How To Turn Off Traction Control On Your Car

Traction control helps provide a safe driving experience throughout the driving process. This is the reason why some drivers decided to turn on the traction control system while driving. However, in certain conditions like stucking in the snow or mud, leaving the traction control on may be a disadvantage because it can remove drive to your wheel. In this situation, you should disable this system but the question is how to turn off traction control, let’s follow us:

It’s a really simple process and we will be outlining the step-by-step instructions for turning off the traction control.

What Does Traction Control Do On Your Car?

A traction control system or TCS is an active safety feature fitted on vehicles to help your car to be stable during acceleration as well as when driving on slippery roads. The main function of this system is responsible for ensuring the vehicle’s grip.

There is also a function to make sure traction, but the application of TCS is completely different from ABS. If the anti-lock braking system (ABS) has the effect when braking emergently, the TCS feature is responsible for controlling the traction when your car is moving.

Traction control features automatic operation based on early detection of wheel slip. As a result, the vehicle’s safety will be ensured when traveling in all weather and terrain conditions. This feature is highly effective when the vehicle suddenly accelerates or operates on slippery roads.

The TCS has a fairly simple structure, including a speed sensor shared with the anti-lock braking system and a cable connected to the automatic traction control valve (ATC), connected to the ECU.

Therefore, the installation cost of this system does not cost too much. The traction control function is controlled by a push button on the vehicle with the symbol TC/TCL/ESC. In some cases, the driver can disable this function.

Traction control systems in cars are usually automatically started when the vehicle is rolling. However, the manufacturer still arranges a control button to turn on / off the traction control system on the dashboard, steering wheel, or gear lever.

Because the traction control system does not always work. There are some cases where TCS will interfere with the vehicle’s ability to operate. At this time, the driver can actively turn off the TCS and turn it back on later. 

If you are driving on day-to-day roads, in icy or snowy conditions, it’s better to drive with the traction control system, it’s going to prevent you from losing control and your tires from spinning.  However, it’s not always right when applying this function, let’s move to the next part to know more: 

>> Related post: What Are The Benefits Of Turning Traction Control Off?

When You Should Turn Traction Control Off?

The traction control system is such a great safety feature so why in the world would you want to turn the traction control off? The most common case of turning off the traction control function on cars is when your vehicle is stuck on muddy or icy roads, or when the vehicle is bogged down…

At this time the wheels are usually not in sync with each other and there will be more spinning drive wheels which are the type of things we will need to spend a lot of time to drive your car backward and forward. When you switch off the traction control button, that’s going to allow you to do that maneuver to get out of this messy situation.

If TCS is on, the system will be able to detect and decelerate the wheel. This makes it difficult for the car to get out of the mud. One misunderstanding is that traction control increases traction. Our answer is “No” because it just makes your vehicle go straight.

When the car tires start to rotate and move forward, the traction control system will slow down the rotation of the wheels to reduce the speed of the wheels. Now turning off this function will help you pass the stick easily. So this function will be disabled when you are stuck in the ice or mud. 

What’s another instance in which drivers would turn the traction control off? Another rare case of turning off traction control is when you want to drift. Drift is a driving technique that intentionally oversteers the vehicle to cause the wheels to skid.

So if you want to drift, you need to turn off TCS. When the traction control is inactivated you will completely control the power output of your car. It would be a disadvantage to the car’s performance if and limit the speed of your car when you are on the track and the TSC is on. 

There are two most common situations we recommend you should turn off the traction control system because there’s no point in activating this system. If you keep the TCS on under these circumstances it can sometimes significantly consume fuel and cause wear and tear to your tires. 

How To Turn Off Traction Control On Your Car?

It’s very simple to turn off the traction control system. In our article we will show you 2 methods to disable this system with and without using the button: 

Method 1: Using a button

Step 1: Locate the traction control button

Basically, the first thing you have to do is locate the button that turns the traction control off. So you should be looking around the dashboard area and the button will most likely be accessible by either your right hand or left hand.

