Yaris horrible in snow.

[white_rice]

I was just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on the Yaris' performance in the snow. Over the past month I've had a FEW close calls with mine losing control on backroads on the way to and home from work. I live out in the country mind you, with some seriously drifted roads; many which have not yet seen a snowplow. With that said, I have a 2008 Yaris LE Hatchback, running 14" steelies w/ brand new Firestone Winterforce tires. I honestly feel that the problem is that the car is too front heavy. I think once the car looses a little control that the back end just starts tossing around too easily. My in-laws have a ~2004 Chev Cavalier running OEM tires and it outperforms my Yaris on these same type of roads by a long shot. Driving the Cavalier, just feels a lot more heavy and secure on the roads. You feel a lot more confident when you run into a drift that it's going to stick to the ground. I've just recently set a couple of large bags of water softener salt in the hatch to weigh down the rear end a tad to see if it helps.

Anyone else have thoughts on the matter? My wife's Matrix feels a lot more secure as well.

[yaris2010RS]

funny i think the yaris is one of the best front wheel drive cars i have even been in for winter weather. i find even in a slide its easy to recover vs other cars i have driven. mind u, at the same time this is only the second car i have driven with stability control and i love it. the trac and stability control is amazing and much more advanced and much more advanced then the system installed on the kia soul. that is a bad car in winter.

i did drive the first part of winter with OEM all seasons but since i do a lot of night driving and i do alot of km per year i decided to get winter tires and to be honest i have never felt so safe. before my yaris, if there was too much snow out i wouldnt go out but now i love it.

like today for example, spent the evenning out in the country driving around in the fresh snow

[Tom48]

You have the best drive train for snow (front wheel drive). The OEM wheels are not very good on the snow, I think because the car is too light. If we got more than 2 or 3 snows a year I would switch to snow tires. In regards to the back end sliding around, so what, the front is what is moving the car forward.

[YAR1S]

I think my yaris drives good in snow less than 8 inches, but some snow like wet snow is harder to drive in compared to fluffy snow.

[andaconda]

I once had a Dodge Neon with the same problem.
A 4 wheel alignment fixed the issue with the back end slide.
Just a thought...

[MadMax]

Front wheel drive vehicles are difficult to drive in icy/snowy conditions by their very nature. The natural reaction to a car starting to slip is to let off of the accelerator which causes the front wheels to decelerate thus exasperating the issue (the free moving rear wheels will continue to "pass" the slowing front ones). Letting off the gas during a slide in a rear wheel drive car causes it to "snap" back in line as the deceleration forces the back to get back in line with the front.

The best solution is 4WD with a steady and smooth foot. No sudden acceleration or braking, or trying to do more than one maneuver at a time (accelerate, brake or turn), and driving in ice and/or snow is not a problem.

You can't also expect ABS to save your ass, it's for emergencies and in some cases will not slow you down faster than a vehicle without it. Both my Yaris and Jeep don't have it, and with proper techniques I can stop both in as short of distances as vehicles equipped with it.

We just had snow and ice here two weeks ago, and I ended up driving the Jeep not only because it drives better in it but also because no one else here knows how to drive under those conditions (all those years of living in Europe has taught me) so I'd rather be in a larger steel vehicle in case I was hit by one of the morons slipping and sliding all over the place!

Cheers! M2

[marcus]

all front wheel drive drives the same in snow just a matter of what winter tires you have on it . of course hp maybe be a factor.

[white_rice]

Yeah I can probably honestly say of all the 15+ cars I've had over my 20 years of driving, that this is probably the car I feel the less safe driving in the winter. Day and night difference even from my Celica or Matrix. I had to get it pulled out of the ditch just 2 weeks ago, and that was driving at such a slow speed, people were passing me as if I were standing still (of course all in much larger vehicles; such as trucks and SUVs). But as soon as I hit a small drift, the car loses complete control. Probably once we have a baby over the next couple of years, I will trade this car in for something heavier, and safer. Possibly even 4 wheel drive.

[MUSKOKA800]

My sedan is very surefooted on snow with it's X-Ice and also it's previous Nordic Ice radials.
That said, the one snow experience I had on the OEM Goodyear LS no-seasons was just plain scary. Even lowered, I'd have no issue with heading north into Muskoka with this set-up.

[white_rice]

I wonder if there is a better front to rear weight balance in the sedan vs. the hatchback.. I think that has a lot to do with overall control as well. I might even consider trying out a different brand of snow tire next season to see if any difference. The X-Ice have always been given rave reviews.

I still think I will purchase a new Tundra or Tacoma 4x4 however within the next few years as a replacement. I've always been keen on the idea of having a truck for hauling reasons as well, since I enjoy landscaping and hobby work.

