radiance

First of all Happy Chinese New Years Everyone.! ...Tonight is Chinese New Years Eve.

Anyways! today it was snowing like crazy in Vancouver, so had some sliding actiong going on since I live up on the mountains. As I got home, everything was fine, til I reached the street I live on. My car was was stuck as I was about to make a turn into my driveway. That time the snow had accumulated to about 10cm of snow already (no snow plow truck come by the street yet). As i was about to make a turn, I had to make some adjustments to back into my garage. Then my car started sliding side ways. I stepped a bit on the brake as the instant reflex reaction; then i stepped on teh gas pedal again, but the car made some weird noises like metal rubbing against each other . Then I stopped and thought something got under my car, but nothing was under it. I tried a couple more times but same result, the car won't move at all. So i got out of the car ran home and got out my shovel and started shoveling away around my car. After 20 min of shoveling THEN my car somehow began to move again.

So as i got back home, I had a talk with my dad on the phone. He said Benz cars made the cars with awd had this safety feature? that if ALL 4 wheels lose traction, the car will simply lock the 4 wheels and not budge to move. You guys have any thought on this? I don't see why the car need to lock all 4 wheels up though.

spotless

First, it's called Lunar New Year, not Chinese new year. Chinese should stop trying to take credit for everything, like pasta and lunar new year.

Anyhoo, if that's true, can you imagine all wheels locking up on freeway? I say the metal noise was ur ESP kicking in modulating brakes.

calgary

I believe the fact that you stepped on the gas pedal while none of the wheels had any traction, activated the ESP on all wheels (iow: No power - no go ) Once you shovelled the snow, you started driving slowly away and you had traction again...Perhaps you Vancouverites should get snow more often???

radiance

It is all the same to me Lunar New Year, Chinese New years or what ever else you want to call it. I was taught it was called the Chinese New Years, so it is for me.

HMM, maybe it was the ESP, but the light on my dash board wasn't flashing though, so I thought it could've been something else.

Of course I know that concept of shovelling the snow will get my car moving again. !!
I was just describing what solved my car getting stuck in the snow, and I tried to steer my car into the driveway before having to get out of the car and run home to get a shovel to start digging the snow around my car.

jstaneff

So, um, snow in Vancouver? Um ... down here in Seattle, it's just rain (41 F) and the threat of snow. Here's hoping for rain!

Maybe you need to head to Mountain Equipment and get a backpacker's snow shovel and put that in the back of the car? Next time you get stuck, you may be too far from home to run home for a snow shovel ;-)

(I keep on finding new "tools" this car needs. My other cars didn't need all this stuff!)

Oh, and what about chains? What size do we need?

radiance

Good idea to get a small snow shovel just incase of anything!

I have no idea about the chains for our cars...

tanktube67

happy new year

CarGuru

Doesn't the owners manual say something to the effect of turning ESP off when you feel you are stuck and extra wheel spin is needed for forward momentum? No doubt the shoveling helped, but I bet you would have freed the car by just turning the ESP off. Your pops was just reaching in air to sound informative, he was right to an extent but not really.

-Ryan

micropower99

I'm also from Vancouver and was driving all night tonight and had simply no problems with my 300 4M. I pass others with ease and not a hint of sliding or loss of control at anytime. I'm surprised you had that problem, possibly it was just a one time thing or something. But it's snowing like crazy eh and its february! I want sun hahaha

AsianML

Kung hei fat choi!

iirc, 4Matics have open diffs. ESP off might mimic the effects of an LSD to an extent to help get out of the snow as well as allow for more wheel spin.

I've done more than my fair share of snow drifting in the ML and not once has it simply refused to move.

iguess

radiance, happy CHINESE new year. sounds like spotless isnt happy that MANY people refer to it as chinese, instead of lunar. Even if it was wrong, why does it bother you? who cares, it can be whatever new year you want it to be.

GDawgC220

When stuck in snow/mud, turn off ESP and rock the car out.

If you leave it on, it'll just lock up your wheels every time you try and spin them to free yourself.

MikeInCanada

I don't know anyone OTHER than my wife's Chinese family that celebrates New Year's today. Are there other cultures that celebrate New Years today...to me it is Chinese New Years.

GDawgC220

Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year