Technical Australian traction control

[Petarfiat500x]

Does anyone know how to disable the esc or traction control on the Australian model of the fiat 500x, I see in the European models that it's a button but in Aus that button is a auto start stop button, any ideas guys much appreciated and I've contacted a fiat dealership twice and neither have gotten back to my request

 

[s130]

On the European 500X I'm told you can not turn off the ESC/Traction/etc. functions. All you can turn off is the enhanced Traction Plus / Poor-Wet Conditions settings.

The Driving Mode/Mood Dial has 3 settings:

Sport: ESC is set to a low level and requires very excessive actions before it kicks in
Auto: ESC is set to a medium/high level and moderate excessive actions required
Wet/Traction/Traction+: ESC is set to low level and small excessive actions required

Note: City models have Wet/traction. Cross Plus has Traction Plus.

This is what I'm told by Fiat Technical Support.

So far my personal experience is that on my 500X Cross Plus I can get the ASC functions to kick in in the Auto and Wet/Traction/Traction+ setting. So far I have failed to get ASC to kick in the Sport setting. It could be that in the Sport Mode ASC is turned off but this is not what Fiat say and the ASC Off does not come on. Conclusion is that in Sport Mode ASC required large and excessive actions to trigger and is not something one should test on a public road.

Experience of Traction Plus performance is a completely different story.

 

[Petarfiat500x]

See I don't even have the mood selector, my car just simply has a little piece of plastic that goes where it should be, I do notice however on overseas models that come in manual that they have this so I'm curious as to why fiat hasn't included it on this one..., brilliant car none the less just a shame I'm stuck with traction control/ESC kicking in whereas ANY other car can at least turn it off partially

 

[s130]

On reading back I said:

Wet/Traction/Traction+: ESC is set to low level and small excessive actions required

I should of said:

Wet/Traction/Traction+: ESC is set to *HIGH* level and small excessive actions required

 

[Petarfiat500x]

Going back to this one, for anyone who's curious and lives in Australia, the Australian model can't disable traction control, confirmed by Fiat Australia

 

[norgan]

I'd bet you could do this in the ECU somehow. If there's a buttonon some models to change it then you must be able to set that value in the ECU. Mine goes in for an ECU tune tomorrow, i'll see if we can find the traction control function.

 

[portland_bill]

Behind this must be a reason.

Why do you wish to disable a safety feature that can help control the car, so much faster and better than a driver can , when things get silly.

Is this a car sensitivity issue, with it operating too early, or a driving style issue where perhaps you are asking the car to defy physics?

 

[norgan]

It's tied to the esc and can be disabled using mes via the dyno mode. It can be turned off by key cycle

 

[s130]

You can do this in MES but you chose 5, 10 or 20 key cycles and then the system will automatically re-engage. Not really a practical or safe option for everyday road use

Also even with 20 key cycles then unless you are racing your 500X then on normal track days with queuing for runs, lunch and comfort breaks 20 key cycles is soon achieved and you could be in for a nasty surprise.

With everything turned off a cautious and good driver on a track can have some good fun and experience of driving a car up to both it's and your natural limits. This is learnt and felt over many goes. To then have all the stability stuff re-engage and you have lost count of key cycles will mean that the car will get far further into what you were used to handling and then let go! You could be a passenger from that point on!