Rear end slip

[MrShadow]

Hey everyone. Recently my area got some snow and ice, shocking cause it's winter. But I have a 2017 FPIU, running the Goodyear Eagle RSAs. New tires, probably 3000 miles on them. Everything is aired up correctly, no known issues at this time with either PTU or traction control system. When I am traveling at speeds greater than 25 on the snowy areas, the backend slides around as if I am on hockey pucks but no traction control lights flashing at me. A google search has yielded zero results that I could positively ID with. So now I am here. Anyone else experience this issue?

 

[J_C]

Welcome to the forum!

Does the back end slide around when trying to drive straight on a flat road, or is there uneven road or turns involved?

First let me ask, is this your first vehicle with a high rear center of gravity? That alone, makes these handle poorly relative to a car in slippery winter weather, and it might not be the right vehicle to go faster than 25MPH on some snowy roads.

Second, those tires aren't 3PMS rated, let alone winter tires, and don't have many tread sipes for all season tires, so they are leaning towards better grip for summer, with grooves to reduce hydroplaning, but far from ideal for winter, compared to some all season tires, let alone winter tires.

Third, I might be full of it and the problem is that you need a rear wheel alignment. Did you have the rear wheels toe link recall done? One thing I have seen a few times is that people reported that they didn't tighten the bolt enough when an alignment was done (including if the last time was when the toe links were replaced in the first place) , and the rear hub(s) slipped and went out of alignment. That can't happen with the old design toe link but can with the new one swapped in under the recall. I'd look closely at tread wear to see if it's a bit uneven, and considering that they are relatively new tires, that it might be worth having the alignment checked. Note that some tire/alignment shops are unfamiliar with the new toe link design and think that they can't be aligned, are unfamiliar with how to do an alignment, so they just leave the wheels unaligned.

 

[MrShadow]

No, not my first time with an SUV. Yes, it's on flat road, not curves although it was doing it on curves as well. I was wondering the high center of gravity simply due to these usually being loaded down with police equipment and now that it doesn't it might be affecting the ability to grip. The only open recall is the a pillar according to a VIN search. But I will definitely check again. Sounds like I need to put some weight in the back end and unfortunately spend a bunch on winter rated tires.

 

[peterk9]

No, not my first time with an SUV. Yes, it's on flat road, not curves although it was doing it on curves as well. I was wondering the high center of gravity simply due to these usually being loaded down with police equipment and now that it doesn't it might be affecting the ability to grip. The only open recall is the a pillar according to a VIN search. But I will definitely check again. Sounds like I need to put some weight in the back end and unfortunately spend a bunch on winter rated tires.

Welcome to the Forum.
Tire Rack gives them only a "Fair" (5.3) rating for 'Winter / Snow". That may be attributed to your issue, but I doubt it is the only thing. I always use dedicated winter tires when the season calls for them. There shouldn't be any need to put weight in the back which could prove dangerous in a collision. I've had 2 Explorers and never had any issues in winter with the proper tires. As J_C mentioned, it might be worth it to have an alignment check performed first.

Peter