[thebarber]

i also have winterforce tires this year....185-65-14

i think its the tire. the brand i had last year (can't remeber the name - - its a non-name brand) were 10x better than the winterforce tires.

i find they don't grip that well when its cold and dry and in snow they just don't dig in as well as you'd think for such an open tread. my previous tire/tires made the car feel much more sure-footed.

coupled with a 2300lb curb weight, the winterforce tires just aren't doing it for the yaris...

[2005rs]

I'm a little surprised you've had so much trouble. Granted my echo is a different platform, but similiar. I used to commute 1.5hrs, much of it on hwy 400, much of it in very poor driving conditions.
the car is light and rides on top of thick slush, but has always responded predictably with a bit of understeer. I've only encountered oversteer when pushing the car hard or when deliberately starting it with some e-brake
I use champiro gt radial snows; about as cheap a snow tire as you can get
my wife is a more hesitant driver and often has the kids in the car with her. that's why she drives the taurus

[WeeYari]

My 3rd season running Goodyear Nordic 175/65/14 on steelies. Nothing stops her!

[white_rice]

Adam.. good to know of someone else running the same brand tires on their Yaris. It could very well be this particular rubber then! Because honestly I've never experienced such poor handling in my life until now. I'm thinking I'll be dumping these tires for another brand next winter, to try this out again.

[Viperoni]

I find my Echo not particularily sticky regardless of the conditions or tires, but it is very controllable. It's very easy to bounce back and forth between understeer and oversteer by just letting off the gas and getting back on it.

Winterforce tires don't have a very sticky compound, but they should be pretty decent for deep snow because of the tread pattern.

[Bluevitz-rs]

The tire size can also affect handling dramatically. You should be running skinny tire in the winter if you drive in deep snow. Like 175 at max. The more width you have the more the tire will float above the snow as it rolls.

[thebarber]

i had 185's last year and they didnt suck like the winterforce tires too

but its still better than all seasons

[yaris2010RS]

i use 185's and they are epic (compared to the OEM one seasons)

[bkndacn]

OP: I completely disagree! My Yaris is the second best car that I've owned in the snow (granted I'm a lil further south from you but we get a pretty good amount of snow in the winter) second only to my Suzuki Sidekick. I drove my sidekick in a 4 foot blizzard with no problems :headbang:.... but of course that had 4 weel drive!

As far as ice is concerned No one can drive on ice not a Yaris or a Jeep (maybe a tank :biggrin:)

I love driving in the snow because I know and understand how to drive in the snow... and for me the Yaris has proven to be a very dependable snow car for me!

Btw OP: I wasn't saying that you don't know how to drive in the snow :respekt:
I mean you do live in Canada! lol

[thebarber]

i honestly think a lot of why it sucks in the snow is the tires...

[2005rs]

maybe we should have a yaris echo meet here and compare tires...

[alan1828]

In winter I usually have something in the truck for the weight and always have a full tank, that being said its quite heavy so I don't fly or drift off the road. My Yaris is also lowered with 15" rim and winter wheelies "Dunlop" and no no its not the tennis ball rubber...

[white_rice]

I'm anxious to try out a better brand of tire next winter already. It might very well be that this particular tire absolutely sucks in our winter driving conditions. I can honestly say it's no driver error, as when you're driving in a straight line at 40-50KM/H max and the car looses control and starts to spin in circles, there isn't much that be done to prevent anything at that point. If anyone is looking to buy cheap winter tires next season, I'll have some up for sale! :)

[thebarber]

i have winterforce on the yaris and blizzaks on the aveo....HUGE difference in grip and handling

[Viperoni]

maybe we should have a yaris echo meet here and compare tires...

I ilke it, except you're not across the street lol

[yaris2010RS]

I ilke it, except you're not across the street lol

it would be worth the drive

[2005rs]

it's getting a little late in the year to organize something other than a drive around and coffee/lunch
right now the ice is smooth enough one could do some impromptu autocross (away from the ice road and fish huts of course)
of course, everyone knows that your insurance company, caa, and your spouse will have nothing to do with this

[Viperoni]

it would be worth the drive

Funny, I went to Glen Eden today and saw the Acton sign on the off-ramp hahah



White_rice, FWIW, my WS-50's on the front are almost at the wear bars now, and they're nowhere nearly as sticky as they were before, but they still get the job done. The rears that have around half-depth left still grip fine, and I can switch lanes on a slushy/snowy highway at over 100 without much worrying.
I just stay in the gas :D

[yaris2010RS]

Funny, I went to Glen Eden today and saw the Acton sign on the off-ramp hahah



i have no idea what the relevance of acton is.....other then y the hell would they put the action sign all the way down by glen eden

as for glen eden how was it? i love going boarding there, its way better and cheaper then hockly and they are about the same distance away. have u ever been to the caledon skii club? apparently conditions there are always top notch.

