I have a Toyota Auris 2009. A few days ago I was going up Steep Street and had to stop at lights when they changed I accelerated slowly as you do, and the wheels were just spinning not going anywhere for what felt like forever, this has happened before even on the flat turning corners and it happens not necessary when it rains. It seems to be getting worse, and with winter approaching would like to get it sorted. It also happens when my daughter drives my car but not when she drive her own (same brand but 2007) My tyres are from Tony’s tyres the tread on all four of them are about 4 mm depth, they are Firestone 205/55R16 91V and twice yearly I get wheels rotated and balanced. What can I do about this it is a bit scary and unnerving! what would you suggest can be done to stop this happening, especially as I am teaching my youngest daughter to learn to drive.
Is it a mechanic thing or ? What would you recommend?
bitsy_boffin,
Mar 17, 10:28pm
> I accelerated slowly as you do and the wheels were just spinning not going anywhere
Sounds more like the clutch slipping than wheel traction loss.
jmma,
Mar 17, 10:34pm
Check tyre pressures, maybe to high.
jordani,
Mar 17, 10:37pm
It’s a automatic does that make a difference, sorry no clue about this stuff :)
azza20,
Mar 17, 11:12pm
get an all wheel drive car
bitsy_boffin,
Mar 17, 11:13pm
Take it to a transmission mechanic and get it checked out, most likely your transmission is slipping, not your wheels.
franc123,
Mar 17, 11:34pm
It seems highly unlikely the front wheels were spinning, even more so if your car has traction control. If its happening when turning and on hills I would be VERY suspicious of the transmission being low on fluid. Has it been serviced recently or is there any odd oil stains on your driveway or garage floor? Congrats to you for that excellent descriptive post of your concern too, well done.
s_nz,
Mar 18, 12:52am
There is some chance it is the tires. Some just arn't very grippy. Normally you can hear wheel spin, back off the accelerator, then go again more gently. And one would expect grip issues to be massively more dramatic in the wet. If wet or dry doesn't make much of a difference it may not be the tires.
When I brought my corolla it had 4x mismatched cheap tires, and I had to be very restrained when moving off from a stop either in the wet or up hill. Managed to get the ABS to kick in without trying in carpark's and the likes too.
When they got down to 2.5 - 3mm I swapped them out for a well reviewed performance touring tire, and it transformed the car. If I realized how much difference it was going to make I would have done it much sooner.
Also swapped my SUV from worn Ecopia's to High performance touring tires. Substantially more grip in the latter.
I'm guessing the tires are Firestone F01's which are low rolling resistance tires (often they give up grip for lower rolling resistance). At 4mm depth, you are getting pritty close to the 3mm where many tire brands recommend replacement. (legally you can run them down to 1.5mm but the likes of hydroplaning resistance is quite compromised by then). Swapping out for a new performance tire of some kind will massively increase the grip.
One last thing to check is the data stamp on the tires. Tires made over a decade ago basically need to be taken off and thrown away.
msigg,
Mar 18, 7:14am
Yes the older the tyre the harder the rubber and less grip, also your car has probably more acceleration/throttle response than the other car. Road conditions also play a part, tyre pressure. Easy fix buy a new better tyre.
jordani,
Mar 18, 7:26am
Wow thanks for reply they are 4 1/2 years old have done about 80,000 km since then would it be ok to put put new tyres on the front How would that go with the back tyres or should all four be replaced in your view My car doesn’t have traction control
aprilguy,
Mar 18, 7:58am
I would not get my wheels balanced unless they start vibrating. They are balanced when fitted so twice yearly not needed unless weights are falling off IMHO.
mrfxit,
Mar 18, 8:14am
In all seriousness, you would KNOW for sure if the wheels were spinning while stationary/moving slowly or turning corners. The moment they get traction again, the car would jolt & lurch forward.
As others have mentioned, this is far more likely to be a gearbox issue & the way you have described it, is typical of low oil or worn out drive clutch bands.
