Ls460 Traction Control Can Shut Down All Engine Power

[HenryH]

I recently discovered an irritating and potentially dangerous attribute of my 2007 LS460's traction control.

The exit from our building's parking lot is on a busy road. Following several days of rain there is an accumulation of sand in the driveway. Pulling out into traffic and accelerating will often result in some minor wheel spin. If this happens when the front wheels are turned, the traction control software shuts down all power for 3-5 seconds. I consider this to be a major design flaw and highly dangerous. In an emergency if a skilled drive really wants power, it won't be there.

To avoid this, one must shut off the traction control feature every time the car is started.

[gordonw]

Technically thats not what happens. It doesn't shut down power. That would be like turning off your engine. The traction control is selectively applying the brakes to stop the spinning wheel, then should send power to the other drive wheel with the better traction. My car, not a Lexus, has the same feature and it does kind of suck. One second your trying to accelerate, then suddenly you come to a quick deceleration as the brakes apply. Best things to do are turning off the TRAC, like you stated, or ease off the accelerator pedal.

[SKperformance]

It is supposed to work that way and not a design flaw.

YOU know you are going into a tight turn with slippery conditions that needs hard acceleration to drive way into traffic.

So turn off the trac as you are no in control ,

Could you image the lawsuit Lexus would have if every tight turn people made would spin the car around and smack them into walls.

Ummm you decide.

[HenryH]

Technically thats not what happens. It doesn't shut down power. That would be like turning off your engine. The traction control is selectively applying the brakes to stop the spinning wheel, then should send power to the other drive wheel with the better traction. My car, not a Lexus, has the same feature and it does kind of suck. One second your trying to accelerate, then suddenly you come to a quick deceleration as the brakes apply. Best things to do are turning off the TRAC, like you stated, or ease off the accelerator pedal.

The tach goes to zero and it takes 5-7 seconds after the front wheels are straight and the rear wheels are on solid pavement before you regain power and control. I have a 7 series BMW and while it tries to limit power while the wheels are spinning, as soon as traction is available it delivers full power. I also have a 2007 Camry XLE and it's traction control behaves very much like the BMWs'.

In my opinion, Lexus has made a bad set of design choices.

[HenryH]

It is supposed to work that way and not a design flaw.

YOU know you are going into a tight turn with slippery conditions that needs hard acceleration to drive way into traffic.

So turn off the trac as you are no in control ,

Could you image the lawsuit Lexus would have if every tight turn people made would spin the car around and smack them into walls.

Ummm you decide.

I have added a comment to an earlier post which may clairfy the problem that I believe exists. The traction control system causes power to go to zero and it stays that way for 5-7 seconds after the front wheels are straight and the rear wheels are on solid ground.

On my vehicle, the traction control can not be turned off unless you hold the button down for about 5 seconds. This is not patticularly convenient but I can live with it when I know I am entering a scenario in which I probably want the trac control to be disabled. However, if the vehicle were ever in an emergency situation in which the traction control had not been disabled and all power was removed for several seconds, this feature could easily result in a serious accident.

I think Lexus made a bad set of decision on this design. I would be happy if it worked like my BMW or Camry, but it doesn't.

[SW03ES]

The trac system on the Lexus and on your Camry are pretty much the same thing...

Have you talked to the dealer?

[gordonw]

The trac system on the Lexus and on your Camry are pretty much the same thing...

Have you talked to the dealer?

I agree. See your dealer. No way, it should take that long. If I had to take a guess, it sounds like the automatic brake hold is not releasing when accelerating.