VSA - it's supposed to work, right?

[Skaven252]

I have received three VSA warnings so far. You know, the "ping" and the snowflake. The first time it happened when I was making a tight turn at high speed. That made sense. The second time it happened when I was stationary, stopped at traffic lights. That didn't really make sense. The third time I got the warning when I was steadily slowing down, going uphill, to stop at traffic lights in dry weather. Err... right.

Today, the weather finally changed here in southern southern Finland. Wind, a bit of snow, and freezing rain. Nasty layers of thin, slippery ice ice on the road. And my car still had summer tyres.

I started driving home, extra careful. There's a small downhill near the beginning of the trip, and it looked icy. I tested the brakes. They worked, no sliding. VSA stayed quiet. I went through a traffic circle a bit more daringly. It also looked a bit icy. VSA didn't make a sound. After a while, I drove into a turn in a rather testy manner. I could actually feel the car slide a little bit. The VSA still didn't make a sound.

Not a single time did the VSA warn me during this somewhat hazardous trip. I began to wonder, was there something wrong with it? Exactly when, in what kind of situations is it supposed to activate and/or warn the driver?

[karlak]

Not got my Civic yet, but have had numerous cars with VSA, ESP, DSC or whatever, and none of them have made an audible noise in operation, they would all flash a symbol on the dash.

[JPDirect]

Hi there Skaven252,

Read your VSA thread with interest. I've tried testing the VSA and to be honest, mine works perfectly well. The VSA only "kicks in" when it needs to. Bascially, my understanding is that it won't let you lose control during hard-braking when cornering.

You may not know this stretch of road as you're in Finland, but I live in West London and use the start of the M4 motorway. Just before the Hounslow turn off there is a tight bend to the left and if you take it quite fast, the VSA ALWAYS comes in to "correct" the line I take. When the VSA is activated, the yellow exclamation lights starts flashing, idicating the system is working.

Clever stuff!

P.S. Maybe go to the dealer and get it checked out!

[Bardley]

Originally Posted by Skaven252

I have received three VSA warnings so far. You know, the "ping" and the snowflake.

I'm sure I can remember reading in the manual that this is to indicate that the temperature is below *oC i think its 3oC but im not sure, its just warning you that there may be ice on the road. It isnt telling you that the VSA has been activated.??

[pcr]

I thought that the large snowflake means the outside temperature is near to freezing ? It's an ice warning, not connected to VSA.
Regards, pcr.

[Copycat]

Snowflake sign is only there to warn you that the road may be getting slippery. It sometimes get's a bit ahead of itself when the temp is 3 degrees or so.

VSA light is an orange triangle that flashes at about two o'clock from the fuel meter. Better not get these things mixed up, man!

Easy way to see what I'm talking about is to press VSA off, so that little warning triangle gets lit.

Hope this helps.

[Jazz]

The vsa light came on one morning ( there was no reason to cause it's sort of a straight road ) and husband had to turn back and got the dealer to sort it out. Don't know why and they didn't say. The car must be having mood swings....

Apart from that , buzzing dashboard and not working hft ( haven't book an appointment to sort it out yet ) .... everything is ok and still enjoying the car.

[Skaven252]

Originally Posted by pcr

I thought that the large snowflake means the outside temperature is near to freezing ? It's an ice warning, not connected to VSA.

Ah, all right, that explains the strange warnings. So the first time when I got it, making that tight turn, was just a coincidence. That's what made me think it was associated with VSA in the first place.

[Copycat]

Yes, been seeing the VSa light quite a lot these past few days. Icy roads plus friction tires means I don't get the best possible grip.

Better be careful out there everyone.

[generationgav]

if the car pings or the vsa light is solid then I believe it means there is a problem with vsa; if the vsa light flashes it means there is a problem with your driving!

[apd]

Ive got vsa on my astra its not much use on ice because rather like abs it needs grip to work ,with vsa at least one opposing wheel needs to grip/brake to pull the car into line you may be better with it off does it switch off on the civic??

[Copycat]

It switches off. And you shouldn't switch it off.

Of course if you're going on regular tyres it's not much use, but with winter tyres it might save your life.

The VSA light is also solid when VSA is turned off as well as when there's a problem with it. Might be some difference between those two lights though.I don't have the manual with me right now, so can't check.

[pcr]

I understand what VSA does in emergency situations. Out of interest, how effective is it on a more day-to-day basis ? I was thinking of avoiding wheel spin, either when pulling away on a slippery road, or when struggling to get up a snow-covered hill.
Not being too adventurous myself, what happens if you put your foot hard down in 1st gear.
Regards, pcr.

[apd]

On vauxhall and vw its very good in 'normal circumstances' ie wet or not wet for that matter roads but on ice or snow not so good as it also cuts power as well as trying to brake one of the wheels ,i would never suggest switching it off except for adverse winter (snowy) weather when you need to climb a hill as it dangerously cuts power when you need as much driver control as possible.........

[basegreen]

If you go round a roundabout you can occasionally feel it kicking in.

[323GT-R]

The Civic system seems pretty good so far, not too intrusive or over eager, but definitely does work whenever you spin a wheel or start to slide the car. Best I've managed so far was when it cut in in 6th gear on a very wet M62...

[Copycat]

Haven't actually put my foot down on first gear but I have experienced VSA kicking in when pulling away from traffic lights and such on icy and snowy roads. It feels pretty much the same as ABS brakes working, or maybe not as dramatic. You can definitely feel it working it's magic.

[czechplastik]

I find the VSA works really well for me, try it on a roundabout in the rain, the car will slide only when you really put the foot down will the VSA kick in (as it should) and take control. Don't expect to notice anything spectacular it will just let you drive the car as normal. If you go into the video section on whatcar.com they did a test a few months ago with the new civic and got members of the public to test the VSA, the results were very impressive.

[czechplastik]

Ok Civvers, avert your mince pies to...

http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=221965

Shows the VSA in operation

[Skaven252]

Thanks for the link, plastik. Cool video. So I guess the VSA was working all the time during my trip, and I just failed to notice it. I would probably have slid around much worse if it had been off.

Getting a bit worried now... This weather will persist all week (according to the forecast) and I still have summer tyres. All the tyre shops in the area are fully booked. Luckily one shop has a non-stop drive-in tyre change session on Saturday, maybe I'll get lucky there.

(I lack the tools and the noogs to change the tyres myself...)