Bon
Allscion -- an e-commerce website with news and accessories for your Scions
http://www.allscion.com/store


http://www.autospectator.com/cars/to...-toyota-lineup

October 1, 2007 – Torrance, CA - The Toyota Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system was first introduced in select Lexus models in 1997. The system was designed to help reduce lateral skids caused by sudden steering inputs or abrupt changes in road conditions on curves. Since its introduction, VSC has become available on a wide range of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles.

Past studies have concluded that a significant number of one-car accidents resulting in serious injury are caused by lateral skidding conditions, and loss of driver control, often due to sudden steering input or changing road conditions on curves. The VSC system is designed to help reduce lateral skids through active control of the brakes and engine output, such as when the driver steers abruptly, or when turning on slippery road surfaces. VSC works in concert with the anti-lock brakes (ABS) and traction control (TRAC) systems to help prevent straight-line skids and lateral skids.

The VSC system harnesses the ABS and TRAC sensors, actuators, and computer electronics to help avoid and recover from vehicle skids and spins. A combination of three sensors - - a lateral G-sensor, yaw-rate sensor and steering-angle sensor - - detect when the vehicle's direction of travel does not correlate with driver steering inputs. It then uses throttle and selective brake intervention to help maintain the path of travel.

In the event of "fishtailing," VSC will command instantaneous braking on the vehicle's front outer wheel creating rotational power (or momentum force) to the outer side, helping the vehicle to stay on course. In cases where the vehicle skids toward the outside of the curve, braking on the rear inner wheel and reduced engine power are applied.

The VSC system also includes a slip indicator, which beeps to warn the driver the tires are about to exceed the grip limit.

The VSC system is standard equipment on all Toyota and Lexus sport utility vehicles (SUV), select Sienna vans, the Scion xB urban utility vehicle, and virtually all Lexus passenger cars. It is available as an option on nearly all other Toyota passenger cars and the Lexus ES and IS models.

Source: Toyota

 

Any names stand out in there!

I was truly amazed back in 2004 that my $15k econo box had VSC, ABS and TRAC all standard.

It's a great feature to have. The technology is getting cheaper, and I'm sure this will become as normal as airbags.

-THE DON

 

Nooooooo!!!!! I hate VSC and TRAC... It's the reason why I won't buy a Lexus IS. For my kind of driving, it's just too intrusive! I prefer BMW's system that doesn't kick in until you REALLY need it. At the taste of Lexus event, VSC beeped at me continuously throughout the entire test track. IMO, it's a system that is better suited and tuned for Camry's, and not performance oriented vehicles.

 

you do know that you can turn off the VSC and TRAC, right?

 

yea there is an off switch on the is, gs, and ls.

 

Yes, there's an off switch, but then it negates the idea of stability control. It's ideal to have on for 99% of driving, but it should only kick in when absolutely necessary. Plus, I thought that you could only turn it off when stopped.

VSC is fine for 90% of drivers. But I fall into a small niche of picky drivers.

 

Right, who needs any of those gadgets when you're drifting. ::

 

Yeah... I mean... What's better than drifting in a FWD car? Seriously!

 

VSC sucks! Deatch to VSC and Traction Control! It has almost killed me plenty of times!

 

I do not condone drifting at all! I think it is a dumb and pointless sport... Having said that, there is a time and place when deliberate oversteer is useful...

...and that's when you are experiencing heavy understeer, entering a turn too hot. Often times this is the ONLY way to save yourself from crashing, but it isn't meant to be the fastest way to get around a corner (which would be to hit the apex).

In a FWD car, under heavy understeer, use the handbrake to take the load off the front tires, and then throttle can be used to pull the car towards the apex. A well balanced car paired with a driver can use lift throttle oversteer to create the same effect.

In a RWD car, all is needed is good throttle control for the same results.

But then again... This only applies to people who drive HARD and at or near the car's limit. Most people will never drive hard enough to understeer in the first place and won't know what to do if it happens. But the fact of the matter is that no stability control will ever save you from understeer, as it is a result of excessive turning forces. And being that stabilit control's primary focus is to prevent oversteer, it leaves you with no options except to ease the rate of turn... Which usually means crashing into a wall.

IMO, stability control is best suited to ONLY oversteer prone cars or those that have a tendency to roll over. It takes a LOT of intentional effort to oversteer a FWD car... But then again I live in sunny Los Angeles, where it never snows.

 

My ES 300 have an off switch

 

Isn't that the point?

 

VSC is what saved my ___ last night, whew!

 

will it be on the new 09 tc though?

 

The government wants Stability Control and Side Impact Air Bags standard on ALL vehicle sold in the US by 2009 I think.

 

Yup, we all drive like race car drivers on the street. Requirements for a race track and street driving are always different.

Any person driving at the limit on the street in their car is an idiot. The point has been already brought up that you can turn off the trac/vsc system on the IS, now letting the driver use all their skill to race around those corners in the neighborhood and stop and go traffic. Using oversteer to run dough nuts around everyone.

 

isn't VSC supposed to become mandatory on all cars by 2012?

 

somewhere around that time frame.

 

I think that ABS is supposed to be mandetory then too... and RSCA by 2009... pretty soon they'll just give us rubber cars that drive themselves and helmets...

 

does anyone know if you can turn off the VSC and TRAC on the tc other than pulling the fuse?