[Tenknots]

It snowed a little here this morning and I thought I'd see how well the Stabilitrak works. I've had other cars with it and while it usually means no fun in the snow, it's nice to have in an emergency. But my 2013 Volt seems to not be equipped. I slid around a turn and it didn't try to correct as my other cars have. I tried it again and no joy. Traction control seems to work as do the anti-lock brakes. If I press the button on the roof console, the message I get is that the traction control has been turned off, not Stabiltrak.

I thought all Gen 1 Volts came standard with this. Mine's got leather, Bose, etc so I assume it has most options.

Thoughts?

 

[hellsop]

It snowed a little here this morning and I thought I'd see how well the Stabilitrak works. I've had other cars with it and while it usually means no fun in the snow, it's nice to have in an emergency. But my 2013 Volt seems to not be equipped. I slid around a turn and it didn't try to correct as my other cars have. I tried it again and no joy. Traction control seems to work as do the anti-lock brakes. If I press the button on the roof console, the message I get is that the traction control has been turned off, not Stabiltrak.

I thought all Gen 1 Volts came standard with this. Mine's got leather, Bose, etc so I assume it has most options.

Thoughts?

Press and HOLD the TCS button. It'll turn off TC first, and then after a few seconds, you'll the Stabilitrak off message. Press again turns both back on.

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...CS)-and-StabiliTrak-(ESP)-Manual-Deactivation

 

[El Dobro]

Stabilitrak has been standard equipment on many if not most GM cars for about 7-8 years now, including all the Volts.

 

[Steverino]

All have it, but 2011 and maybe some 2012(?) do not have an Off option.

 

[Jmaj]

First major snow after I got my 2013 I took it to a large empty parking lot, turned the wheel to the lock and mashed down on the accelerator pedal. Car just drove around in a circle, no drama.
First thing I would check are the tires.

 

[AZ EV Driver]

Remind me what does snow look like?

VIN # B0985

 

[Mister Dave]

Front wheel drive = no fun in the snow.

 

[llninja]

The other thing to understand is that stabilitrak is made more for taking curves where you have some traction. Snow and ice isn’t the right stuff, but if you were accelerating out of a turn and hit water, gravel, or sand, then the system will do it’s best to keep you from spinning out.

I got to play with stabilitrak with a CTS at track. Basically halfway through a curve, you can mash the accelerator to the floor and hear the tire chirp, feel like the rear end is about to lose traction, but the car stays on course combining brakes and traction control.

So get some snow tires and try again.

 

[dannycamps]

Federal law requires that all cars produced after a certain year (I want to say initially 2010 but probably closer to 2012) be equipped with stability control as standard equipment.

One of the mandates is that it can be disabled by the driver.

 

[BAZINGA]

When I tracked my Corvette's I played HERO once and turn off AH (Active Handling) and dam near spun out, after talking to some of the instructors they convinced me to leave it on. It was a great safety net, when I over drove a corner it quickly and safely corrected and kept me on the track.

After that I never turned it off again when on the track.

 

[hellsop]

All have it, but 2011 and maybe some 2012(?) do not have an Off option.

I've got a pretty early 2012 (Oct 2011 in-service) and it's got an off switch. Dunno about the 11s.

 

[Monzsta]

I gotta say I'm very impressed with my Volt's handling in the snow. No drama whatsoever. The drive wasn't even remotely challenging. Boring, really. The Firestone Fuel Fighters provided plenty of grip on snow and ice, and I didn't even miss my Jeep, which is down for repairs. What an outstanding car!

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Remind me what does snow look like?

VIN # B0985

It's that funny white stuff that covered the ground for a while a few years ago.

 

[kgvickers]

On the subject of Stabilitrak, I think it's a bit too-nanny on the Volt. Cloverleafs are much more fun with it turned off. I'm used to the stability control that was on my last car, a 330i zhp. It was not nearly as intrusive as the Chevy system.

Glad my year has the option to turn it off.

 

[Barry]

^ the Stabilitrak was oversensitive on my car, too. That cleared up completely when I rotated the tires. I think if you have less tread depth on the front tires, that makes it more likely to engage somehow. Now mine never engages unless on snow/ice.