well back in november when we had a bad snow storm(I live in NY), i was coming home when there was about 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground. i was making a turn and WAM BAM BOOM!! I ended up hitting a pole that was pretty thick. Luckily I had on my seatbelt and the airbag deployed only leaving me with minor cuts on my hand. I wasn't speeding or anything I was probably going at about 25 mph at most but this car really does suck in the snow..take a look..

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Roughly $10,000 dollars to fix with about $5,000 just in parts
Good news is that finally after almost 3 months(the car had been sitting in the driveway the whole time), the car has been repaired and looking good..I will upload pics of it now when i get the chance

 

ouch

 

Glad to hear you're alright. That must have been one crazy pole! I see you didn't jump at the opportunity to install an RJ bodykit.

 

Wait you said a pothole did that kind of damage? Whoa

 

Sorry to hear about the car but glad you were okay. Can't wait to see the "better looking" or "after" pictures!

 

Pole, not pothole

 

Glad to see you are healthy and uninjured.

I hate to bring up an idea here but, the TL doesn't suck in the snow. I would say a majority of single car weather related accidents are driver error. Under most conditions a police officer would have cited you for going too fast for conditions. I am NOT saying that you are to blame for this accident, there are other factors such as ice, tires, etc. Just don't blame the car, every automobile stops the same way, it only has four contact points to the snow covered road. Bigger brakes, more weight, less weight, nothing else will avoid the inevitable. 25 mph was obviously too fast for that specific road condition. We live and learn. Icy roads yes the definitely not.

Ready, set, debate!

 

I've got to agree, it seems like most people I know talk about how bad their car sucks in the snow, but somehow, neither one of my cars suck in the snow. Maybe it's because I have spent a good amount of time in empty snow filled parking lots with each of them learning how they react to things and not just assuming. Driving in the snow is different than any other condition, and I don't think most people know how to handle it because of how few times they have to every year around here. Even beyond that, most people just know "go slow" but don't think to stop lightly and very early, how to use the gas when they are turning, and how the car reacts when they lose control. To the people who say that XXX car sucks in the snow, I'd like to see what car they think is great in the snow (with the same drive wheels).

Glad to see that you got it fixed though, why did it sit for 3 months?

 

Yes folks reading is fundamental. Don't even ask me how I misread that, I even quoted it. Anyways bro, glad to see you got your car repaired. But I have the same question as UnsanePyro, why so long to repair? Looking forward to your updated pics

 

well long story..i'm only 19 and my dad bought me a brand new TL as part of a deal..deal was that if I received a scholarship to college he would get me the car so I did my fairshare and got the car.. It's been sitting in my driveway for so long because my dad wants to make me "learn my lesson" for crashing the car, even though it technically wasn't my fault..now I know most of you are going to say "yeah sure, you're 19, you were speeding, blah blah, etc." but that wasn't the case..and yeah to correct my previous statement, the "car" doesnt suck in the snow, but rather i guess the tires do. The other day there was 3 inches of snow in my driveway and the car got stuck. My dad even came thinking he's a pro and couldn't get the car out himself..3 inches only!!

At least now he sees why I crashed and how it really wasn't all my fault

Pics will be up soon of the car fixed

 

Glad see that you are OK... you can just chalk this up as one of those things that happen in life... you live and you learn.... Now that you have experienced it, it probably won't happen again... good luck and happy motoring... be careful...

 

Don't beat yourself up too much about it. I read "pothole" too until I saw the pics. I thought, "Must've been a deep pothole!" but I went back and reread the OP thinking that couldn't be right.

I agree a car can suck in the snow, but the skilled driver will understand those limitations and drive accordingly. I'm glad you and your car are all right. Congratulations on the scholarship, too.

 

wow, U need better tires, that is all about the tires...

and I'll never make a turn around 25mph on snow in a FWD car without snow tires.

maybe there was some ice under the snow, who knows, but glad to hear u were ok.

 

yeah guys thanks for the support..i guess this is all part of the learning process we win some we lose some
i didnt say this earlier but i think part of the reason i crashed is because being that I was inexperienced with driving in the snow, when I had went to make the turn i stepped on the brakes, causing the car to slide i guess and thats when i hit because it lost control..let the flaming begin lol

 

Yeah, the basic instinct to hit the brakes when traction is lost is a bad one. I would guess that most snow-related crashes are probably because someone hit the brakes when they shouldn't have.

