Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Hi all you 4x4 enthusiasts,
I drive a Pajero 3.2 DID LWB, and not as experienced 4x4 guru as I would like to be. I just come back from a trip, where I went up a mountain with many loose rocks. Halfway up my vehicle started stinking, got quite a fright... friends tell me it was the brakes getting hot due to the traction control. My problem is that when I switch the traction control off, and want to switch it back on, it does not switch on, later it will decide to switch itself on?
Can anyone please explain what is happening and what the correct procedure is to ascend and descend difficult and steep terrain especially with loose rocks?

It deactivates when the brakes are hot and reactivates when the brakes have cooled.

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Vickaa,

Don't worry - you will get to know your car over time.

Just some semantics:
The system you turn off is actually the stability control, the traction control is always active.

There is also a very specific driving style that suits T/C best - it is one where you keep a very steady right foot and just allow the computer to do the thinking. "Normal" old fashioned 4x4 driving is where you lift your right foot when a wheel starts spinning, not so with T/C. Keep it steady and the system will catch the spinning wheel and transfer traction to where it offers go-forward.

When you were crawling around with your Pajero, were you in low range and were you in manual-tiptronic mode? Are you sure you were smelling the brakes and not the gearbox. If you were in auto mode, the box was most probably struggling along in 3rd gear and running on the torque converter and thus generating lots of heat. When the traction control is over heating it is evident by the ABS warning system that lights-up as a warning of overheating brakes.

Vickaa,

I tried to PM you, but to no avail. I am a LBC person and my computer showed me a toffee. Pse phone or SMS your number and I shall contact you.

Cloyd (083 564 9141)

So should you always use TT when you in low range? I find it helps going down long hills, saves my riding the breaks, but should you also keep it in TT when you going up high/steep hills


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I also found that reducing tyre pressure slightly when going off roading assists greatly in giving the wheels more grip on rocky terrain as it moulds over/around the rocks, thus making the traction control work better and longer before it overheats. Also as Roelf stated, you have to learn how to drive a Traction Control vehicle as you tend to drop the power when a wheel starts slipping. This stops the TC and then it has to restart again when you push down on the accelerator again to get going. This constant on/off heats it up quickly. Just keep throttle steady about halfway in and concentrate on steering.

Having it in the manual mode also helps the gearbox and leaves you in much more control.

CATS

I can add a few comments based on my own experience. Many of these points have been made above as well.
1. Loose rolling rocks are perhaps the most difficult terrain for the traction control system and induces extreme brake temperatures.
2. To save the brakes from total destruction TC is automatically switched off when a certain brake temperature is reached. This goes along with a continuous toot.... toot.... alarm inside the cabin. This will restore to normal only once the brake temparature is normalised again. Best is to stop when this happens and to let the brakes cool down, else you will really battle for traction. You can even smell the heat from the brakes in worse cases.
3.The switch you have on the centre console only controls stability control (also called skid control). SC is only applicable at speed as it recovers the vehicle from slides etc. through corners. In low range it (SC) has no purpose and is switched off automatically and has no effect on your car's traction abilities.
4. Such loose rocky terrain is often best driven with some momentum (ie Speed). I find TT locked in "2" (ie. low range second gear)does this the best.
5. And yes keep the right foot steady, do not tap off at all. If you feel the car goes to fast touch the brake pedal with your left foot while holding the throttle open. (Practice your let foot braking during normal braking conditions to get used to the feel).
6. So when does one switch off stability control with the console switch? Only when you understand why two wheels on the same axle runs at different speeds and you accept to drive like that. (Eg. you have fitted a smaller wheel as an emergency or you are running one tyre largely underinflated compared to its counterpart on the same axle.) Some sportier drivers may also like to sometimes switch this off so they can play through the corners sideways.

And you always switch S/C off when doing sand driving.