Opinions on an icey situation

So I have a 2012 OR DC. I have a driveway with about a 30 degree incline to it. I'm in 2wd (no presses of the VSC OFF button) so TRAC and VSC on. It recently snowed and the driveway is icey, so a little ice and maybe an inch on snow on top. Being curious about my capabilities in 2wd, I come to a stop at the bottom of the driveway and head up slowly, trying not to break traction. Of course, it finally does as expected and here's the sucky part...I believe abs kicks in and I actually start rolling backwards. Now thinking about this...before rolling backwards, I'm still trying to give it gas but TRAC and VSC is regulating my engine power thus I am no longer going forward or even maintain my position, instead I'm sliding backwards, so what's your next reaction? We'll mine was to get on the brakes, BUT again TRAC is controlling by abs and since it's trying to control a slide down a 30 degree icey hill, it's unable to stop the truck. I know it's trying to do what it was designed, but it just sucks that this moment just felt like a loss of complete control where with enough momentum I could roll into traffic. Anyone experience this also or believe this is (although not cool) standard behavior? I guess I just want to make sure it's normal.

At least now I know to make sure I'm in 4hi for these types of situations. Next time I'll try quick press of VSC OFF button (still in 2wd) to see where that gets me. I should have unregulated engine power at that point right?

 

I feel ya, I have to have a rolling start to make it up my short driveway into my garage. Luckily I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac and have plenty of room. After this winter down here, I'm really kicking myself for not buying a 4WD lol

 

Slightly different scenario (not sliding backwards) but I played around with my 2wd traction modes on a snowy incline last weekend. What I experienced was that with nothing pressed (standard traction controls), it would chatter and regulate like crazy, but I would SLOWLY make forward progress. One time I eventually just stopped. With one press of TCS (auto LSD mode), it seemed both better and worse. Sometimes I'd surge forward a bit more but then spin and dig in and that would be the end of moving forward. Finally, full TSC off and I literally went nowhere. One rear wheel spinning and I never moved an inch.

Also just for kicks I tried to stop on the steeper incline and get spun in a bit, and then switch to 4 low with ATRAC on. Not sure if it was doing anything, because I didn't hear any extra brake chatter from the front, but, it made perfect forward progress every time. Probably wasn't really doing much because I think ATRAC really comes in handy when one wheel is touching ground and the other is not. Not a huge factor when both are on equally slippy stuff. I think it was just the 4wd and low being the biggest help

 

Here are a good couple of threads explaining all of the traction modes in the 09+ Tacomas...

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...-controls-trac-auto-lsd-trac-rear-locker.html

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...uto-lsd-explained-easy-understand-i-hope.html

 

You have to be smarter than the pos equipment they throw into these vehicles.
Needing momentum and using the normal settings will kill anything you are trying to do in that situation.
Unfortunately this is a normal situation because the truck can only think in a very limited way. Unfortunately, most people think it does all the driving and the steering and watches out for you. The truth is it can get you into big trouble, especially if you really know how to drive. The truck will perform in a un-normal matter you are use to and will scare the crap out of you.
I commend you on trying out the systems before hand and you found out some startling things.
Myself, I disable every feature when the driving gets iffy. I want to be in control at all times and don't want the throttle cut halfway through a turn I am trying to get through.
There are plenty of threads of info on trac atrac , auto LSD .
I shut the shit off.
If I need a computer to drive my truck,I don't want to drive.

 

Some weight in the box and winter tires really makes these trucks shine on the slippery stuff . Not sure if its because we have a composite box , but these Yotas are very light in the @ss end .
last winter , I rolled around in 4x4 everywhere I went . This year I grabbed studded winter tires and cut out a flat sheet of 3/4 inch steel to fit in the rear of the box .
Now I am rolling in 2 wheel drive and saving a lot of fuel driving on some very icy roads and feel safe to boot

EDIT : my wife has a 2005 toyota matrix all wheel drive and puts my truck to shame in the snow .
That little Matrix even though its lighter than the Tacoma , simply goes anywhere the Tacoma can go . We even had a few competitions . Matrix won hands down .

 

My parking spot is a fairly steep decline of gravel which a lot of times has iced over from where my truck melts the snow...

My 2wd modes are almost useless everytime. Sometimes If I don't reverse in to my spot I immediately have to put the truck in 4hi.

Auto LSD function in 2wdv kicks in and I get a little more progress but then it slides out sideways and I'm stuck again.

4hi with trac on goes through everytime even with almost 18 inches of snow on the ground

Very glad I have 4x4

 

My current Taco is 2WD, but I had a 4Runner 4WD for 19 years. On ice, 4WD just lets you slip twice as fast. Really.... it did not help at all.

 

Not a Tacoma story, but ...

My previous vehicle was a 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T, 340HP 5.7L HEMI rear wheel drive...a super beast. My first "snow" day with it, the roads had a little snow on them, but nothing major. I was making a left hand turn across 3 lanes of oncoming traffic which I had to yield to. I had plenty of time to complete the turn mind you, except that as I started the turn, my rear wheels broke loose and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) kicked in and killed the power!! So here I am looking at these cars headed for me, I am punching the gas, and NOTHING is happening...the car is crawling along at 2 mph! Scared the crap out of me.

Fortunately I did make it through the intersection without incident, but from that day on, the 1st thing I did after I started the car was to hit the switch to turn ESC off.

 

Seems like most of you have had similar experiences to mine. I remember on my old jeep, I only had 3 settings, 2wd hi, 4wd hi, and 4wd lo. No abs or anything fancy, everything was pretty predictable. I added one of those full time lockers.

That being said, I do like the flexibility Toyota allows us. There were times with my jeep that I felt I needed something in between 4 hi and lo.

So yea, now is the time for me to get a feel for each of the modes and understand how they will react in different situations.

We were supposed to get over a foot of snow last night, instead it was too warm so it was just rain! Oh well, I'll have to try it out another day, or better yet maybe I should just head up the mountains where I know it snowed!

 

Don't do that again. Never use 2WD in the snow unless you're out having fun in an empty parking lot.

There's not a damn thing you can do while going backwards......
Granted - if you were sliding towards traffic and your life was in jeapardy....... I would try to steer the rear of the truck into the grass and/or landscaping. The landscaping or grass or even piles of snow on the side ...will help slow you down and you might be able to stop.

This brings back memories..... I was offroading in my Jeep many years ago. The snow was 12" deep. Going up a gradual incline/hill.... ruts were already in place, but the snow was hard packed in those ruts. I tried to build up enough momentum but I got 3/4 of the way up and lost traction. The ruts were too hard (and high) that I couldn't steer out of them. Needless to say....the jeep started sliding backwards and there wasn't a damn thing I could do. HOLD ON and enjoy the ride. NOT!! My husband was in the passenger seat trying to keep me calm......We were going about 15-20mph by the time we got to the bottom. The jeep stayed in the ruts - which saved my ass!