New Elantra SE Owner Questions
 

Hello,

Son has a new Elantra SE, and have been looking over the Owners Manual.
They did a good job on the manual, but still have the following
questions which don't seem to be addressed to well.

a. The tire pressure monitor: on my Buick, it shows the pressure
individually for each tire. Guess on the Elantra the only info. they
give is that one of the four is low. True ?
Any idea how low in p a tire has to get for their indicator light
to function ?

b. Guess the car has Traction Control and Stability Control: The
Stability Control has a switch for on and off. Under what conditions
would you want it off ?
There doesn't seem to be a switch for the Traction Control. Is it
always on ? Is it linked to the Stability Control Switch ?

(again, my Buick has an on/off for the Traction control, for
rocking the car in snow, perhaps, but has no Stability Control)

c. What is Eco Mode: guess there is a light for, but no switch.
Can anyone please explain a bit on this "mode" ? Selectable,
on or off automatically; does it cut power, etc. ?

Much thanks,
Bob

Re: New Elantra SE Owner Questions
 

> b. Guess the car has Traction Control and Stability Control: The
> Stability Control has a switch for on and off. Under what conditions
> would you want it off ?
> There doesn't seem to be a switch for the Traction Control. Is it
> always on ? Is it linked to the Stability Control Switch ?
>
My 2003 Elantra has Traction Control - ON by default but can be toggled OFF.
For what it's worth in the past seven years I've never needed to turn it
off. I'll be interested to hear what others have to say about it though.

Re: New Elantra SE Owner Questions
 

"Bob" <rgsros@notme.invalid> wrote
>
> b. Guess the car has Traction Control and Stability Control: The
> Stability Control has a switch for on and off. Under what conditions
> would you want it off ?
> There doesn't seem to be a switch for the Traction Control. Is it
> always on ? Is it linked to the Stability Control Switch ?

Tied together. The only time you want to turn them off is if you are riding
on the donut spare as the tires are mis-matched. Or to play in an icy
parking lot. The stability control will allow you to maneuver much better,
make tighter turns and maintain control.

I had an incident where I had to make a rapid evasive move to avoid hitting
another car. Wet road at 70 mph, a hard cut to the left, then right. It
was like the car was on rails If I was in my Buick, I'd have gone sideways
and possibly into the grass median that could have easily flipped me over.

From OP: Re: New Elantra SE Owner Questions
 

Hello,

Just a quick thanks for info., and all the other previous help.
Appreciate it.

Bob
----------------

On 3/4/2010 5:21 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>
> "Bob" <rgsros@notme.invalid> wrote
>>
>> b. Guess the car has Traction Control and Stability Control: The
>> Stability Control has a switch for on and off. Under what conditions
>> would you want it off ?
>> There doesn't seem to be a switch for the Traction Control. Is it
>> always on ? Is it linked to the Stability Control Switch ?
>
> Tied together. The only time you want to turn them off is if you are
> riding on the donut spare as the tires are mis-matched. Or to play in an
> icy parking lot. The stability control will allow you to maneuver much
> better, make tighter turns and maintain control.
>
> I had an incident where I had to make a rapid evasive move to avoid
> hitting another car. Wet road at 70 mph, a hard cut to the left, then
> right. It was like the car was on rails If I was in my Buick, I'd have
> gone sideways and possibly into the grass median that could have easily
> flipped me over.
>
>
>
>
>

Re: New Elantra SE Owner Questions
 

Victek wrote:
>> b. Guess the car has Traction Control and Stability Control: The
>> Stability Control has a switch for on and off. Under what conditions
>> would you want it off ?
>> There doesn't seem to be a switch for the Traction Control. Is it
>> always on ? Is it linked to the Stability Control Switch ?
>>
> My 2003 Elantra has Traction Control - ON by default but can be toggled
> OFF. For what it's worth in the past seven years I've never needed to
> turn it off. I'll be interested to hear what others have to say about
> it though.

I generally leave it in also in my Sonata. The computer can do things
like brake individual wheels that the driver can't do so this gives some
extra control that is otherwise not available.

Having said that, there are times when it is better to turn it off just
as there are times when it would be better to not have ABS. One of
those times is for better traction in deep (more than about 4") of snow,
especially wet snow. A car will stop faster in snow with locked wheels
than without, in cases where going in a straight line is OK. I can even
pump the brakes manually in deep snow and out-stop ABS and still
maintain reasonable steering control. Same thing going forward. A
spinning tire will go better in deep snow than one prevented from
spinning. This is because spinning allows the tire to move the snow
from in from of the tire to behind it faster and also allows the tire to
eject the snow stuck in the tread and get a fresh bite.

Yes, I know about about snow-on-snow sometimes offering better traction
and hence it being good for the snow to sometimes stay caught in the
tire tread, but this is generally true only in shallower, hard packed
snow and in cold weather. I can climb my somewhat steep driveway much
better in 6" of snow at 32F with the traction control off than with it
on. However, in most on the highway times, I always leave it on.

Matt