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      01-24-2018, 09:57 AM   #1
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Smile Traction Control Icon keeps showing up randomly while drivign

Hey guys,

Wierd thing has been happening to me, it started a few months ago on and off.

I found it to be really strange because I changed out all my tires to brand new DWS contis and 245/40/18's they drive great on the car btw.

Driving down the street in a straight line sometimes random who knows, the traction control light comes on repeatedly as if the car is loosing traction but everything seems to be fine my handling is fine I feel no slippage and the tires are brand new with great grip. Not to mention its not wet outside.

I cant quite figure out why it keeps doing that and what are some things I can do or some tips of what it could be.

Thanks
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      01-24-2018, 10:20 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imkash View Post
Hey guys,

Wierd thing has been happening to me, it started a few months ago on and off.

I found it to be really strange because I changed out all my tires to brand new DWS contis and 245/40/18's they drive great on the car btw.

Driving down the street in a straight line sometimes random who knows, the traction control light comes on repeatedly as if the car is loosing traction but everything seems to be fine my handling is fine I feel no slippage and the tires are brand new with great grip. Not to mention its not wet outside.

I cant quite figure out why it keeps doing that and what are some things I can do or some tips of what it could be.

Thanks
Um, are you under hard acceleration during these times?

And did you ever think that you're not getting slippage b/c the traction control is intervening?...
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      01-24-2018, 10:26 AM   #3
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My friend I dont think of these things because Ive had the car for almost 3 years and never had this problem nor with any of my other bimmers.

So something has to be going on. No hard acceleration.

PS Traction control is not that fast its fast but not fast enough for you not to feel the slippage before it catches it self. Usually when you see that traction light you feel the slip. it might be a 10th of a second but you feel it.


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Originally Posted by aerostar View Post
Um, are you under hard acceleration during these times?

And did you ever think that you're not getting slippage b/c the traction control is intervening?...
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      01-24-2018, 10:38 AM   #4
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I would also have said "check your tires", but I have those same tires on my 435-xdrive and even under hard acceleration from a dead stop on wet roads I've hardly ever seen my traction control light come on. I think I'd have it checked out by the dealer.

I've had x-drive on 5 BMWs since 2007 and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen the traction control light up.

good luck
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      01-24-2018, 10:47 AM   #5
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Thanks I will probably have to do that. Cause cant really figure it out lol

Quote:
Originally Posted by wrickem View Post
I would also have said "check your tires", but I have those same tires on my 435-xdrive and even under hard acceleration from a dead stop on wet roads I've hardly ever seen my traction control light come on. I think I'd have it checked out by the dealer.

I've had x-drive on 5 BMWs since 2007 and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen the traction control light up.

good luck
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      01-25-2018, 01:29 PM   #6
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Could be a faulty wheel speed sensor giving a false alert to kick it on. Be careful because if it's applying the brakes to one wheel while you're driving it could end up making the car do something unexpected.

Maybe try to pinpoint and see if it comes on more often when driving over bumps/potholes on one side or the other?
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      01-25-2018, 07:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kern417 View Post
Could be a faulty wheel speed sensor giving a false alert to kick it on. Be careful because if it's applying the brakes to one wheel while you're driving it could end up making the car do something unexpected.

Maybe try to pinpoint and see if it comes on more often when driving over bumps/potholes on one side or the other?
Sounds like it makes perfect sense and would likely be the problem. Would bmw Fix this issue for sure and free???

I will definitely have them drive it and see what's up

Thanks so much
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      01-25-2018, 11:53 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imkash View Post
Would bmw Fix this issue for sure and free???
Yes if it's under Warranty.
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      01-30-2018, 06:38 AM   #9
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Brand New DWS Cont's and car still sliding in light snow

I have an alignment I have four New continental dws 06 Tire's on. Yet today it snows and little and I'm about to do a fish tail in the condo parking lot. Seems pretty odd and I had this car since few years back bought it New. And didn't slide in inches with stock tires. so why is it sliding on me now?

Very puzzled and not feeling confident in the snow today ??

Snow >1
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      01-30-2018, 10:20 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imkash View Post
I have an alignment I have four New continental dws 06 Tire's on. Yet today it snows and little and I'm about to do a fish tail in the condo parking lot. Seems pretty odd and I had this car since few years back bought it New. And didn't slide in inches with stock tires. so why is it sliding on me now?

Very puzzled and not feeling confident in the snow today ??

Snow >1
Me >nail
Those tires suck. Are they winter tires? Stick with BMW star tires and then shop tire rack for tires with similar or better specs on handling, treadwear, etc. It didn't slide before because the tires were better.
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      01-30-2018, 10:26 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmer456 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by imkash View Post
I have an alignment I have four New continental dws 06 Tire's on. Yet today it snows and little and I'm about to do a fish tail in the condo parking lot. Seems pretty odd and I had this car since few years back bought it New. And didn't slide in inches with stock tires. so why is it sliding on me now?

Very puzzled and not feeling confident in the snow today ??

Snow >1
Me >nail
Those tires suck. Are they winter tires? Stick with BMW star tires and then shop tire rack for tires with similar or better specs on handling, treadwear, etc. It didn't slide before because the tires were better.
The tires suck? 80 percent of people use 68 percent of people use dws 06 tires when it comes to fall/winter seasons

I wouldn't blame the tires

I had an e90 328 rwd that had no problems in the winter with dws 06' on them aswell
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      01-30-2018, 03:16 PM   #12
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Keep in mind our cars have BMW's newest gen of traction control that is meant to be proactive rather than reactive like older BMWs. So for example if you are in comfort mode and the car sees inputs that lead it to believe it will slip, it will activate the traction control and display the light. You may not feel the slip.

