ok so today i was driving on the freeway (it was raining) going about ~55-60 on the slow lane. my "SLIP" light came on out of nowhere while driving straight, do the tires still spin while the light is on, or do they stop spinning?? it freaked me out and i thought i was about to hydroplane ,

what do you guys recommend to do when it happens again?.. let go of the gas or step on it? thanks all

 

The "slip" light is normally triggered when the expected rotation rates of the front and rear tires are "out of spec". Assuming you have the proper sized tires on your car, the computer expects to see a certain ratio of front to rear rotation speeds. If it gets outside a certain range, the computer thinks the rears are slipping.

Were you on a wet/snowy/icy road?

If weather wasn't a factor.... have you changed tires/wheels recently?


As for what to do when it happens, let off the gas for a second until the light stop blinking and you'll be fine.

 

The SLIP is ON when the tires are slipping. When the tires stop slipping the SLIP light is OFF.

 

it was a wet road on the highway, i changed all my tires about 1 year ago, and about 2 weeks ago i put air on all my tires @ "32psi", should the back tires be inflated more than the front? i wasnt sure if they should so i put 32 on all four.

 

I run the PSI recommended on the drivers door placard.

 

The tire pressure shouldn't matter. Your tires may have slipped briefly because of hydroplaning on the wet road. I'd only be concerned if it happens on a dry road.

 

So the traction system works, that's good then LOL.

 

Here’s what happened:
You were driving on a wet roadway (55-60 mph as you reported), and you increased acceleration. When you increased acceleration, the rear tires lost traction and began slipping a little. That activated TCS (and why you saw the SLIP light) killing power until the tires regained traction (you probably instinctively backed-off the accelerator).

If you do see the SLIP light:
Gently back-off the accelerator and then gently apply power once you have regained traction.

TCS (or VDC which has TCS) is a great safety feature that prevents the rear of your car from moving left or right (and possibly beginning to “fishtail” ) and keeps your car going in a straight line (aligned with the direction of your front tires).

--Spike