I tried turning off the esc and nothing happens. I chipped down to the asphalt under the spinning tire,and even put down a whole bag of ice melt, and the one still on the snow doesnt spin so something else is going on. So I have a tire on snow not spinning, and the other on bare asphalt covered with ice melt salt spinning.
The tires only have 6000 miles on them and they work great the rest of the time. The snow we get here is light a fluffy and we're talking about an almost completely flat parking lot. I've been driving in snow my whole life and I can tell you, this situation is odd.
its weird and the guy parked right next to me in a two wheel drive pickup has pulled in and out several times since ive been sitting there. Just seems like if they both spin in forward on the same ground, they would both spin in reverse.
In regards to braking while applying the gas, the ebrake only locks up the rear so i'm not sure why that would help with a front wheel drive, and applying foot brakes would stop both drives tires equally so I dont know what benefit that would have.
Any other ideas? anybody in a snowy local wanna try backing up quickly somewhere slippery and see what happens???
The PM, like so many other front or rear wheel drives, is essentially a one-wheel-drive vehicle. Basic differentials let the power go to whichever wheel on the axle is spinning. It stinks but that's the way it works.
The PM's ESC uses the brakes to try and slow the wheel spinning and move the power to the non-spinning wheel. Sort of like a limited-slip differential would. (Others join in here if you can describe it more accurately or simply?)
I'm not surprised to hear the PM's ESC system doesn't work in reverse. I don't think any of them do, although I've never given it any thought with either of two other vehicles I've owned with similar systems. This would, again, make it a one-wheel drive vehicle.
The suggestion of stepping on the brake and gas at the same time is basically a 'poor-man's attempt" at ESC/traction Control... It could work if the ESC doesn't in reverse?
You have me stumped as to why a tire on pavement will spin and and one on snow won't? Hopefully someone who knows something about this transmission will join in and have an explanation for this.