That said, your car is under warranty. Bring it to a dealer and be done with it.
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      04-21-2018, 10:54 AM   #13
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VinceChase- I experience something similar today. While driving today in comfort mode (first drive of the day), the car suddenly started throwing traction control light and limited me to 2000RPM. I put the car in ECO mode and everything was back to normal. These are not new tires but are in a good shape.
Did you ever figure out what the issue was?
Any input is appreciated.
Thanks guys.
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      04-26-2018, 09:20 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HRF30 View Post
VinceChase- I experience something similar today. While driving today in comfort mode (first drive of the day), the car suddenly started throwing traction control light and limited me to 2000RPM. I put the car in ECO mode and everything was back to normal. These are not new tires but are in a good shape.
Did you ever figure out what the issue was?
Any input is appreciated.
Thanks guys.
Dude, they told me it was a sensor problem that reeads when to add traction. Said they fixed it and all.

Still till today I get it randomly. I give up, lease is up in july. Getting a jeep, till x4 M comes out lol
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      04-26-2018, 11:26 AM   #15
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Brand new tires will be a lot more slippery until they have time to heat cycle and shed any coatings they may have from the factory. This is hugely prevalent in the motorcycle world, I will never forget riding on fresh rubber the first time, it was practically like skating.

I had this same random TC engagement after installing my new WS80's in the beginning of Winter. TC was popping off sometimes randomly cruising on the highway for a couple weeks until settling down. My PS4S also were not nearly as grippy until they had a few hundred miles on them. I suspect TC learns the expected grip of the tire over time, it would explain why jumping from sticky summer rubber to new winters caused it to kick in so often.
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      06-19-2019, 11:36 PM   #16
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Any updates with this post? Just leased a 440i xdrive gran coupe and have been having similar issues. On cold start, after reversing up my driveway, the traction control light flashes upon after accelerating forward (normal acceleration, not hard). I also hear clicking noises from the driver side footwell, similar sound to the traction control engaging the brakes. If the car is in eco pro mode, the car will briefly stutter while traction control light comes on. Won't happen again until the next day after the car has fully cooled down. Dealer has been attempting to diagnose it for 3 days now, can't find out what's wrong with it.
I have the pirelli cinturatos on it from the dealer, front left tire has less miles then the rest but at most a couple thousand miles less.
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      06-10-2020, 07:02 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MacklinUSOB View Post
Brand new tires will be a lot more slippery until they have time to heat cycle and shed any coatings they may have from the factory. This is hugely prevalent in the motorcycle world, I will never forget riding on fresh rubber the first time, it was practically like skating.

I had this same random TC engagement after installing my new WS80's in the beginning of Winter. TC was popping off sometimes randomly cruising on the highway for a couple weeks until settling down. My PS4S also were not nearly as grippy until they had a few hundred miles on them. I suspect TC learns the expected grip of the tire over time, it would explain why jumping from sticky summer rubber to new winters caused it to kick in so often.
i thought i would comment on this here. i can attest to this comment as well. i replaced my rears with PS4S's as well. Fronts still had about 60% with the rears being done. Traction light comes on with any sort of cornering. In SoCal, the car with the tires were fine, presumably because of the heat. replaced the tires in Seattle here and i'm noticing this issue once again, as I did originally with the michelin SS tires on a different platform. that's a really good point about the tires and the traction control "adjusting" to each other.
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      06-12-2020, 04:24 AM   #18
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Don't want to alarm anyone on here, but I had traction light come on with mine randomly going straight on a 428xi. I didn't think much of it, then it turned into a chassis stabilization code, and my transfer case failing was the final cause. I was lucky it reared its head at 49,500 miles (phew) but it looked identical to OP's issue before it ever threw the code, and it didn't seem to drive any different before that.
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      06-12-2020, 08:09 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hollovoid7 View Post
Don't want to alarm anyone on here, but I had traction light come on with mine randomly going straight on a 428xi. I didn't think much of it, then it turned into a chassis stabilization code, and my transfer case failing was the final cause. I was lucky it reared its head at 49,500 miles (phew) but it looked identical to OP's issue before it ever threw the code, and it didn't seem to drive any different before that.
Consider me alarmed. My traction light pops on occasionally if I'm accelerating hard. Tranny seems like it might be slipping some to me too. Engine revving higher but car not pulling as hard. I came here to see if that was OP's problem as well
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      01-27-2024, 03:50 PM   #20
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Hey Guys I am having a very similar situation… so my 2015 435i x drive under 60k miles start throwing traction control on and sending it to 2000 ramps and above and stays there until stopping. Took it to a euro shop and said it was an ICM problem… 2,500 dollars later problem is still occurring.
All four tires are the same. Alignment has been done. And sensors are in place. Any thoughts?
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      01-27-2024, 06:23 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aerostar View Post
Um, are you under hard acceleration during these times?

And did you ever think that you're not getting slippage b/c the traction control is intervening?...
This was my first thought, maybe he is under hard acceleration
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      01-27-2024, 06:39 PM   #22
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Might be:

- Front Diff going
- Transfer Case going
- Wheel speed sensor
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