Traction

[sailronin]

I admit it, I drive like a little old man. No burnouts, "close" to the speed limit (at or slower than traffic flow), just don't want tickets in my "new" C5 ( my last speeding ticket was 22 years ago at 145 mph on a street bike, very expensive).
Yesterday was making a decreasing radius turn and adding throttle on the way out of the turn when the back end began to get a bit loose. Counter steer, step on the throttle and........nothing. Like the peddle wasn't working!
Car lined up again and everything's OK. Is this the normal way traction control works, totally adbrupt? I was pretty suprised, Mercedes has traction control but it is a more gradual feeling system, believe it has more to do with braking.
I am reluctant to turn Traction Control off, as it rains a lot in S. Florida this time of year and don't want to forget to reactivate in sudden rain squalls.

Thanks
Dave

 

[vett boy]

Doesn't sound right.I'm not aggressive either but have felt the traction control work twice in wet conditions and it was very mild.I'm sure you'll get better replys--Steve

 

[wishuwerehere82]

You get about 1/2 sec. of tire spin and traction control takes over. First it applies braking to balance the wheel spin and then it kills the throttle. I like to take off from side streets in a spirited manner and if there is the slightest bit of gravel at the intersection, the throttle dumps out and bogs it down. Not fun if you're trying to beat traffic onto a street.

 

[sailronin]

Wishuwerehere,
That sounds about right, guess it's working! I've tried holding in the button but don't have "competition mode" so it's either all or nothing.

Dave

 

[DRTH VTR]

Does your car have stability control as well as traction control?

 

[sailronin]

No stability control, just the standard traction control.

 

[ToolGuy]

I turn mine off most of the time but do not drive in the rain. Yeah, it really kills the RPM's when it does activate.

I have traction issues going from first to second but that is not the same as your issue!

 

[Eric]

Wishuwerehere,
That sounds about right, guess it's working! I've tried holding in the button but don't have "competition mode" so it's either all or nothing.

Dave

Are you holding the "Active Handling" button down? If so, I don't think you can do that unless the car is at rest. The time it takes it to kick in is inconsistent in mine - sometimes it takes only a couple seconds, others it may take closer to ten seconds before the "Competitive Driving" show up on the DIC.

As far as the affect you are describing, it sounds similar to the reaction I get as well. If I have it in Comp mode and I hit the brakes the Active Handling kicks back in.

- Eric

 

[Tuna]

Less than half the '99 MY cars were equipped with Active Handling. The RPO is JL4 - if you got it, it should be listed on the RPO sticker.

That said, it sounds like your traction control is working as designed. Our ex '98 coupe exhibited similar characteristics. In the heat of driving, it time delay between activation and deactivation seems to be forever. You should try a 92-95 C4 - the early TC systems were real intrusive.