DTSC wtf is that all about

[MoleT-5R]

Well folks just got the V50 a couple of weeks ago and a cracking car it is, nice to drive, economic and enough toys to keep most of us happy, but just one little issue has come to light in the recent snowy conditions, the DTSC wtf is this all about? As when the going gets a bit slippy this electronic device steps in and controls traction, which is great until you try climbing a steep snowy bank in the middle of the night and dtsc cuts in a shuts you down as it can not get grip and brings you to a complete halt. I managed to get to the top of the bank in reverse with the dtsc disabled and gave the dtsc one more try and I came to a grinding halt again and then disabled the dtsc and continued my journey home in 4-5 inchs of snow. What I want to know is there a method to drive this dtsc without it shuting the car down when things get slippy or are you meant to disable it when the going gets a bit tough, as my mrs wouldn't have a clue what was happening and would have been stuck in the snow, not knowing how to get her car moving again

[Harvey]

yep turn it off if the car gets stuck as it will just put the brakes on one side at a time to stop wheel spin,which will get the disc's very hot.
ah just reread post on my S60 there is a button to turn down the DTSC ,then if you press it 5 times it will turn it off.

[MoleT-5R]

yep turn it off if the car gets stuck as it will just put the brakes on one side at a time to stop wheel spin,which will get the disc's very hot.
ah just reread post on my S60 there is a button to turn down the DTSC ,then if you press it 5 times it will turn it off.

did turn it off after trying to make it work for me and promptly gave up, I then only used it on down hills, incase I suddenly need the recover traction on a descent, was just trying to work out if there was a suitable driving style to make dtsc work for you and not against .

[stribo]

I always turn T/C off when I'm driving in the snow, though it's not essential in the C70, as it doesn't seem to work anyway.

[LiamT4]

I always turn T/C off when I'm driving in the snow, though it's not essential in the C70, as it doesn't seem to work anyway.

Think the old style t/c only worked up untill about 15mph anyway.

I'v found on my car that turning the t/c off when stuck is the best way to get moving again.

[LeeT5]

DSTC (Dynamic Stability Traction Control)

I would strongly advise against disabling when the conditions are slippery, wet, ice or snow nor will it cause your brakes to overheat. If you or your missus is driving and you loose traction in a bend then having it ON may save your lives and indeed your car!
It is an electronic system incorporated into the ABS system that detects rotational movement of the wheels and if any one wheel is faster or slower ie (in a skid out of control) the it will electronically brake individual wheels to regain traction. It can also reduce power from the engine and therefore torque which will also enable control.

However, when in deep snowy conditions i would advise turning it off s you wouldn't be driving fast anyway.

[MoleT-5R]

I always turn T/C off when I'm driving in the snow, though it's not essential in the C70, as it doesn't seem to work anyway.

Thats what I did in the end, to continue my journey home, which the V50 managed really well considering how deep the snow was and that only a wider tracked vehicle had travelled the road before me, a full set of winters on it helped alot. Funny thing was when I reverseed up the bank and got to the top, I gave her a reverse flick to get the car travelling the right way again and as I did this the dtsc flashed up that it temporarily disabled spin control, which made me chuckle, as when your spining around is when you may need it and it switch itself off .....lol

[stribo]

DSTC (Dynamic Stability Traction Control)

I would strongly advise against disabling when the conditions are slippery, wet, ice or snow nor will it cause your brakes to overheat. If you or your missus is driving and you loose traction in a bend then having it ON may save your lives and indeed your car!
It is an electronic system incorporated into the ABS system that detects rotational movement of the wheels and if any one wheel is faster or slower ie (in a skid out of control) the it will electronically brake individual wheels to regain traction. It can also reduce power from the engine and therefore torque which will also enable control.

However, when in deep snowy conditions i would advise turning it off s you wouldn't be driving fast anyway.

Hitting the button once on the R only reduces the effect, which can actually help, because you can use the power to pull you out of a situation, whereas with it fully on, the engine just dies. TBH you'd have to be driving like a looney to get into trouble in an R anyway.

[MoleT-5R]

DSTC (Dynamic Stability Traction Control)

I would strongly advise against disabling when the conditions are slippery, wet, ice or snow nor will it cause your brakes to overheat. If you or your missus is driving and you loose traction in a bend then having it ON may save your lives and indeed your car!
It is an electronic system incorporated into the ABS system that detects rotational movement of the wheels and if any one wheel is faster or slower ie (in a skid out of control) the it will electronically brake individual wheels to regain traction. It can also reduce power from the engine and therefore torque which will also enable control.

