AWD vs. Traction Control

[Unregistered]

Hello,

We are gearing up to buy a Toyota Sienna and live in an area with very harsh winter weather. We definitely want to get a package with side curtain airbags, and I thought we definitely wanted AWD, but now I'm wondering about this traction control thing. It looks, in my sienna brochure, like you can't get a package that has both AWD and traction control. Do you know which is more helpful in ice and snow? We don't drive in off-road type conditions, just on slippery roads.


Thank you in advance for your help,
Vannesa

[papooses]

This was my question in another thread & basically, so long as you'll be driving on paved & salted roads then traction control is OK, but AWD is better ... still not quite as good as the 4WD & plow that I'm used to, but better on dangerous rural roads than traction control.
After hearing about the insurance benefit of the Sienna vs. the Odyssey [for me] & that the Sienna might be hybrid soon, I decided to hold off till I can afford the Sienna with AWD [hopefully hybrid?!] because I too live in a hilly windy icey rural area & in an emergency I'd rather know we're prepared to drive if we have to.

[Unregistered]

I have a Sienna w/ side curtain airbags, VSC & Traction control...I didn't get the AWD because it doesn't snow enough around here to warrant it & if the roads are that bad, we'll stay home. I owuld think you would be OK w/ the traction control if you aren't going to be out in the middle of no where...but ultimately it is up to you.
The 2006 sienna is going to have a hybrid I believe...although the 2005's will be out soon, so you could call & ask about the availibity of a hybrid then.
Erin

[sirrahn]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that VSC and TRAC are part of the AWD system on the Sienna. I'l see if I can find where I think I read that....

Ah, it's right here in my printed Sienna brochure..... there's a footnote about the package that contains VSC, TRAC, rear discs, wiper de-icer grid and DRL's that says those items are standard on AWD Siennas. HTH:-)nat~CPS tech and Sienna owner

[CPSDarren]

There are a few other threads on this with some useful information on this topic, too.

The short answer is that modern vehicles with decent quality all-season tires do quite well in most conditions, even without traction control or AWD for added grip. If you are in a rural area and face unplowed conditions, then you may want winter chains/snow tires, AWD or both. Otherwise, you'll be find without it. I've never been stuck once in Chicago area winters, and had rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive and traction control. If I lived in rural northern Minnesota, then yes I'd want AWD with snow tires, too. Otherwise, I'd personally opt for the much better gas mileage without AWD and take advantage of the roadside assistance provided with most manufacturer's warranties (or AAA) for that one time you do get stuck.

As for AWD and traction control, both serve the same purpose. Each is a system to send power to a spinning wheel. Without either system, a typical car will send all the power to a spinning wheel and leave you stuck even if only 1 front wheel is in a slippery spot. Traction contol brakes that spinning wheel and allows the differential in the transmission to send some power to the other wheel on the same axle. Traction control is not very efficient or fast acting, but it is inexpensive and works OK. With traction control and a FWD vehicle, both front tires would have to be spinning for you to be stuck, instead of just one.

AWD is a system of mechanical gears that can also send power to the rear wheels. That means you'd have to get one front and one rear wheel spinning before you get stuck with most typical AWD systems. The most inexpensive AWD systems are actually not much better than a FWD vehicle with traction control. Both allow you to get stuck once two particular wheels are spinning. A few have no ability to send power to a wheel that isn't spinning at all, and are hardly better in slippery conditions than any other car. Let the buyer beware.

The advantage of AWD really comes in when you add "limited slip differentials" to the rear and/or front axles. This allows the transmission to send power to more wheels and prevents you from getting stuck unless 3 or 4 wheels are spinning. Such limited slip differentials are more efficient and quicker to respond than traction control. Even so, many vehicle manufacturers opt to cut costs and use traction control with a simple AWD system. That still provides 4 wheels of traction, but isn't nearly as robust as the mechanical systems like those found in Audi 4-motion or Jeep Quadra Drive.