Yeti 4 x 4 driving

[Bingley]

Hi just a question I can't work out from the manual, (which applies to every possible Yeti.....) Mine is a DSG 103TDI Outdoor MY15 which only has one button under the aircon buttons - a skidding car OFF button - I gather if this is not engaged the Traction Control and Stability Control are automatic.
The manual says I should only push it, ie deactivate the Traction Control - ' if driving with snow chains, driving in deep snow or on a very loose surface, or to rock a car free when it has become stuck'.
So - does pressing this engage the rear drive? If not, what does that button do?....

Advice from anyone welcome - I will definitely encounter 'very loose surfaces' in my daily driving this winter!

[vwpolo]

It turns off the traction control and stability control , i only turn mine off in deep mud or sand , but thats in a tiguan same same just different shape

[Greg Roles]

Yeah it just turns off traction control like vwpolo has mentioned, but on the road the 103kw Yeti doesn't have enough power to give you any concerns with it off. I've had a real crack in the wet with it off, and you are never going to get any real wheelspin, so I just leave it on all the time, and you can use it when off road so the braking effect traction control doesn't get you stuck prematurely.

In the interests of understanding your car, find a patch of isolated dirt away from civilisation, turn it off, and cut a few donuts, then turn it back on and the electronic nannies will step back in, makes the function very obvious. Alternately go do a defensive driving day, and get some skid pan time in your car, that has to be one of the best things you can do so you get a real understanding of how the car / nannies etc function in a loss of grip / stability.

All that said, in my experience so far the low ground clearance is by far the biggest limitation off road, and that will probably get you stuck long before traction control does!

[Bingley]

I think the short wheelbase will get me over most drainage banks on tracks around here by taking it diagonally. Drove in to Camp Ck Gap on Mt Bogong on Saturday after a night of rain - handled some very slippery slopes very easily with no trouble at all. Great little car!

[Greg Roles]

Yeah I ran into a young Yeti guy, turns out he lives a few streets over, and his beast was absolutely covered in mud. He had gone off roading with some more serious mates, and they spent the whole time telling him they weren't sure he would make it, yet he said the SWB was fantastic and he got over a lot of stuff even he thought was too much and he impressed all his friends.

I'm due for tyres soon, be awesome to find some half decent HT's, but we have such an odd tyre size you are relegated to more unusual brands. Then again who am I kidding, I'm too scared to scratch it up any more than I already have, by god the plastics each side of the windscreen scratch very easily, and my trendy black roof shows the scratches as well. I love the car too much, need to buy an old defender I think.