Stability and traction control failure warning light
03-07-2016, 06:55 AM
#1
Stability and traction control failure warning light
I'm on a week long road trip with the GT4 and today (the first day) I got a stability/traction control warning which put the car into a limp home mode and I'm just wondering if anyone knows what triggers it. I managed to 'clear' it by driving quietly for a bit, stopping, turning car off, rinse and repeat a few times but given I'm on an island with only 1 Porsche dealer it has me a little worried for the rest of the week.
Now I've got standard wheels and tyres and I was driving with the nannies on (so no hectic drifting) and was about 10 minutes into a fairly spirited hillclimb when it hit. And I say hit, it was like smashing the rev limiter, a big pop followed by the traction and stability control failure message and a message saying that I only have limited power.
The climb was mostly 2nd and 3rd gear with the odd tight hairpin in 1st and straight in 4th. There hadn't been any tickles from the traction control on this climb and I wouldn't say I'd been taking liberties, I'd been driving it pretty straight and just letting the rear move around a bit out of the slow stuff.
So anyone with any ideas with what causes it? At first I thought bad sensor/connection but it came right so that shouldn't be it. That leaves the way I'm driving but I'm not getting it really sideways, just a little bit of movement on corner exit which is below the traction control threshold. I wouldn't have thought this would cause the whole car to pack a sad but this is my first Porsche and maybe this is just what it does?
I'm just kinda hoping that someone can say 'ah, it's because of y so as long as you drive it doing x then it will be ok' because it's not fun when it happens on a driving holiday with the closest dealer 300 miles away.
Now I've got standard wheels and tyres and I was driving with the nannies on (so no hectic drifting) and was about 10 minutes into a fairly spirited hillclimb when it hit. And I say hit, it was like smashing the rev limiter, a big pop followed by the traction and stability control failure message and a message saying that I only have limited power.
The climb was mostly 2nd and 3rd gear with the odd tight hairpin in 1st and straight in 4th. There hadn't been any tickles from the traction control on this climb and I wouldn't say I'd been taking liberties, I'd been driving it pretty straight and just letting the rear move around a bit out of the slow stuff.
So anyone with any ideas with what causes it? At first I thought bad sensor/connection but it came right so that shouldn't be it. That leaves the way I'm driving but I'm not getting it really sideways, just a little bit of movement on corner exit which is below the traction control threshold. I wouldn't have thought this would cause the whole car to pack a sad but this is my first Porsche and maybe this is just what it does?
I'm just kinda hoping that someone can say 'ah, it's because of y so as long as you drive it doing x then it will be ok' because it's not fun when it happens on a driving holiday with the closest dealer 300 miles away.
Last edited by IMOA; 03-07-2016 at 07:48 AM.
03-07-2016, 09:47 AM
#3
Nordschleife Master
I'm with Jimmy...glitch. Keep driving it aggressively and don't worry about it,if the car's back to normal. If it does it again you'll have to take it in,but do it at your earliest convenience,you can continue driving it in the meantime.
And no,it's not typical Porsche. Actually the traction control in a Porsche,especially in a GT car is very lenient. It will let you have a little fun before intervening.
And no,it's not typical Porsche. Actually the traction control in a Porsche,especially in a GT car is very lenient. It will let you have a little fun before intervening.
03-07-2016, 03:17 PM
#4
Yeah, that's why I was surprised, in all other cars I've owned I've had to disable traction and stability on a spirited drive but the GT4 has given me enough leverage that I haven't felt the need. Until it pretty much shut the car down that is. I just want to try to ensure it doesn't happen again because I won't be anywhere near a dealer until Wednesday afternoon.