However, when in deep snowy conditions i would advise turning it off s you wouldn't be driving fast anyway.

The point that I'm trying to make that in rural hilly locations dtsc is useless, due to the brake application and power reduction hindering forward momentum until the point of bringing you to a complete standstill halfway up a bank, which in turn is leaving you in a sticky choice of trying to go up or try to get back down.

Reducing the dtsc level would seem to be the only way to scale a snow covered slippery bank (but you need to disable it without losing momentum), which could be then switched back on to continue the journey once the bank is scaled. As for over heating the front brakes, this is possible and did happen when trying to reverse up the hill, when then dtsc detected a spinning wheel and applied the brake to it, until the point when it detected a brake overheat situation and then shut down the dtsc wheel spin control (which then made it easier to ascend the hill), as I also found as correct in the handbook, which I possibly should have read when we got the car....lol

I doubt if Lee will ever experience this as I would think his beautiful V70R awd would be safely tucked away from any severe weather like this and who could blame him

[volvokid]

yep turn it off if the car gets stuck as it will just put the brakes on one side at a time to stop wheel spin,which will get the disc's very hot.
ah just reread post on my S60 there is a button to turn down the DTSC ,then if you press it 5 times it will turn it off.

pushing the button 5x doesnt tottaly disable it, I did it in the snow and it still kicked in.

[M-R-P]

pushing the button 5x doesnt tottaly disable it, I did it in the snow and it still kicked in.

Aaah but was that the DTSC or the ESP? The anti-skid control system doesn't get turned off and has the ability to cut the throttle if it things are really bad (IIRC)

[volvokid]

Not sure, I just seen the light flashing away on the dash

[MoleT-5R]

Aaah but was that the DTSC or the ESP? The anti-skid control system doesn't get turned off and has the ability to cut the throttle if it things are really bad (IIRC)

As you say Martin, as it appears in the handbook, that the spin (wheelspin) control is the only one that can be lowered Active Yaw Control (stability) can't be switched off and would still be able to cut power and apply the brakes when it things it's needed to keep stability, I'll have a play with it on my way to work tomorrow, as I can't remember what was said on the dash as I attempted to turn the functions off and there's no snow to play in now, who would believe we could go from 6 inches to nothing in less than 24 hours

[MoleT-5R]

Not sure, I just seen the light flashing away on the dash

If the light was flashing then it was active, if it's on perminately after you have pushed the button then it is lowered so spin control should be off.

[M-R-P]

I had to turn the DTSC off on mine because, as you say, it just ground to a halt, trying to get up the hill, out of my road. I turned it off and burned through the ice till i got traction - 30 foot burnout, uphill at 5:45am

I've turned mine off in the dry before and had a good thrash about. The skid control faffed with the brakes a lot and at one point, it dipped the throttle.

Stupid thing

[MoleT-5R]

I had to turn the DTSC off on mine because, as you say, it just ground to a halt, trying to get up the hill, out of my road. I turned it off and burned through the ice till i got traction - 30 foot burnout, uphill at 5:45am

I've turned mine off in the dry before and had a good thrash about. The skid control faffed with the brakes a lot and at one point, it dipped the throttle.

Stupid thing

I could imagine getting a rude phone call from the Mrs, as she found her new car would not let her get home as there was a steep snowy hill that it had shut down on as she tries to climb it and doesn't have a clue about dtsc functions on the stalks.....lol

[M-R-P]

I could imagine getting a rude phone call from the Mrs, as she found her new car would not let her get home as there was a steep snowy hill that it had shut down on as she tries to climb it and doesn't have a clue about dtsc functions on the stalks.....lol

On the stalk?

Flash git - mine's below the heater controls.. strangely, I can reach it with my finger when I select 1st...

[volvokid]

If the light was flashing then it was active, if it's on perminately after you have pushed the button then it is lowered so spin control should be off.

If you push the button once, it says stability control reduced, or somthing like that, if pushed 5 times it tells you its off, mine was off but it still functioned to some extent.

[volvokid]

On the stalk?

Flash git - mine's below the heater controls.. strangely, I can reach it with my finger when I select 1st...

yeah you have to go through a menu on the stalk, just like your trip comp but its more fiddly than pushing the button on your dash

[M-R-P]

If you push the button once, it says stability control reduced, or somthing like that, if pushed 5 times it tells you its off, mine was off but it still functioned to some extent.

Mine only has 2 modes - on or off. The P2 R has the 5 - press thingy but mine only has to worry about 1 diff