E46 dash cluster light question

"Carl Night" wrote

That's the Traction Control/Dynamic Stability Control light. It means that the TCS/DSC discovered the wheels going different speeds (due to the bump/pothole) due to loss of traction. The power loss is a direct result of the system "letting up" on the throttle to regain traction on the spinning wheel.

If you were in a more aggressive mode and the car started skidding, you might note the second step the system takes, which is using the ABS system to pump the brakes (on an opposite corner) to recover from the skid.

All normal.

FloydR

So as a test, turning off DSC will "solve" this? I'm just worried something is loose somewhere.

-Carl

Turning off DSC won't solve it, but it will confirm that the loss of power you feel is due to activation of the traction control.

What you're describing can happen if you go over some larger bumps and are on the throttle because the rear wheels lose grip and speed up relative to the front wheels. The DSC electronics perceive this as a loss of traction and retard the throttle in an attempt to restore traction. That's the loss of power you feel. It's normal.

What's not normal is if you have started to see this more often as of late over the same stretch of road and the road has not deteriorated in that time. It's the first sign that certain suspension componentslike struts and/or shocks are starting to wear out and should be replaced, as the wheels are hopping over bumps rather than conforming to them.

Some routine maintenance may be in your future.

-Doug

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-------------------- Doug Vetter, ATP/CFI snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

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There is nothing to "solve". The light comes whenever DSC is in use for the reason that a previous poster described. The light is really just a notification anyway.

Jim