We got hit with about 6-8" of snow in Philly today but unfortunately I was in Queens, NY for the weekend so I had quite a drive back home. It was bad enough making the icy and treacherous 4.5 hour drive back which usually takes 2 hours, but, that VSA was........an interesting experience to say the least.

Here's why:

Driving muscle cars and off road Jeep Wranglers or the last 25 years, some with NOS but that's a story for another time, has taught me how to power out of a low traction situation when I needed to or power slide around corners for fun!

Well my 2010 Fit doesnt have much power but I almost got rear ended while switching lanes when i hit a 5" high slush pile between lanes. Really? Thats all it took to cut the power I needed to get through that!

I would have liked a little wheel spin to clean out the tread and drive through that but the VSA wasn't gonna let me do that not. Nope, it was sure I didn't have enough sense to drive through that little pile of slush.

Perhaps an adjustment to the parameters it uses for assistance or a separate setting for snow or, even better yet, a limited assistance mode that wont activate during full throttle so you can drive your "Sport" model as if it were sporty!

So I quickly adapted to that concept and drove differently but new I could have done better at times if it were off.

So, I finally get home and my house sits on a slight hill. The pristine snow in the driveway hasn't even had a snowflake disturbed since it fell. Quite a beautiful sight after 4.5 hours behind the wheel. Just 30 seconds more and Im parked....but.....VSA strikes again. I drive halfway up my driveway and the throttle cuts out and leaves me motionless. Whats worse is that after shutting it off I couldnt get the traction I needed to move forward again. It actually stopped my forward momentum as I was climbing the small hill. I was stuck!

I guess it could be good but it should never have stopped my momentum since that could have caused an accident if there was someone following me too closely. I just feel like it may be better to drive with it off for me.

What are your experiences while using it? Good and bad experiences please. I really hope to get a view from all angles here.

Thanks.

 

Roads are super icy here, and it has come on a bunch for me so I do have a bit of experience with it.

I think it does help with cornering on ice and starting forward on ice as well.

Your VSA does seem a bit more sensitive than mine does though, there are lots of deep snow piles in between lanes here too, and my power definitely does not cut out through that. Were you gunning it though the piles? I think it comes on when it detects slippage, but if you just coast through it should stay off.

I've also had no problems going up driveways with deep snow either, again I just coasted up. No saying you gunned it, but that's what it would have taken for mine to have gone off in the same situation.

Overall, I feel this and abs have actually helped me avoid collisions. They allowed me to stop sooner when the ground was icier than expected, or make my left turns quick enough to avoid oncoming traffic.

 

I'd drive with it off. Any system that moderates wheelspin with brakes is counterproductive (and even dangerous) when driving in snow/ice.

 

I did need to apply heavy throttle going up my driveway when I lost traction somewhere in the middle. I also did the same when crossing lanes. I will either try it out with less throttle or turn it off. The jury is still out on that one.

 

you need to get snow tires in 3"+ weather. VSA can only do so much with all season tires.

 

^^^ I think that's 100% correct.


Also if I'm not mistaken I could've swore I read something that you should turn off VSA when driving in snow... of course if you get stuck in snow, you must turn it off to be able to "rock" yourself out.




Since 09 I've had VSA on my GE8 Navi, in over 40k miles it's actually been really useful one significant time... I was driving in the left lane, OEM crappy Bridgestones, hwy construction (bumpy/uneven roads), rainy and traffic... all of the sudden, a yellow dive bomber (NYC taxi) swerves in to my lane from my right. It looked like he hit a bump, and his cab jumped over 2-3 feet leftwards in to my lane, he was right beside me (slightly in front). I slightly tapped the brakes, but quickly swerved to the left as much as I could without hitting the divider... the VSA light was going off like a strobe, and it kept me straight as an arrow. I'm sure it helped big time in that instance..


Other than that, it's a little bit annoying since it comes on way too early I think, even more so with my DWS tires so, even if you're moderately accelerating over bumpy roads it goes off. In the snow it's constantly going off, so I turn it off most of the times. All other times I leave it on.

