The scariest thing is driving on the highway at 60-80km/h, and having your car sway left to right, and having cars with all season tires pass you

just wanted to know if im the only one because i have to get this fixed before something bad happens

 

Going those speeds on any snow is going to make your car sway back and forth. The TL will be worse than others because the tires are so wide. I know exactly what you're talking about. When I have my studded tires on in 215/60/16, the problem does not exist on snow. I could barely even get the ABS to turn on during hard braking. When I drove on compact snow/ice down a pass with the 245/40/18 Goodyear F1 A/S's, it definitely did that. It felt very unstable and yes, people were passing me. A/S's do okay on snow but not great in any way. The 235+ width acts like a ski when driving on very slick conditions. Mu*Force= Friction so the wider the tire, the less friction force you'll have underneath you because the weight becomes so distributed over the contact patch of your tires.

 

Mine doesn't do it at those speeds ( 60/80K = 36/48 MPH ) .. couple things to check. Tire pressure, toe in , alignment.

This sway your talking about is it happening in YOUR lane or when changing lanes?

 

This does happen to me once in a while when I change lanes in heavy snow, but I do it gradually so as one wheel slips the other one has the traction.

And you will mostly start feeling the slide if you raise your rpms, keep them low between 1.5-1.6, and your car will not loose traction. Besides, I think it's better to get home in one piece even if it takes you longer.

 

What are the road conditions? Sounds like you're in Canada, where they have lots of snow, I hear.
If that's the case, you're driving too fast.
If that's NOT the case, check tires/pressures, alignment.
It is not a personal attack because someone passes you in snowy conditions. It's usually SUV's that find themselves upside down in a ditch a few miles down the road. It's actually very common around here.
BTW:How do you know they're on all season tires?
Good luck, and stay safe

 

Duh, I guess your headline said "snow".
I believe the State Patrol would define your speeds as "too fast for conditions".
That being said, it usually makes you liable for damage, injury, or death if in an accident
Don't know how they work it in Canada, but probably still close.

 

My car is an o4 TL. Everytime I'm shifting gears it tends to shift itself to the left/right.
As I go at higher speeds it tends to pull itself to the left or right.. funny thing is I don't have an alignment issue. The car just seems to be moving on its own on certain roads and conditions.. for I have no idea why! I'm running on 235/45 Toyo Proxes 4 Summer tires right now.. and it's not the best thing. I can't even drive normally after making a complete stop.. I'm driving walking distance while cars behind me are waiting for me to get traction!
It's most likely your tires. I know it is for mines (even though it pushes itself left/right on dry roads or semi-dry roads). Sometimse it's so bad that the VSA kicks in and I can't turn properly... Just make sure to drive safe.
If you are in Canada... Ontario just had a snow storm so be careful. Quebec it's snowing right now as I'm typing.

 

any lane any time any where!! (when there is even minimal amounts of snow on the ground)

 

Maybe your toe in is out ... does this happen all the time or only when accelerating hard?

 

all the time, when costing, giving gas, no matter what, if theres snow on the ground, im screwed lol

 

Yeah it happens to my car as well it feels like its swaying within my lane, I'm guessing its an alignment issue and its due to tire wear, might be getting an alignment and new tires this weekend, so I'll let you know if it helps.

 

I'd suspect an alignment issue .. toed out usually leads to "hunting" which might be what your describing ..

How is the inner tire wear?

 

You guys that are having this anomaly, have you lowered the car - changed the springs in the rear etc.?

 

After reading the original posters name, I assume he lives in Montreal.. or Montreal region.
And in Montreal, well... we have A LOT of snow. Majority of the time the roads are salted and cleaned on a regular basis.. but when the snow settles on the roads it begins to be 'apart' of the road due to all the cars driving over it and "flattenning" it to the floor, if that makes sense.
ProblemChild514, you probably just need to get better tires.
I have Summer tires on with quite little treads left.. I'm swaying left and right like a mother-father...
It's so bad that when I drive from a stop sign/red light.. I'm driving at not even 20km/h

 

my cars start swaying even at 25mph in the snow

 

Anyone, anyone?????

 

I have noticed a little bit of my 04 being "tail happy" during certain road conditions. I have to keep making just a little bit of steering corrections. I have all season tires (Bridgestone Pole Positions) and that might be part of the problem. I don't think it is an alignment issue because in normal road conditions there is no problem. The speeds I notice this is about 30-35 mph, city streets not a freeway. It isn't a major problem just a little unsettleing at times.

 

i really only notice this when i am taking off from a dead stop. if i dont have traction and my traction control comes on, my back end will either whip out or the whole car will drift to one side. but i dont really notice this at higher speeds.

 

I had this problem at the beginning of the winter, never had a problem in the snow before, but the first snowfall the tail was all over the place, first time I've ever felt unsafe in the TL. Turns out I had a bent tie-rod on the rear drivers side. had it fixed and haven't had a problem since.

 

Myself I think he has an alignment issue or something bent.

A car may track just fine on dry or wet pavement where the tire adhesion to the road surface is a lot better but on snow its a different story.

I have owned prolly 30 different vehicles and live in snow country and on a mountain side. The only time I have had something close to this symptom is when something is bent or the alignment is off.

If the camber is way off then the tire isn't putting even pressure on the road. If the toe is off then the tire is not rolling on the surface its scrubbing ( crabbing ) sideways and is already dragging on the snow .. thus no traction .. If its toed OUT then the car will not only have poor traction on the snow it will also hunt.

While the car is doing this I'd prefer to be at home so the operater doesn't loose control and run into me.

Smow is enough of a challenge to drive in ... nevermind in a car with diminished control.

 

Studded? If you mean snow tires they are studless. Last I knew studded tires were illegal to use on public roads. I have studless snow tires and I don't have a swaying problem unless I do something stupid on an ice-covered road. Most people on here who live in real snowy areas of the country run two sets of wheels and tires. Best of both worlds.

My car is lowered and I run a 235/45 snow tire. Like I said, I don't have this problem unless I create it.

 

Common problem. Don't waste your time taking this to Acura. They'll blame the tires. Find a good alignment shop and get a quality four wheel alignment done. That fixed ours.

 

sorry for the bump BUT i will have my tl checked out cause it sounds like this might be the issue

 

mmh when my drop got installed by member on here one of the bolts remained lose on the rear passenger side... slipped on rain and the car swayed violently side to side but the vsa kept in the lane... weird... found out shortly and in a good amount of time doing alignment... get all the stuff checked out

 

are tie rods under warranty?

 

yes, I have had major problems with driving on slippery roads - i have had several alignments - even tho tires seem to wear OK car is scary on icy roads. It also seems to jump to the side when hitting a bump only on one side either the left or right on dry roads. I did have one front strut replaced early on and maybe there is some imbalance - dealer thinks i am on crack.