Normally, it’s likely located on the right or left of your steering wheel. After that, you should be looking for a button that either has a picture of the traction control logo or might have an acronym for the traction control system (VSA, TCS, TC, or TCL depending on the car model and brand).

Step 2: Turn off the TCL button

When you have located the button, you are going to press and hold it down for several moments. And while pushing this button you will hear the sound of “beep” and you will probably see a symbol on your dashboard.

At this time your dash multi-information display will notice that the traction control system is off. When you look at the dashboard you will notice the traction control light illuminate and that allows you to know you have turned off the traction control. Now, you’ve achieved your objective. 

Step 3: Switch off the vehicle stability control (VSC)

There is a second part in this process you need to do is to turn off the VSC for the total system. You will hold the button with the symbol VAC for 3 seconds until you see the notification on your dashboard. At that time you will get a total safety system shutdown and now you can do your maneuver to get through the stuck on the road. 

Method 2: Without using a button

There are some cars without the traction control button that’s why we will show you a way how to turn off the TCS without a button. 

Step 1: Twist your ignition on: You will insert your key into the ignition and turn it on. 

Step 2: Turn on the hazard light: It’s a very important step to let the other vehicles know that your car is not moving to minimize accidents.

Step 3: Press the pedal 5 times: This step will be quite easy, you just need to press the accelerator pedal 5 times while you keep your vehicle in park and you don’t allow it to be over this number, this is a very important note you should remember. 

Step 4: Check whether the traction control is off After finishing these steps above, If you hear the sound and notice the notification on your dashboard it means that your task is successful.

Step 5: Turn off the hazard light

FAQs

Why is my traction control light on?

In some cases, the TCS light indicates that your vehicle’s traction control system is active and working properly. Traction control is required to maintain grip in slippery conditions.

Some TCS lights come on during rainy or snowy weather and then disappear. When this happens, it means the system is activated due to low traction road conditions (ice, snow, or rain) and is assisting the vehicle to maintain traction. 

However, If the traction control light stays on while driving in good weather or the indicator blinks intermittently, it means that there are some problems in your car system that need to be checked. It might indicate that the system is hard coded or malfunctioning.

This problem can be caused by a faulty speed sensor that warns the vehicle’s computer of a possible loss of traction. Alternatively, there could be a problem with the computer’s traction system. A flashing TCL can also mean the system is not fully functional so it’s important to be vigilant when viewing in bad weather. 

Simply put, an illuminated TCL might indicate that the system is operating correctly in some situations. The traction control is designed to detect when the tires are not in contact with the road in icy or muddy conditions. But when you notice that this light is flashing or turn on in sunny weather so you should take precautions.

Should traction control be on or off?

We will tell you the truth that whether it’s better to drive with traction control on or off. We will be going over a simple answer “ It’s safe to drive with traction control disabled in normal weather conditions but it’s important that you enable the system If you are likely to hit a slippery road or in bad weather conditions”.

As we know, TCS is a standard safety function in many vehicles nowadays. It will be activated when your engine starts. The system will interfere when it detects the difference between the vehicle speed and the wheel rotation. We can say that this system will be beneficial to every type of vehicle whatever the car powertrain.

But in several situations, turning the traction control on will be more harmful than good for your car like when you are stuck in a standstill position in the sand, mud, or snow. It will cause the engine to consume more power and make it difficult for your car to move forward. 

>> Read more: When You Should & Shouldn’t Use Cruise Control While Driving

How to reset the traction control light?

Sometimes, you will notice the traction control light illuminates even in good weather conditions and you want to reset this light first instead of visiting the mechanic is there any way to reset the traction control light? There are several ways you can do to reset the TCL.

Corresponding to each different type of vehicle, you will have some ways to make this process. But we will share the most common way: First, you need to disconnect the positive wire from your battery. After that, you will hit the gas pedal 3 times continuously so why do we need to do that? This step will discharge the electrical system and restart the computer of your car.

Next, you will reconnect the wire and start the engine, letting it run for a few minutes. Now, the process is complete if the traction control light still errors, you should take your car to a trusted mechanic.