 

Sorry to hear abour your accident. But I still think the TL sucks in the snow. That's what happens when you put big engine in little car.

Last winter, I got stuck in my own driveway after a few hours and then in the middle of a neighbor's driveway.

Can't wait to get rid of my 04 TL....

 

Because I live in Atlanta, I didn't think I would get a chance to weigh in on the whole TL sucks in the snow debate. However, a few weeks ago, we actually got some snow. Granted, it was only a light dusting, but I did play with the TL a bit in a snow covered parking lot. I have high performance summer tires (Yokohamas) on the car and the TL performed fine in the snow. Obviously it slid when I pushed it, and the ABS kicked in when I stood on the brakes, but I found it to be easily controllable. In conclusion, I don't think the TL sucks in the snow.

 

you will be paying surcharges to the dmv for three years. stop driving reckless in the snow.

 

What kinda tires did you have on it?

Living in OH, I hope you put on snow tires or at least good all seasons. Oh, and feathering the throttle helps.

I have Kumho ASX's on and I'm doing fine going up and down hills, mountain roads twisties, hairpins, with snow and ice on the road. It's not the car. It's the driver and the tires.

 

Ok, now it sounds a lot better. I was shaking my head when you were claiming that it wasn't your fault - because it definitely was. I'm not lecturing, I'm only 21 myself, but you always have to be aware of the road conditions (i.e. check how much you slide/how quickly you can stop/how the tires perform/steering response/etc) in a safe setting before heading out on the road.

When I was driving home to MI back in Dec., I got caught in several snow storms, and while most people were still going 50-60, and semi's going to town @ 70+, I was crawling at about 35 MPH with my hazards on like an old lady... because I still had my EL42's on and I knew that was all it could handle.

Anyway, sorry about your car - at least you weren't hurt. Hope it doesn't happen again.

 

put big engine in little car? the engine is not that big, and the car is not little car... lol

Trust me, get rid of ur TL is not helping, even my AUDI QUATTRO lost control once
on snow, (after that I drive more carefully, so never happened again.)
when I was doing like 25mph to make a left turn... I replaced a part somewhere in the suspension, cost 1000 bux... coz only the passenger side wheel hit on side of the road...... (I scratched my rim too... )

what I mean is even the AWD car is not doing well without the right tires, what do u expect on a FWD with all season or summer tires?

 

It's a heavy car and the "big" engine will only deliver as much power as you ask from it. There are several ways to limit the torque being sent to the wheels, regardless of how big the engine is. The bottom line is that, unless you're driving a snowcat, you need to adjust for the conditions.

 

?????? Once again the old statement is posed. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people".

The car doesn't drive itself, at least mine doesn't. Although I'd rather not accept responsibility for anything stupid that I do. Last time I looked it was my foot on the accelerator.

 

Perhaps I was a bit over the top before in my previous post, I don't know why exactly but the 04 TL just does not handle in the snow as well as my 01 TL or my Camry before.

I don't know exactly why that is. And yes I don't have snow tires and I am a very careful driver. My driveway is slightly uphill and I've gotten my TL stuck at the bottom more than once.

Would an AWD car be better then? I honestly don't know if it's worth spending the $.

 

I honestly don't know what kind of tires I have..My guess is that they're all seasons since they came with the car. My driveway doesn't have any type of incline at all and i still got stuck! I guess it just boils down to whatever tires you have and how good they perform in the snow..

 

Glad to see your okay. I drove threw that storm as well, but not in my tl. I was using my sequoia for every bad road condition, since I knew I could trust that truck on bad road surfaces. How was your driving thru the two feet of snow we had last month in one shot?
And as we new yorkers know, there are potholes here, that could swallow a tractor. I have literally seend entire vehicles in a pothole.
That is one reason, I sold my tl, for the 35x. I didnt want to have to watch the weather report for five months of the year, to see what I would have to be driving through 12 hours later.
I know only use the sequoia, when I need the interior space, since its almost impossible to park where I want to when I go to work, due to its size.
However, I dad have the acura, and found myself driving in inclement weather with it , on occassion, and I found if I stayed in a lower gear, and just used common sense and steady pressure on the accelerator, the tl was more then willing to take me where I wanted to go.

Much regards flatfoot