 

Maybe im just too used to powering through the snow...lol!

I can say I left most of the drive experience out from NY to Philly. I was passing most cars and cruising at 50-60 MPH in light snow. Many cars were doing 30 MPH. It did well at cruise and while moving but if I were stopped and trying o find a place in the next lane it turned off the throttle every time I hit the gas.

I ordered some Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7s today in a stock size of P175/65R15 with some new alloys. The narrower tire should also help with traction. Im sure they will do much better during my 100 mile round trip daily work trip. Im curious to see how much better the taction will be and how that will effect the VSA action. They wont be in until the end of this week or early next week so I'l. post results when I get them.

 

Aside from Subarus, the Hakkapeliitta tires are practically a state fixture here. I have them on my car (studded, of course) and there's nothing else I'd use. They're like driving on velcro.

I take it that it's uncommon for people to actually put winter tires on their cars down there? We're hoping to move out east but haven't chosen a place. If we end up going somewhere that studs are legal I'm definitely taking mine with me. (Especially since they're mounted and ready to go.)

As for VSA...rather glad I don't have it.

 

If you didn't have winter tires, it's no wonder your VSA was acting up like mad.
With that in mind, I think mine might act much more like yours does. But even before I got winter tires and dumped the original tires, I was still able to cross piled up lanes without issue.

I am definitely glad I have VSA. Just today I made a left turn slightly too fast(it was icier than I thought), I felt the car start to oversteer a bit before it "snapped" back into place with the VSA strobe on. It's reeally icy here.

Only time I would personally turn it off is if I were actually stuck.

 

Blasphemy! Like 1 million other idiotic Utahns, I hit the freeway full-speed in two feet of snow and ice with my all season tires.

The important part is to skid between the other cars.

 

There are two components to VSA: stability control (more directional control) and traction control.

Spinning tires set off the latter; the computer lessens throttle to avoid this. Spinning the wheels is generally not a good thing in snow or otherwise if you want to get anywhere.

Direction control is more what it's about: the computer senses the direction the car is actually travelling, and when it's inconsistent with the direction of the steering (oversteer or understeer) it selectively applies the brakes at each wheel to correct the slide.

See Connor55's post above for an example.

Leave it turned on unless you're drifting at the track. One exception might be when you're stuck and need to rock it, but excessive spinning will damage the tires so even then I'd leave it on at first. Without VSA the conventional wisdom is to start off in 2nd through snow, to avoid spinning the tires as easily, kinda like traction control, no?

(I wasn't always a southern boy)

 

Yeah, I know I read the manual too...
but sometimes thisSometimes, you have to spin your tires a little to have drivability. Could've swore I read somewhere that Honda recommends to turn it off while driving in the snow...
Read this thread link VSA VSA on snow, dangerous? - Civinfo
I had a very similar experience as that OP did... driving a Lexus IS250 AWD w/traction control (whatever Lexus calls it) on the hwy the traction control was acting like ABS, the car was completely undriveable... when I turned it off, it went back to normal.


However, in a situation where I was driving my Fit in similar conditions (hwy speeds, snowy, etc) as when I was in the Lexus, I left VSA on and it was ok. I was driving ~40-60mph with my DWS' and the VSA light didn't go off that much... On the same trip 2 separate BMW 3-series XI's (AWD system) passed me on the left, a few miles later one of them decided to drift in to the right side barricade - priceless.


I think you missed this though...I'm all for VSA... when I bought my car in late 08 I opted for the 09 Navi version, mainly for the VSA & steering wheel controls, the Navi was sort of a bonus (knowing that I would upgrade it in the future anyway). If you're familiar with NYC roads you know how it resembles the moon surface, if you're accelerating over those bumps, even moderately it cuts power... that's my biggest gripe. Mine stays on 99.9% of the time.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know what you're doing, but the general reader might infer from your comments that it's better to turn off VSA in the snow. It's not, unless the general reader is very comfortable driving in snow and ice and doesn't need/want it.

I read your link. Our Euro civic friends are divided whether turning VSA off in the snow is better or not, however Honda is not saying to turn it off.

