got stuck!?

[drinkcoke3]

to preface this story: my car is a 2011 135i with stock suspension, stock rims, and blizzak lm-60 225/40/18 on all 4 corners.

So today driving to work was fine, until I pulled into the parking lot for my office and got stuck basically on the side walk, 1/3 of the car was in the lot, and 2/3s on top of the side walk.

i called BMW assist after having a buddy try to push me out to no avail, and BMW told me to turn off traction control and try to rock back and forth, still to no avail.. finally with my boss, a buddy, and a stranger, we were able to get my car unstuck, and drive it to safety in the parking lot without the need of a tow truck to winch me out.

my question is - wouldn't turning OFF traction make the situation worse?

and also, i noticed BOTH of my rear wheels were spinning - is that normal? i thought we had open differentials and only one rear wheel spins?

thanks in advance.

Benji

[Taylorstav]

Thank you BMW Assist. lol

[j1gzca]

Originally Posted by drinkcoke3

to preface this story: my car is a 2011 135i with stock suspension, stock rims, and blizzak lm-60 225/40/18 on all 4 corners.

So today driving to work was fine, until I pulled into the parking lot for my office and got stuck basically on the side walk, 1/3 of the car was in the lot, and 2/3s on top of the side walk.

i called BMW assist after having a buddy try to push me out to no avail, and BMW told me to turn off traction control and try to rock back and forth, still to no avail.. finally with my boss, a buddy, and a stranger, we were able to get my car unstuck, and drive it to safety in the parking lot without the need of a tow truck to winch me out.

my question is - wouldn't turning OFF traction make the situation worse?

and also, i noticed BOTH of my rear wheels were spinning - is that normal? i thought we had open differentials and only one rear wheel spins?

thanks in advance.

Benji

Under normal circumstances, the traction control will try to limit wheel spin so that your rear wheels match the speed of your front wheels. When you're stuck in snow and you try to give it some gas, the system will detect wheel spin and since your front wheels are not rotating, it will try to match that speed. This is the point where traction control becomes useless.

At least that's my very basic interpretation of how traction control works.

[moveswiftly]

was the snow higher than the chassis? that's the only time i've gotten stuck and I still powered my way out of the situation.

[drinkcoke3]

the snow was about 5-6'' but there was a 2'' layer of ice under it, my tires spinning started making slush somehow and made things messsy

[drinkcoke3]

Originally Posted by Taylorstav

Thank you BMW Assist. lol

glad to know im not the only one that had to call them for that haha

[fwmcb]

We had quite a bit of snow during that same storm. The best advice I can give you is to buy a small shovel as these cars cannot plow snow. Once you have an unobstructed path then try rocking back and forth with traction off, while being mindful that it is off, then you'll be out slick. The other thing in winter always back into a space. It took 4 of us to push my gf's rav 4 because she decided to use it as a snow plow.

[FDM68]

You prob spun your wheels melted the ice underneath, which can refreeze extreamly quickly, around your tires making and "icebowl" if you will. Pulling into the snow like that especially if it's wet or been sitting and freezing is akin to getting stuck in quick dry cement. I too say get a shovel, maybe some road salt/sand in a container, and allotof places sell devices you can place under your wheels to help you on your way... take care and Gut Farht

[voerman]

This is probably obvious, but when trying to get "unstuck" make sure your front wheels are straight ahead, any turn of the front wheels will require the back to pull or push the fronts through the snow making it harder to move the car.

Lou

[mrleisure]

The town I'm from in Oregon is built on hills. So to get around the neighborhood, you have to go up and down these steep inclines, thankfully it is southern Oregon, so the weather is warm most of the year. However, this past month I had to get to the airport at 6am. The only car available was our 2008 Cayenne Turbo. However, with the 21 inch OEM wheels, there aren't any winter or all-season tires available. You have to purchase a whole new set of wheels which is extremely expensive considering it snows only a few days out of the year and usually melts by noon anyway. Of course, that morning it snowed. Made it down one hill sideways. Next hill...pulled over. I got out of the car and threw up. This was probably one of the largest hills in town and I couldn't stomach it. Of course a mini-van blew by me seconds later. I watched. No braking, straight line, ran four stop signs, then disappeared a mile or so over another crest. Left the car there and walked down my friend's about 500ft down in elevation. Took his early 90s Volvo wagon with summer tires. Made it another 500 ft down in elevation and it was just rain. 500 feet more and it was dry and hadn't even rained/snowed there. Moral of the story...get yourself a 90's Volvo Wagon and leave the expensive German toys in the garage