[mojoyaris]

I haven't posted here in a long time but thing the Yaris is awesome in the snow.
Did 2 snow rallies in one and some ice racing (Ice X). Just needed some studded tires and the car would have been faster!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2uUY76O4OM

[mojoyaris]

As far as ice is concerned No one can drive on ice not a Yaris or a Jeep (maybe a tank :biggrin:)


I think with some Studded tires the Yaris can do very well on ice.
Especially on a frozen lake! That's all ice! LOL.

[mojoyaris]

Another little story about a stage that we were late for the start. My navigator and I were in the Yaris and following a 2011 Sti.
We both had a blast driving 9/10ths through the back snow covered roads just trying to get to the next stage! At the end of it just before I started my session, he came up to me and said that was a terrific drive the little Yaris did. He said his Subie was twisting and turning and the Yaris just kept on sticking to the end of the Subie! He was impressed. Mind you, I had a bit of a handful but with the suspension redone for that rally, it did handle very well.

My setup was fairly sitff in the front (for the Yumps and bumps) and the rear had the swaybar (aftermarket) taken out and the rear shocks adjusted to what the stock valve dampening is for OEM, so it was much softer. The natural tendancy on tarmac for the car was to understeer and just a tap with the left foot on the brakes would help to neutralize the understeer and dig in the front wheels. Very little did I get oversteer unless I provoked the rear to come around. Brake hard in a straight line before the turns helped as well so you weren't fishtailing it. When you slide it slows you down and your times dramatically decrease. It is more fun to do it that way, but a straighter faster line is best unless you need to scrub off speed. I've been driving on the cheapest set of snow tires I could get from Canadian Tire (Goodyear Nordics) and they work great in the soft stuff. Terrible on ice. While competitors were sliding into snow banks (mostly BMW's and Subies and minis) we never "offed" and finished every stage. A bit slow, but finished mid pack.

If you are having trouble with the rear end from sliding, just remember to go slow into the corners and accellerate out. If you start to fishtail, put a little gas on the throttle and a quick correction of the steering will help, but be smooth about it. With a little throttle it will pull you out of the fish tails. Just try not to over correct it.

You can see it in the video below @ 1:11 mark in our Production class Honda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05m7ZfeHwEA

[landrym28]

funny i think the yaris is one of the best front wheel drive cars i have even been in for winter weather. i find even in a slide its easy to recover vs other cars i have driven. mind u, at the same time this is only the second car i have driven with stability control and i love it. the trac and stability control is amazing and much more advanced and much more advanced then the system installed on the kia soul. that is a bad car in winter.

i did drive the first part of winter with OEM all seasons but since i do a lot of night driving and i do alot of km per year i decided to get winter tires and to be honest i have never felt so safe. before my yaris, if there was too much snow out i wouldnt go out but now i love it.

like today for example, spent the evenning out in the country driving around in the fresh snow

I have the traction and stability control as well, running 195/60/15 winter tires, and I have had no issues whatsoever. I drive about 70km a day for work, and never had a problem with the snow.

And we've had a crap load of snow this year to boot! One of the worst winters around here probably in at least 4 years.

-Matt

[nemelek]

I have had better and worse snow cars.

[white_rice]

I have the traction and stability control as well, running 195/60/15 winter tires, and I have had no issues whatsoever. I drive about 70km a day for work, and never had a problem with the snow.

And we've had a crap load of snow this year to boot! One of the worst winters around here probably in at least 4 years.

-Matt

Tire brand?

[Alysia]

Just drove my new yaris in its first storm with me (just got it a week ago) and while it pulled a little, the snow as about half a foot deep, it was no worse then my oldsmobile alero that preceded him. The alero was a much larger heavier car as well.

[landrym28]

Tire brand?

I'm using the "Wanli Winter Challenger" tires. From what I've read, they've gotten mixed reviews, but personally, I've had no problems with them.

-Matt

[42ezra]

What is the design in engineering which causes the engine RPM to die down as you try to accelerate up a snowy hill? Impossible to get any traction on a slippery incline. I find this design exactly the wrong thing to happen when trying to get out of a slippery condition.

[dogsridewith]

If revs drop, incline and gravity are requiring you to downshift and/or give it more throttle If revs climb w/o proportional vehicle velocity, a slippery surface, differential and tire type/condition are requiring less throttle.

[dogsridewith]

This thread was on my "New Posts" list just now. Last post by"Today 11:32 AM
by unie01" (a member with 430 posts

(Amazing vanishing post happens again. Does anyone see a post between my two here? )

[Newf]

We just bought a 2008 CE automatic and put X-ice 3s on it.

I think the car may be too light as it always follows the ruts. My daughter lost a mirror side-swiping a parked car as the little Yaris got pulled in the rut towards the car.

Also might be that we're used to driving manual transmissions and don't like the way the auto will spin the wheels.

My two cents.
Take care