Icy roads - spun out into ditch

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn

- stock tires (just recently took my winters off) but a freak snowstorm happened and the rest is history
- no brakes as I was trying to correct the fish tail. I guess I should have clutched in to disengage power at some point?

Yeah... I don't want to come across as an obnoxious know-it-all. I've had my scary moments on icy roads too. So let me phrase it like this:
If this happened to me (-and it could) I'd note the following as lessons learned: When it snows and gets slippery on summer tires, 90 km/h is too fast. And when losing control and you instinctively release the throttle, engage clutch at the same time. Because free rolling wheels are more likely to gain lateral grip.
And again, I'm not trying to put you down, I'm just an old geezer who's learned all this the hard way.

[BlueSky]

Could of been worse right


My buddy did the exact same thing but smoked a raised storm drain in the middle of the ditch, cracked the cement all around it.


I'm with clearing the codes and drive on

[D88]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn

- stock tires (just recently took my winters off) but a freak snowstorm happened and the rest is history.

A snow storm in March is not a "freak snowstorm" in Canada. I can't believe you took your winter tires off already. I won't be removing mine until after May long weekend.

[Pkush]

Originally Posted by D88

A snow storm in March is not a "freak snowstorm" in Canada. I can't believe you took your winter tires off already. I won't be removing mine until after May long weekend.

Well we got a freak snow storm in Chicago today. Is it a "Freak snowstorm" in Chicago? lol

[Koa]

Originally Posted by Pkush

Well we got a freak snow storm in Chicago today. Is it a "Freak snowstorm" in Chicago? lol

c'mon kush, latitude is lower in Chi-town than canukland

[AznBRZer]

I think this is another case of "Wouldn't have happened if I had my winter tires on..."

No one got hurt at least.

[Pkush]

Originally Posted by Koa

c'mon kush, latitude is lower in Chi-town than canukland

yeah, but all over facebook people are saying the same thing "You don't put your summers on in March in Chicago".. Better wait till July to be sure!

Temps got up to 70 and my winters felt WAY too squiggly. Like Jell-o.

[Koa]

Originally Posted by Pkush

yeah, but all over facebook people are saying the same thing "You don't put your summers on in March in Chicago".. Better wait till July to be sure!

Temps got up to 70 and my winters felt WAY too squiggly. Like Jell-o.

I feel that. It's a case by case basis but rather be squiggly on sunny days for another month or so than spun out or wrecked imo.. you know your climate better than others so best judgement call on that one

Happy 'busy season' btw!

[cjd]

If the alignment is in reasonably good shape, you should be fine. There's the chance that a suspension arm or crossmember could be bent, but even that's not bad to fix (though may be time.) I've had to swap a front K-member on a different car for something similar (though that was a 10mph curbing on black ice...) Could be worse, and now you know.

Originally Posted by Pkush

Well we got a freak snow storm in Chicago today. Is it a "Freak snowstorm" in Chicago? lol

No. It's normal. We have a couple weeks to go before it starts being unusual (but not unheard of.)

The extra warm days were freak, but not snow. Though the amount of snow is a bit unusual.

[Pkush]

Yeah That's why I'm driving mom's jetta today

I haven't started yet..July/November. Can't wait.

[Brooklyn]

General update:

Got the car back. The CEL P0108 was caused by MAP/Barometric pressure circuit high input detected at 137KPA. I believe spec is 80-110KPA. Probably from snow entering intake while going into the ditch.

No visible damage to underbody found by mechanic.

Drove it home 130km at high speed and doesn't feel like the car is shaking, but I think I might get an alignment done anyway.

Only weird thing I notice is that during idle I smell something rubbery or something reminiscent of burnt clutch. Might get that checked too...

[ashtray]

Summer tires in the snow FTW! "Dear Penthouse: I never thought this would happen to me, but I was just driving straight and the summer tires lost all traction in the snow..."

Re: Warranty work. I know this forum robabky has a lot of new car noobs, but warranty is for repairs to the car that were defects in manufacturing. They're not for when you spin your car in to a ditch and expect the dealer to fix it for free. (unless a vehicle defect caused the car to drive in to the ditch, and summer tires in snow is a defect but not caused by manufacturer.)

Btw, remember kids, only put summer tires back on after temps are consistantly above 40 degrees. Just because it stopped snowing for a few days and warmed up, its not time to pack away your winter coat. Its also not time to put on summer tires. (btw, they're not called Spring tires!)

OP - glad no one was hurt and your car is probably ok. In the future consider pulling over and getting a tow before your car spins out. Crawl on the shoulder if you have to.

[Bristecom]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

Yeah... I don't want to come across as an obnoxious know-it-all. I've had my scary moments on icy roads too. So let me phrase it like this:
If this happened to me (-and it could) I'd note the following as lessons learned: When it snows and gets slippery on summer tires, 90 km/h is too fast. And when losing control and you instinctively release the throttle, engage clutch at the same time. Because free rolling wheels are more likely to gain lateral grip.
And again, I'm not trying to put you down, I'm just an old geezer who's learned all this the hard way.

With all due respect, you do not want to release the throttle or push in the clutch when you start spinning as that only exacerbates the spin. You actually want to throttle a little to keep traction on the rear and to stabilize the car.

It also sounds like you over-corrected when counter-steering. That's what caused you to fish tail. A good technique is to make a quick steering correction and return to center. If you need more, then do another quick correction until you're back in line - all while throttling a bit.

But the biggest mistake of all was your tires. Summer tires have nearly 0 grip on snow. So if you insist on driving on snow with them, you need to be SUPER slow and careful!

Lesson learned though hopefully. We all make mistakes. But yeah, I would actually encourage you to practice this in an empty parking lot or something the next time you get snow. That way you will know the limits of your car and how it behaves and how to handle it. When I lived up north, I would use every opportunity of snow to hone my driving skills.

[chaoskaze]

When in doubt power on

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