[ND40oz]

Originally Posted by mrleisure

The town I'm from in Oregon is built on hills. So to get around the neighborhood, you have to go up and down these steep inclines, thankfully it is southern Oregon, so the weather is warm most of the year. However, this past month I had to get to the airport at 6am. The only car available was our 2008 Cayenne Turbo. However, with the 21 inch OEM wheels, there aren't any winter or all-season tires available. You have to purchase a whole new set of wheels which is extremely expensive considering it snows only a few days out of the year and usually melts by noon anyway. Of course, that morning it snowed. Made it down one hill sideways. Next hill...pulled over. I got out of the car and threw up. This was probably one of the largest hills in town and I couldn't stomach it. Of course a mini-van blew by me seconds later. I watched. No braking, straight line, ran four stop signs, then disappeared a mile or so over another crest. Left the car there and walked down my friend's about 500ft down in elevation. Took his early 90s Volvo wagon with summer tires. Made it another 500 ft down in elevation and it was just rain. 500 feet more and it was dry and hadn't even rained/snowed there. Moral of the story...get yourself a 90's Volvo Wagon and leave the expensive German toys in the garage

I would think a winter tire/wheel package from tire rack would be cheaper then buying an old Volvo Wagon. They even carry the OEM 18" wheels for the Cayenne if you don't want to go aftermarket.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...All&sort=Brand

[drinkcoke3]

thanks for the tips, ill try to remember to use them in the future

i cant afford insurance on another car right now but trust me ive thought about that

and to the above comment regarding salt/sand in the trunk... i had 2x25 lb bags of salt, and an 80 lb bag of sand in my trunk during this entire dilema

[JimD]

If you drive up on snow that lifts your car, it doesn't matter how good your tires are or how much weight you have in the trunk. The tires have to reach the pavement (with the cars weight on them) to do anything for you. If you haven't done this, then letting some air out will help. I carry a 12V pump so I can raise it back up too.

Jim

[fwmcb]

You can also get traction ramps which give your car some added traction after a heavy snowfall

[mrleisure]

Originally Posted by ND40oz

I would think a winter tire/wheel package from tire rack would be cheaper then buying an old Volvo Wagon. They even carry the OEM 18" wheels for the Cayenne if you don't want to go aftermarket.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...All&sort=Brand

Thanks for looking that up. In all honesty, it only snows a few days a year, and like I said - usually melts by noon. This was the one time I needed to actually get out and got screwed over.

[FDM68]

Not trying to sound like a tool twds you but did ya spread the salt around the tires etc... during this episode?

Originally Posted by drinkcoke3

thanks for the tips, ill try to remember to use them in the future

i cant afford insurance on another car right now but trust me ive thought about that

and to the above comment regarding salt/sand in the trunk... i had 2x25 lb bags of salt, and an 80 lb bag of sand in my trunk during this entire dilema

[drinkcoke3]

Originally Posted by FDM68

Not trying to sound like a tool twds you but did ya spread the salt around the tires etc... during this episode?

haha...i thought about it but didnt think that in that deep of snow it would have made a difference.

[NFIDDY5]

Excuse my ignorance, but being that I live in the southwest desert, but what all that white stuff on and around your car? LOL. I so DO NOT miss the Midwest / east coast.

[FDM68]

Yeah in your situation a shovel with the salt/sand you would have been on your way after just a short bit of time.

[JimD]

Around here, people do not typically have a scraper. We've had 3 snows this year but we usually go 3-5 years between snowfall. Essentially nobody would have a shovel and salt or sand. But when I lived up-north, they were not uncommon. Army surplus stores used to have little folding shovels that were popular for a car trunk. Not a great shovel - unless it's the only one you have and you're stuck!

Jim