What exactly does traction control do?

Jhill

When your wheels are slipping is it giving a traction notification (blinking yellow light)? If so I'm thinking your system is fine and is pulling power, could probably see it on a scan tool recording ign timing and throttle value pids while breaking traction. Traction control is a cause and effect system, meaning it needs to break traction before it will kick in, it isn't a pre active system that magically prevents you from ever breaking traction.

Had to go round and round with a customer on a new vette about this, reading him the manual on system operation and even bringing out a gm field engineer and waste everyone's time for something that was 100% normal. Wanted to tell him if you never wanted to break traction then why did you buy a massive hp and toque v8 sports car? Just get a Cruze and be more than happy.

I guess it doesn't hurt to check but today's cars monitor everything and if your system isn't working right I'm fairly confident you'd be seeing a MIL or abs light by now.