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Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

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Recently updated on March 4, 2022 at 08:11 am

Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

Violent Snowfall have almost all of Germany under control at the moment. The snow-covered roads often lead to drivers in the snow to get stuck. If you are stuck in the snow, you will realize that it is otherwise helpful security assistant of the vehicle are more of a hindrance in this special case. This is the best example Electronic stability program of the vehicle (ESP), which was brought onto the market by Bosch 25 years ago and serves as anti-skid protection and the wheels going crazy hinders. To do this, special sensors measure the slip on the wheels at least 25 times per second. If a wheel rotating too fast is detected, it is automatically braked or the engine power is reduced.

ESP is often disadvantageous in winter

The mechanism prevents that Breaking out of the vehicle on slippery and icy roads, which significantly reduces the risk of an accident. Therefore the ESP during normal driving also not be disabled as it is the stability of the vehicle on snow-covered roads supports. But if you get stuck in winter, the ESP will quickly make you desperate. Because vehicles stuck in deep snow can best be brought forward again if the snow is simply under the wheels due to the spinning wheels and a high engine power "shoveled away" becomes. In this way, it is possible to generate traction again. However, due to the electronic anti-skid protection, the process can hardly be used effectively, as the ESP not only prevents the wheels from spinning, but also the engine power throttles when starting.

Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

Rocking freely - hardly possible anymore!

An equally popular solution to free yourself from the snow masses is the so-called Rocking freely, i.e. the permanent change between forward and reverse gear. But this technology is also made significantly more difficult or almost impossible by the ESP. In this case, however, you can use parts of the electronics like the Drive slip control (ASR), which prevents the wheels from spinning when starting on a smooth surface, usually via a Touch button in the cockpit or via the on-board computer deactivate. If your car has a drive program mode, you can simply use the Winter mode activate, which is usually marked with a snowflake. The winter mode does not completely switch off the traction control, but it is reduced so that more slip at the drive wheels becomes possible.

Tip: If necessary pull the fuse!

Unfortunately, there are also vehicles that have neither ESP still the often built traction control can be deactivated. In this case there is only the possibility of the corresponding one Pull fuse. Is there no Another way out to get away from the job, you should look for the backup for the corresponding assistant in the logbook and remove the fuse. This can lead to some error messages in the display, but it should work. Once the vehicle has cleared, the safety device must of course be restored built-in . Attention: There is the possibility that this will result in additional assistance systems no longer work. This variant should be considered absolute Emergency can be considered and in the worst case also one permanently stored error in the control unit. A visit to the workshop is then required to clear the error message.

Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

Use of ESP with snow chains

Even if you are with snow chains you should temporarily use the ESP deactivate. Because with snow chains, the wheels can even spin he wishes, because the wheels need more slip due to the mounted snow chains to be able to grip properly. Snow chains are usually only used in mountainous regions, as they can only be used on snow-covered surfaces. However, it can also be used in flat land allowed, here is the approved one top speed but only at 50 km/h. Here are a few more options:

  • starting aids (Recovery boards)
  • Deep pile overmats as starting aid
  • Ceilings as starting aid
  • Seat 1 or 2 people on the edge of the trunk (with rear-wheel drive)
  • 1 or 2 people swing the vehicle from the outside
  • 1 or 2 people push from the front or back
  • Use gravel, if available
  • if available, warm / hot water under the tires
  • mittels Seil or Stange and pull out another vehicle

in summary - clear the car properly from snow:

  • Remove snow and prepare the ground
    – Dig up the car with a shovel or similar tool
    – all wheels should be visible
    – In addition to snow, also watch out for ice
    – heavy or deep snow requires a lot of strength
    – Be sure to dig out the tires far enough so that you can get in
    – Do not necessarily remove ice with a rough surface, it may offer grip
    – Look at the exhaust before starting the engine (it must be free of snow, otherwise exhaust gases can get inside)
    - Spread something granular around the tires (behind and next to the tires, powder - grit - wood chips - salt - cat litter - car mats - door mats - carpet scraps, this gives the tires more grip)
    - try to drive out
  • Place solid objects such as boards, checker plates, etc. in front of and behind the tires
    – this gives grip if the litter didn't work
    – Driving the car out of the snow
    - Switch to four-wheel drive, if available
    – Put on snow chains, if available
    – shift to the lowest gear (automatic vehicle level 1)
    – Straighten the wheels
    – Turn the steering wheel so that the front wheels are as straight as possible
    – rock the car out of the snow (a bit backwards, forwards again, etc.)
    – Proceed carefully and not too much speed
    - if there are no visible successes after a few minutes, give up to keep your gear intact
  • let some air out of the tires
    – deflate until the tire can be easily depressed (no longer than 20 to 30 seconds)
    – but only if the tires are not already low on air
    – do not let out too much air if you have no way of increasing the tire pressure again afterwards
    – Do not let the wheels spin
    – the wheels spin but nothing moves, let it go
    – Inflate air again
  • lift the car
    – Clear a sufficiently large area for the jack
    – If possible, use a particularly stuck bike
    – Remove loose snow and ice as best as possible
    – Clear a flat and firm place for the jack
    – Only raise the car with the jack at a stable point on the frame
    – Lay down a solid base for the jack
    – lift the car from the vehicle / jack according to the operating instructions
    – fill up the area under the tire with solid objects to give it grip (sand, gravel, rocks, blankets, plants, wood shavings)
    – compress the whole thing (if possible with a rubber mallet or stone)
    - Lower the car
    - try to drive out

Of course that had not happened yet!

tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of car and auto tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. In part, we would like to provide you with news but also off the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co We have reviews of car or accessories manufacturers, new ones Tuning Wiki Terms or one or the other Leak veröffentlicht. Following an excerpt of the last articles:

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Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

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Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

With these accessories you will get through the winter perfectly!

Stuck in the snow chaos? How to get free again!

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About Thomas Wachsmuth

Thomas Wachsmuth - He has been an integral part of tuningblog.eu since 2013. His passion for cars is so intense that he invests every available penny in them. While he dreams of a BMW E31 850CSI and a Hennessey 6x6 Ford F-150, he currently drives a rather inconspicuous BMW 540i (G31/LCI). His collection of books, magazines and brochures on the subject of car tuning has now reached such proportions that he himself has become a walking reference work for the tuning scene.  More about Thomas

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