 

Update again:

More snow in Philly today with freezing temps to follow.

So, I get home and see the pristine snow covered driveway again but this time I know what will happen so I click off the VSA before I turn in. I feel the expected loss of traction as I get to the same spot I was left motionless the night before. I apply just the right amount of throttle to gain forward momentum and Im up the hill and have no issues. The wheels spin just enough to clean the snow out and move forward. Its how we used to drive before VSA even existed.

I now know what the car does with and without VSA on and realize its great when cruising and turning but that I will selectively disable it when I look ahead and know I will break traction.

For now I say VSA all the way!

I cant wait to try the driveway hill climb with the snow tires and the VSA on.

 

Well, I got my Hakapalita 7s on and had a chance to drive in the snow. What a huge difference with snow tires on. The VSA works awesome when the tires have enough traction to get momentum going. I honestly feel that the traction is very well balanced now and I could accelerate full throttle on a fully snow covered road and not lose traction.

Honda gets a from me on VSA as long as its paired with the right tires for the road conditions.

 

I keep mine on (2011 Sport) because our roads are inconsistent in dry / wet / ice / snow = patchy. Although not this extreme, I rather not over-flex my drive train when a spinning wheel goes from 0% grip to 100% grip over and over again while driving our roads. The VSA puts a stop to that.

 

Nice! Spoken like a true Utahn! Lucky for me I: 1. have a 2007 Fit Base and don't have to worry about VSA because I don't have it, and 2. I live in Arizona and have only had the Fit in snow once a few years ago when I went up north to Flagstaff for Christmas and it snowed. I have never high-tailed it out of a city faster!

 

I say ditch VSA and learn some car control!
Seriously all VSA does is give you false confidence and limit your ability to learn useful and safer driving habits. I grew up in New England and I take pride in my driving ability in any car and situation and try to hone my skills whenever I can and it's safe to do so. There's something to be said for know where the limits are that only comes from pushing to them and beyond at times. In normal circumstances you know what you cAn and cannot do and if someone swerves towards you it's not blind instinct driving you to yank that wheel, it's the second nature that only experience and a cool head brings.
Low traction driving is the most useful/important driving scenario to be skilled at.
Think about it, if you let the car do the work and hammer the throttle and stomp the brake whenever you want to stop or go what do you learn?
Things like understanding momentum, and feedback from the car will go a long way in the snow. With experience comes skill, don't ever get cocky no matter how skilled or you be in a ditch, that's just physics.

But if VSA make you a better driver In your mind then by all means turn it on! I'd hate to be there when you turn it off.

 

Couldn't agree with Slimchriz any more. Even here in south-central AK most people would rather pussy-foot around and be overly cautious instead of testing the limits of their car so they know what they and the car are capable of. Of course, similarly are those with big SUVs and trucks that aren't properly equipped with studded tires because, you know, they're fine because they have four wheel drive. Ha.

 

Well, in a way, it sounds like a "The Kids These Days" speech. Of course we should all be schooled in the "primitive arts" of living off the land, spinning our own yarn, and performing self-dentistry, but I like VSA.


I was born before calculators were invented and later saw the introduction of PCs / Apples, and now smartphones and Google Glasses. Big changes in the last 40 yrs but I love my spreadsheets and their graphing capabilities. I can't go back.


As a former "paper boy", I routinely throw cashiers for a loop by providing an increment of the payment to use up the change in my pocket and round off the returned difference. Without the machine telling them what to do, they have that "look" on their face.


The one thing that "drives" me crazy is the poor penmanship of the kids these days. Typing this and swiping that has hurt their fine motor skills to the point when they do write something, it looks like they had both hands on the pen.


Time marches on and with it technology and our allocation of brain power to things we have to do, want to do, and the rest we can delegate like wearing a seat belt rather than trying to brace myself for the crash. Yes, my first hand-me-down car didn't have seat belts or built-in turn signals. Arm gets pretty cold in the winter when you want to make a turn and then there is that big delay of hand cranking down the window in preparation of signaling and then putting it back up. Driving in the "old days" was pretty busy. Again, I like my VSA.