Anybody out there have any close calls yet?

Yesterday a soccer mom in a minivan almost wiped out my new TCH. It was in a residential subdivision and I had the right of way and this minivan approached a stop sign on my right going about 15-20 mph and slid right through the stop sign with tires locked up on snow/ice.

I could immediately see by her speed and her locked up wheels that she was going to hit me, so I barely had time to say "oh, *$(#+", hit the brakes, swerved hard left, and somehow we managed to miss each other.

The TCH reacted and handled marvelously. Something started beeping at me after the close call like maybe the anti-lock brakes were activated. But over all I was very impressed with how the vehicle's accident avoidance systems worked.

 

Oh yeah. I had some jackass swerve into my lane - I suppose because it was the faster lane and she made an impulse decision. She obviously didn't see me, but I saw her in time to swerve myself, into the third lane.

My car did quite well, but I was more impressed with my impulses - they were spot-on.

 

I don't ever recall hearing my car beep at me, but the traction/VDIM/ABS indicator (the one that looks like a skidding car) blinks. I have been impressed with the ability of the VDIM to keep the car on its intended path while turning and screwing around in parking lots. I tried this in my wife's Honda, and almost put her car in a snowbank. The TCH carved the turn like a skier would.

 

I tested out the stability control last week and the car beeped rather ferociously. Traction control doesn't beep and ABS probably doesn't either.

 

Yup, you aren't getting crazy until the TCH start beeping. The flashing light just means you ran over a snowflake or two on the road

 

I gotta try that. I haven't heard mine beep yet, but I am absolutely sure that the system has intervened in a parking lot to get my car to stay on course when I tried turning hard to the left and jumping on the throttle.

This was a very slippery hard packed snow/ice surface.

 

The beep sounds like a fighter jet incoming missile warning. It Def. gets your attention.

The pitch and yaw is out and the VDIM will have tightened up your steering somewhat from turning in the wrong direction to help you from making the situation worse.


I giggled the first time mine when off. I was just having some fun on a slushy, traffic free street at the time.

 

Looks like I need to find a nice big parking lot to play in...