Even with the worst type of tyre/ bald/ nearly bald tyre, you would feel the difference once they got traction again after spinning. Perhaps on mud, you may not know, but engine revs/ sounds would tell you somethings not right
Get it in to a Transmission/ gearbox shop ASAP for a full check, it won't cost much & could well save you a lot of money if it is just low on oil.
mrfxit,
Mar 18, 8:22am
I have been on the road for about 50 years & have ran a pretty good mix of cars & tyres/ both old cars/new tyres & new-ish cars on old tyres & about every other mix you can mention (except race cars). Unless you are either . . Super Ignorant Drugged Asleep Drunk Nearly dead
Then you would know if your tyres were actually slipping, (turning with no traction). On the other hand, gearbox issues can be very confusing to someone not mechanically minded
tamarillo,
Mar 18, 8:33am
OP, find said same steep street and have someone watch what happens to front wheels . That will decide if it’s really front wheels slipping, which as above I’d doubt. If it’s not then get transmission serviced and checked by transmission specialist.
curlcrown,
Mar 18, 9:00am
Isn't it funny how any online forum tends to suggest the most expencive possible repair without at least investigating the simplist cheapest possible solution.
kazbanz,
Mar 18, 9:22am
First of all try checking your tyre pressures are correct. Second I would be looking at the road surface to see if theres something there
gyrogearloose,
Mar 18, 9:46am
Like a patch of diesel that the boy racers put down for a laugh.
m16d,
Mar 18, 10:00am
Next time you start on the hill, stomp the pedal to the floor. . if there's lots of smoke, the problem won't be the transmission.
kazbanz,
Mar 18, 10:02am
Yea or just the combination of hill and truck spillage etc. NOT saying I'm right but try the simple stuff first.
Second thought is something equally simple . OP put "his" foot down hard to go up the hill and the CVT did exactly what its supposed to do. slipping till the car is up and away
intrade,
Mar 18, 11:18am
check the tyres for 4 digits (0115) for example this would be first week of january 2015 and is the date of manufacture. 6 years and older tyre should not be sold as they become dangerous and 10 year onwards deadly. as in to hard to provide grip and desintigrate at higher speed. The fast and furious actor in the porsche got killed with tyres past its use by date this is if the tyre really do spin out. My bora diesel done this on 235 bridgstones in the wet. i was thinking my clutch was gone. them tyre where not past its use but dangerous crap from new in wet. I now run BLACKLIONS who have superior grip in wet then them expensive crap was. everyone who has jinyu or blacklion will not say anything bad about them. and you got to make sure to get this brand as i seen poeple ask for it and still got some other cheap brand sold instead. They are not the cheapest tyre but the best cheap tyre near a michelin pilot sport.
intrade,
Mar 18, 11:38am
A TRICK . dont know if you call it this more like a logical conclusion. is you run your hand over the tyres thread flat and feel if the rubber grips your hand or if it feels like hard plastic surface. if its hard plastic like the tyre is most likely dangerous. as hard plasic dont provides grip obviously
mrfxit,
Mar 18, 2:19pm
The presumption is that he wasn't talking about Baldwin Street in the wet. No traffic lights at the top of that street
******************************- * Also some clues .
Does it on steep streets uphill & when cornering even on the flat, not necessarily when it rains Daughter drives same brand car but 2007
gazzat22,
Mar 18, 2:40pm
Get on a quiet flat and dry deserted road slow down then put your foot to the floor.If the revs (on the rev counter rise immediately with no increase in speed it is the gearbox which if you,re lucky just needs a service if not repairs.
gph1961,
Mar 18, 3:14pm
purchase VAG
s_nz,
Mar 18, 5:46pm
4.5 years shouldn't pose much of an issue. (do need to verify the date stamp to check they hadn't been in storage for 4 years prior to being installed. )
80,000km on one set of tires that still have 4mm left is really good life. Generally this means a harder (less grip) tread. (but some brands to make long life tires with thicker tread etc which still do OK).
If you are replacing tires due to issues with traction you are best to replace all four. If two pairs of dramatically different tires are going to be used, the better ones should go on the rear. In short, most modern car's (especially hatchbacks) are set up to under steer if pushed to the limit, as this is easier for your typical driver to save. Better tires on the fount risk messing this up, and making the car overseer (which requires a very large and fast steering input to save - Fine on a race track, but not ideal on the road where the driver may be distracted or fatigued).
As other have said, before spending $$ you should verify that it is actually a tire spinning. Usually it is pretty easy to tell in a FWD car. The noise, and the feel on the steering changes. You can either have a person watch from outside the car when replicating (Note due to the open differential in your car only one wheel will spin, so need to check both sides). Or do as another poster said, and give it extra power and watch to see if the speedo goes up.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.