A couple of weeks ago, I was on my way home from Waco, Texas during a really bad storm. Not sure if anyone has been in Waco or is familiar with the area, but Highway 6 right in the heart of the city is fairly hilly...plently of ups and downs. On my way back, the few people that were on the highway (it was about 5 in the morning) were all going about 35-40 mph just because the rain was so hard you couldn't see in front of you except for about 40-50 feet maybe. I noticed the VSA trigger a couple of times back on the flat country roads, but once I got into waco on this hilly highways (again, I'm only travelling about 40mph) I look down at the gauges and the VSA is on.....non-stop. No joke, the VSA light was just a steady 'on' and would only flicker out a few times. I wasn't noticeably sliding or hydroplaning, so I wasn't sure whether or not this was VSA acting like an angel as it should, or if by coicidence something was up with the VSA right at the point in time. Anybody else experience their VSA steadily on during heavy rain.....driving conservatively???

 

That doesn't sound right to me, but we'll see who else chimes in. I've never had the VSA light do anything but flicker at engagement even in the slipperiest conditions (aggressive driving in the rain and/or snow mostly). I'd say maybe you got a sensor wet or something, but I've driven through some pretty torrential rains and never experienced anything like what you did.

 

i've had my VSA light go off in snowy conditions, specifically when i was stuck in a parking spot and spinning my tires due to lack of traction. but that's the only time it's ever happened.

 

One question, are you on OEM tires? how many miles?

I dont' remember if the VSA ever stayed on steady for any brief amount of time, but after 30k miles or so on the OEM tires, they definitely hydroplane quite easily in heavy rain..

 

Yea, I have OEM shoes.
'06
~26.5K miles




It was just weird though because I have only really hydroplaned three times, and it wasn't like I was hydroplaning at all when I was coming home, or even like I was beginning to slip...I felt like I was on a straight and normal path....as much as you can in the rain at least.

 

i only got them go off in snow condition...
i dont know man...
go and take it for inspection may be?

 

i've had the oem set go off in the rain a few times. Usually when im at a standstill making a left turn.

 

I've "felt" VSA kicking in when accelerating in a turn (say, turning onto an uphill freeway entrance) on wet pavement. [This is why I think the engine in my 2006 is plenty strong, it spins out with hardly any provocation.] Haven't looked down to see the light, I've usually got more important things to pay attention to. But i have seen it blink on and off.

I've been in some of those torrential Texas storms, one in East Texas in 1987 in which I couldn't see > 2' in front of my Jeep's hood. No kidding. Water was standing on the two-lane dotted line road, that me and the truckers were riding slowly on the crest. Scary. So I know how wet those roads can get. If the tires were hydroplaning, it's not in the realm of unbelievable for me that the VSA was detecting some slight differences in wheel speed and engaging.

Still,... check your manual ... and I'm presuming you're aware of the difference between the "VSA" light and teh "/!\" indicator.

 

i live in houston and it happened to me on the freeway with heavy rains, i was like WTH
but mine flickered

 

Thanks david! That makes sense. I'll go ahead and check the manual but I'm not too worried about it. And yes, haha...it was the "/!\" light that was on during the rain, not the VSA.

 

The /!\ indicator means the VSA is turned off I believe.

 

It has three purposes. Check your manual, page 65.

 

In my TSX the /!\ comes on when the VSA is off, or when it's engaged. The 'VSA' light is a warning meaning something within the VSA system is malfunctioning.

 

When it rains my VSA light flickers when there is no traction, especially taking off in 1st, partially due to the HyTech!!