How To Turn Off Traction Control Without Button

Traction control plays an important safety role in your car. It prevents the wheels from spinning when driving on slippery surfaces.

However, this function can also be problematic, especially when driving on a snow-filled hill.

For instance, when driving on a sloppy and slippery surface and the traction control is on, the traction control will detect the wheel spin and cut off the power supply, thus stopping the car.

So, you might want to turn it off during such occasions. This article will look at how you can turn off the traction control without a button.

Take Your Car Off The Road

The first step when turning off traction control involves driving the car to a safe area.

This is because the process might disable essential safety features in the car, such as the braking system. When this happens, it may put you and other road users at danger.

Disable The Airbags

The airbags in your car also perform a critical safety role in your car. It prevents your head from hitting the steering wheel when there is a crush.

Although they minimize the pain caused by a crush, they can also cause pain when they hit your face.

Since turning off the traction wheel might activate the airbags sensors, it is good to deactivate the airbags system to minimize the discomfort it causes when it comes on.

To deactivate the airbags system, open its compartment and disconnect the yellow wires from their sockets.

Turn Off The Security Systems

The process can also turn on the security systems such as the door security system and the alarm systems. When these systems come on, they will cause discomfort in the car.

Therefore, it is also vital to disable them before turning off the traction control without a button. Your car’s manual should be able to tell you how to do so.

Turn Off The Traction Control

You can use many ways to turn off the traction control without a button. These methods are grouped into two as discussed below.

Temporary Method

This method involves the following steps:

Turn The Ignition On

Once you are done with step three above, you can insert the key to the ignition and turn it on.

Turn On The Hazard Lights

If you have parked the car on the side of the road, it is essential to turn on the hazard lights.

It will tell other oncoming vehicles that your car is not moving and, as a result, minimizes accidents.

Hit On The Acceleration Pedal Five Times

This is pretty easy. You only press the acceleration pedal five times.

It’s important not to exceed this number. It is best to count them in your head as you press the pedal.

Start The Engine

You can now start the engine by pressing the engine button.

Check if the traction control is off.

If the traction control has been turned off, a yellow icon will show it on the car’s dashboard.

Turn Off The Hazard Lights

Since the procedure worked, you can now turn off the hazard lights to notify oncoming vehicles that you are now pulling out of the parking space.

Permanent Method

Most modern cars have complex traction control that the above procedures may not turn off. Even if they can turn it off, the traction control will still come back on.

Fortunately, other methods can give a permanent solution.

However, it is always advisable to use these methods when you have expertise in operating the various components in your car. These methods include:

Pull Out The Traction Fuse

As you may already know, an electrical system needs a fuse to work. If the fuse is blown or is missing, the current won’t pass through.

Similarly, the traction control won’t get the voltage it needs to operate if you pull the traction fuse.

The challenge is that the traction control has many fuses; hence you will have to pull each one while checking if the traction control is off.

It can be time-consuming and tiresome. But to make the process easy, get the car’s manual and use it to identify the traction fuses and their location in the fuse box.

The fuse box is usually located under your car’s hood. But some cars may have their fuse box located in the glove compartment in the driver’s seat.

Unplug The ABS Sensor Or The Yaw Sensor

Since the ABS and traction control are linked together, the traction control would also stop working if the ABS sensor malfunctioned.

So, if the above method doesn’t seem to work, you can try unplugging the ABS sensor. Since the ABS sensor is located on each wheel, you may have to unplug all of them.

But you should remember that unplugging it will make your car less stable hence you will have to be careful when checking if the traction control has gone off.

If the traction control is still on, you can try disabling the yaw sensor.

The yaw sensor performs an almost similar role to the ABS sensor, except it is placed at the car’s center of gravity.

Unplug The ABS Module

Although this method effectively turns off the traction control, it is not recommended since it affects other vital features in the car.

For example, your braking performance will be severely affected when you unplug the ABS module. So you can ignore it and use the following method.

Disconnect Brake Throttle Override Wire

The traction control works by activating the brake throttle override to cut the engine power. As such, there is a wire that joins the two components.

If you disable this wire, the traction control will be functionless. If this doesn’t work, you can try the following method.

Disconnect The Wheel Sensors

The traction control also gets its signals from the wheel sensors. So, if you unplug some of these sensors, you will be able to turn the traction control off without a button.

But like in a fuse, you may have to repeat the procedure many times until the traction is off. It is hard to know which wheel sensor works directly with the traction control.

Disable Connection With The Steering Wheel Sensor

The steering wheel sensor sends information relating to the steering wheel movement to the traction control.

Therefore, if you break the connection between the steering wheel sensor and the traction control, the latter will stop working. To access this sensor, use your car’s manual.

Turn On The Airbags System And The Security Systems

Once the traction control is off, you can now turn on the Airbags System and the Security Systems.

It is because it’s not safe to drive the car out of the parking when these systems are off.

Conclusion

Although traction control plays a vital role in your car, it can also be a nuisance when it comes on while trying to wade through mud.

Hence, it is vital to know how to disable it, especially when it doesn’t have a button. There are two methods you can use.

But these methods depend on your car’s model and how long you want the traction control to stay off.

Bear in mind that you should have the technical knowledge to apply these methods.