I have an '02 ES300. I would really like to add the VSC. I haven't talked to the dealer yet. Anyone know if this is a reasonable possibility? Probably, the right way to do it would be to trade or sell my car and buy an '02 or '03 with VSC, it would probably be ?+$5000? out of pocket after all the math.
What has prompted this: my girlfriend had a tire blow at 70 mph on her Honda CRV. She spun out and bounced off the guard rail. Luckily, no one was near her, she didn't flip and she wasn't hurt. You think VSC would have prevented the spin out??? Thanks....David.

 

swfla, let us know what you find out at the dealer. But with these type of modifications, it is usually a better deal to sell your car and buy newer car with the option you want.

Yes, your car will be be safer with VSC. But your car is much less likely to spin out than the CRV in a tire blow out situation since you have a lower center of gravity, longer wheelbase, and wider track than the CRV in your nose heavy ES.

We have 2 ES' w/o VSC. I feel quite safe in the cars. Now if I were driving in icy conditions, I wouldn't be so sanguine.

If your girlfriend wants to keep driving an SUV, I don't think you will have a hard time convincing her of the value of an electronic stability control (various acronyms like ESP, ESC, VSC) system in her next vehicle.

Stability control is especially valuable for high center of gravity SUV's and rear wheel drive vehicles.

I almost forgot to mention that I am glad that she is ok!

 

I'm glad your girl is fine, that's what really matters. But we know our cars come second , so lets talk about that. Does anyone have an idea why the tire might have blown out? If it makes you feel any better, a few years back I was in a skid too, flipped the car over twice. The next thing I did was open an insurance policy on my life.

As for your car, you are off better selling your car, buying another. Adding VSC to existing car would be very expensive. Your're talking about adding a G , steering wheel angle and yaw rate sensor at least. Wiring harnesses? ECM programming? Then the labor and expetise to install it all. You would have to stick with the dealer new parts as you'd be risking your life with something eles. I'm sure when you call the dealer service dept he'll refer you to parts. How they would even price it out the labor, I don't know.

I do believe in traction/stability control systems. I too wish I had it in my car. Depending on the situation, VSC might not have prevented the skid your girlfriend was in. The laws of physics are at play here.

Besides VSC, here's somethings you and your girlfriend might want to consider.
1. I don't mean this as a criticism on your driving abilities whatsoever -> How about taking a professional driving lessons (i.e. Skip Barber) to hone your skills? They'll teach you how to deal with skids, inclement weather and emergency situations. And the skills you learn will last a lifetime for every vehicle.
2. I would check the condition of the tires also. Poorly maintained tires, regardless of how good or expensive (not always a correlation by the way) the tire is, is going to cost you money and maybe your life. I'm not sure if run-flat tires would have made any difference.

Good luck and drive safe.

 

Thanks for the caring feedback The dealer cannot do the work. I suspect it is too complicated as you pointed out. The driving course sounds like a fun, life long solution. Could make it part of a fun vacation.
The tire that blew was the unused spare from her previous '98 Honda. I didn't realize she had put it on the car, it was meant to be a spare only. I guess the best thing to do is NEVER keep an old tire, even for a spare. The rest of her tires are newer and in good condition. We both just purchased these vehicles in Jan., and are not in a position to upgrade to newer vehicles with VSC. But you can bet that will be a mandatory feature for our next cars......

 

swfla, I bet that besides cost factors there are also liability factors that makes adding VSC too risky for legal reasons.

Check out these links from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety if you are interested in the benefits of VSC

http://www.iihs.org/sr/pdfs/sr4105.pdf

http://www.iihs.org/news/2006/iihs_news_061306.pdf

By the way, where on the CRV was the tire that failed mounted? My guess is that it was mounted on the rear of the vehicle.

miltonlin, what kind of car where you in that rolled?

 

Driver side rear tire blew. It's sad that VSC is not yet a standard safety feature on ALL new vehicles. I am sure it will be eventually. We have plenty of rain to make the roads slippery, happily, ice (except at happy hour) is nonexistent in SW Fla