Mexico for enough years to have experienced every kind of snow there is, from blizzard conditions to light powder and it never failed that the majority of accidents occurred during the light snow. No matter how new your tires are, if the road is slick, only chains will make any difference. The roughest toughest tires on earth - unless they have built in spikes - can't do much on ice.

[AlaskaVX]

Originally posted by VX_PA
When I came in to work this morning there was about 2 inches of snow in the parking lot, it took everything I could do to make the VX do 2 donuts on the snow.

I actually managed to do 90 donuts in under 3 min. I need to get it on video so everyone can see how awesome this thing can spin! It spins so fast its like the gravitron. Just wanted to add that my mud tires tires are about 90% gone (about 1/8" traction) and with the TOD it handles wonderfully, even though they are probobally the worst tire possible (besides slicks) to have on in winter (11.5" wide ski's). However I am a very experienced winter driver and that is most likeley why I'm fine with it. The stock 18"s w/16,000 mi. did me well on the Alaska Highway driving it up, much better then the Mickey Thompsons anyway.

I have to blame this on driver error, it sounds like the stereo was up and you didn't hear your tires spinning then you hit a dry spot and it launched you into the street causing a 360.

[ron]

I'd say it's the tires too. When I had my 18" Bridgestone dueler originals on, I remember quite vividly how easily the wheels can peel out, fishtail, and spin donuts in the snow. And it wasn't even that much snow either. It's a good way to practice your recovery turns when fishtailing in an empty lot. Best solution is to replace them with better equipped tires or use chains.

You can still safely drive with the duelers in snow. Just don't mash on the gas pedal from a stop and allow a greater distance while coming to a stop. Hope this helps.

[Yefim]

It's definitely your tires. When I bought my VX I was not impressed with the winter handling because the stock tires are not that great in snow - at least in my experience. Nevertheless, I wore them down pretty well I just replaced them and I have almost 75K on my VX so they were definitely due. I just got Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tires and what difference good tires can make! I feel that my VX is glued to the road. It is also quieter now and the ride is a bit softer. We have only got some light snow and ice in North Mass but I am looking forward this weekend when we suppose to get some serious snow! My VX should handle snow much better.

Good thing that now when you are aware of the OEM tires capabilities you will be more careful. You can also always get a winter set and keep the Duelers for the rest of the year.

[Andrey]

I took delivery of my VX on the 31 Jan 2000 and couple days later we had first snow in Boston. Was coming from work (yes decent system engineers were needed back then) around 9:30 pm and got almost killed on brand new Duellers. I was going no more then 25-27 mi/h coming to intersection - red light. No matter what I've attempted to do I was not able to stop. I am a reasonable driver and drove in almost any conditions (including unplowed roads of Russia - yes, they do not plow...) but here... VX was virtually uncontrollable ! Duellers (16 inch are awefull for snow !) Dry, rain or offroad they are reasonable, but snow forget it ! Narrow track+short base+ Duellers+snow= DISASTER !

Take care and get yourself reasonable shoes. I've got Toyo Proxses S/T - still have to figure out how they like snow.

Good luck !

[SPAZZ]

I have got 32x11.5x17 super swampers with a whole lot of tread......one day I was not on ice or snow and it is only time this has ever happened....but, I was at a T intersecion and the light was red for me...when it turned green I turned left..not super fast or aggressive..but at reasonable spede same as the other cars...but I was first at the light, so even slower than them. When I got midway into the intersection..the VX's rear end shot out of control and it felt like the front pulled really hard left...and the rear end lost control.
The road was completely dry and lacked any sand or dirt...it was all smooth dry pavement... so is it a quirk for the VX that could happen here and there?

[joe-yamma]

I was suspect about this post as well until almost the same thing happened to me tonight. I am going to call around about some BFG AT's tomorrow morning. Yes, I do know how to drive in the snow (my vehicle before the VX was a Jeep Wrangler which I've driven in many conditions).
The funny part was that the tires held ok on the highway, but were like skis on the unplowed roads of Pittsburgh.

Another questions though: What is up with the ABS? I pulled my fuse tonight because my ABS almost killed me about three times. When I pushed on the brakes at two stop signs, the ABS kicked in an "pulsed," but the pedal was about 1/2 down... it was almost like the ABS was "hypersensitive"... the problem was that the brakes were pulsing, but the vehicle was still moving. I think that my ABS is malfuncitoning and needs checked... what does it sounds like to you guys???

Joe