Got maybe an inch of snow but, no delayed openings in my area.
Lot's of wrecks.
The roads looked clear but, there was just enough ice on the pavement to fool you.
I was coming around a corner in my BMW and something felt kind of squirrely.
At the same time a light flashed on the dashboard and I'm thinking what's broke now.

I pull over and look in the book and it says I lost Traction Control.
First, I didn't know I had Traction Control.
Second, what good does the light do when it's only on when Traction Control is lost and when Traction Control is lost you're kinda busy with a handful of steering wheel?

This car has a lot of lights.
There is probably one that says, 'you wrecked'. Haven't seen it yet.

 

I think you'll know you've lost 'traction control' by that warm, squishy feeling in the seat of your pants...

 

My first choice this morning would have been my truck but, I don't have it.
Three weeks ago my daughter slide her Focus into a wreck on black ice.
She didn't have rental coverage, so I gave her the truck because she can't drive a stick. I'm supposed to get the truck back this weekend.

She works in Va Beach and they got a 2 hour delay this morning.
When I called her she didn't know about the delay and was heading out the door.
Glad I did, because my old '99 just has liability on it.

 

........

 

I was late to work as well. Got my tires balanced and rotated! Supposed to be 70 degrees here today.

Glad you escaped an accident, Raoul. Hope your truck survives, too.

 

Strange...my wife's light turns on if you turn off the traction control. If your driving and the traction control is activated it'll flash the light.

 

Now you are going to make me walk out to the parking lot.
I pulled over on the way to work and I didn't have my glasses on.
I could make out 'traction control' at that location of the dash from the book diagram so, I just went on down the road.

I just wanted to be sure my turbo thinga-jimmy wasn't about to explode.

I'l go get edumacated....

 

bmw's flash when the traction control is working. at least thats what my bro's does, hell even the f150 has traction control, I bout put it in a ditch the first corner I took after turning it off

 

i was told by my salesman after having it for a weekend that when i had the edge that when the light is ON, that means the traction control is OFF, but when the light is OFF, that means its ON .

 

That's how it works with the Focus as well.

 

My owners manual was more confusing than helpful so, I went to a bimmer forum like this place.

They fight over crap there more than you guys do.

"Is traction control standard?"
"yes"
"no"
"hell yes"
"yo momma"

Reading thru all the vitriol, it seems that all BMWs had standard TC starting in '97 and mine's a '98.
However, there was also an option on top of that called 'Automatic Stability Control' (ASC).
I don't have an ASC button so, no ASC.

I didn't know about TC until the light flashed and I've had the car over two years, that shows how good a driver I am.
With me behind the wheel, you could have a vasectomy performed in the backseat and be back at work in two days.

 

Link?

 

That was a condensed dialog.
I was at bimmerforums searching on E36 model traction control.
I got the max 500 returns and thumbed thru for an hour.
No way was I going post a noob question and get harrassed by those 'German Ricers'.

 

Sounds like what happened to me when I first started on this forum...

 

I didn't know goats came with either owner's manuals or traction control... Huh?! I learn something new every day!