4wd potential issue

Quick question. I've noticed a good amount of torque steer under hard accelleration. I recently was able to light up the inside front tire accellerating in a corner in the rain with the traction control disabled. Does this seem right? I was able to maintain the wheel spin for about 50 feet! The dealer tells me that if something was wrong with tha awd system I would get a warning light. Can someone shed some light on this?

Dealer service time!!!

Dealer service time!!!Wouldn't it be normal to be able to spin the wheels with traction control (VSA) disabled? It will spin in the snow for sure with VSA off, so I don't see why it wouldn't under other slick conditions, such as a wet road.

I recently was able to light up the inside front tire accellerating in a corner in the rain with the traction control disabled. Does this seem right?
Yes it does. With the VSA turned off, all you have is VTM-4. While VTM-4 has the ability to distribute torque between front and rear axles, it cannot vary the torque between left and right wheels. So if you unweight an inside tire with VSA turned off, especially in the rain, that tire is going to spin. With VSA on, braking would be applied to that wheel to stop the spinning.

So turn the VSA back on and enjoy your Ridgeline. ;)

i'll accept the explanation for the inside front wheel being able to lose traction. i guess i would have expected the torque to be transferred to the rear.

does anyone else experience torque steer under hard acceleration? i even feel it on the highway when the tranny kicks down to third gear. i just don't remember it a few months ago...

As I stated earlier, have your dealer take a look. I have just 6k miles and 0 torque steer. The VTM-4 AWD system on our trucks states that the tourqe should be spread between front and rear. With VSA off, this will allow the tires to spin for conditions like mud, snow, steep slippery hills. With VSA on, the system can stop your forward momentum by applying the brakes to stop the wheel spin. With that said, the VTM-4 system should distribute the power between front and rear.

i brought it up to the dealer. they brushed the issue off by saying that if i wasn't getting any warning lights on the dash, all was in order.

I've noticed a good amount of torque steer under hard accelleration. I recently was able to light up the inside front tire accellerating in a corner in the rain with the traction control disabled.

That's not torque steer. That's driving with traction control turned off. Torque steer is a pulling (left or right) under acceleration. With that said, the RL does exhibit a certain amount of torque steer under normal conditions. Most front wheel drive cars with higher torque engines will exhibit a certain amount of torque steer.

As to why someone would be driving in the rain with traction control off is another question entirely. :confused:

Same debate in this forum about 9 months ago. Some vehemently opposed torque steer possibility, some believed it was present. I think when acceleration causes drive load to shift mainly to back tires, as the RL is designed to do, that the front end gets light and the change in feel from front to rear drive gives the sensation of steering loss (torque steer feeling to some). And if you are in a turn when accelerating, this sensation is magnified.

As mentioned in a post above torque steer is common and normal on front wheel drive vehicles. Try to nail my v6 6speed accord and see what happens. :eek:

2 questions:

why drive around with the traction control turned off in the 1st place?

Why disengage a safety/performance feature that makes your RL better than the vehicle next to you?

2why drive around with the traction control turned off in the 1st place?So you can spin the wheels!

And other than to make your fellow sophomores in high school think you're cool, what purpose does tire spinning accomplish? ;) :D

Outaline.

I own a 2000 V6 Accord and a Ridgline. I have driven many front wheel drive cars the exihibt nasty torque steer, but neither my Accord or Ridgeline show this tendency. The feel through the wheel does change but both my Accord and Ridgeline do nothing but go straight ahead if I accelerate from a stop with my hands off the wheel.

Does yours really pull or does the wheel just feel lighter?

Mine seems to torque steer quite a bit, I was thinking about asking if this is normal. It was a little unnerving the first time I hammered it to pass someone.

My RL has just modest torque steer when I really hit the gas. In normal driving it is unnoticable.

Remember what torque steer is - it means the vehicle changes direction under acceleration. The cause is the unequal twist in the drive shafts to each front wheel during hard acceleration because the drive shafts are not identical. Since these wheels also steer, the unequal twist causes the car to steer slightly. If this happened to the rear wheels it might not be noticable at all since the rear wheels don't steer.

As the originator of this post, allow me to clear a few things up:

1. Torque steer is caused by something we may all remember known as the "right hand rule". This has to do with rotational inertia; not unequal force between the left and right wheels.

2. i turned off the traction control on my vehicle as part of a controlled test to either confirm or denounce my hunches that something was wrong with the system. i was in a vacant parking lot on a rainy day. i do not make a habit of driving like an idiot.

The fact of the matter is that sometimes my truck exhibits torque steer and sometimes it doesn't. When i first got it, i didn't notice any. this was a huge plus to me, as my buddy's cr-v is pretty bad. since then i have noticed it on various occasion: hard accelleration from stand still; hard accelleration at highway speeds during wet conditions.

I am trying to figure out the exact nature of the "system" so i can feel confident that it is indeed behaving as designed, rather than exhibiting "british electronics" behavior (no offense to anyone across the pond).

I am trying to figure out the exact nature of the "system" so i can feel confident that it is indeed behaving as designed, rather than exhibiting "british electronics" behavior (no offense to anyone across the pond).


Ah,,,, Lucas Electronics.... when what you really want is peace, quiet and darkness. :)

I'm sure your RL did send the tourque to the rear wheels when you began getting wheel spin on that front wheel, however even under optimal conditions the RL will still keep at least 30% power to the spinning wheels, on slick roads that 30% was likely enough to maintain the wheel spin for a short time.

I'm all for experimenting with the vehicle, but a smarter plan would be to go to a dealership that doesn't know you and take one of theirs for a test drive, then experiment all you want on a vehicle that you can abuse without caring as long as you don't crash it.

Has any one had problem with the power steering when they hit a puddle during a rain storm? I have a 2006 RTL w/navi. When I hit the puddle of water it seems the power steering goes off (really hard to steer) then I hear a squeel about 15 feet after the truck leaves the puddle as if the belt was catching up with power steering and I can steer normaly. This has happed every time have hit water two inches or more. So far I havn't had to do any heavy manuvering when I lose the steering. Has there been a recall on this or is this just my truck? Any feed back is appreciated. Thanks.

That almost sounds like belt tension to me............

I did have a minor hydroplane incident on the way to work last month during a little mini-monsoon - after the truck got about 10 degrees off straight the VSA kicked in and brought it right back in line. No complaints at all - my old truck would have been spinning by then.

Has any one had problem with the power steering when they hit a puddle during a rain storm? I have a 2006 RTL w/navi. When I hit the puddle of water it seems the power steering goes off (really hard to steer) then I hear a squeel about 15 feet after the truck leaves the puddle as if the belt was catching up with power steering and I can steer normaly. This has happed every time have hit water two inches or more. So far I havn't had to do any heavy manuvering when I lose the steering. Has there been a recall on this or is this just my truck? Any feed back is appreciated. Thanks.
I had a similar problem with my trade-in. It may be time to replace the serpintene belt. mine had about sixty thou. miles on it and had "glazed", when it got wet it would slip until it dried. Hope this helps.