Topic: traction control on older vehicles...

[rockford]

i have a 98 with traction control.... curious to know if there is anything i can do to maintain it in order to avoid an unexpected lapse in operation??

should i live it on??  turn it off?? avoid accelerating so it doesn't kick in??  if traction control is not working... can the car still be driven??

all silly questions i know... but curious nonetheless!!

thanks...

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Traction control relies on sensors at the wheels and a computer. 

If the sensors sense that one or both drive wheels are spinning faster than the rest of the wheels, the computer intervenes.

On some systems, the computer will just cut the engine's power to try to reduce the spinning.

On other, more advanced systems, the computer will cut the engine's power while at the same time applying the brake to the spinning wheel.

I suppose that if the system failed, you would have to replace the sensors at the wheels.  I believe that the computer is a part of the engine's ECU, so if that went, your motor probably wouldn't run at all.

If the traction control system fails though, you can still drive the car.  It will simply be like driving a vehicle that doesn't have traction control - in other words, like most other 1998 vehicles.

[jamie1]

There is really no maintenance you can do to a traction control system, other then flushing the brake fluid. Traction control is used in conjunction with the ABS system and some also will use the PCM to cut back fuel to the engine. In short, if the traction control craps out, the ABS will most like crap out as well, but you will still be able to drive the car.

[rockford]

good to know....

thanks....