My wife bought a Crossfire this fall and last night was the first time driven in snow. Not much only about two inches, but she had trouble even navigating the smallest of hills. The traction warning light came on, on the dash and basically the car would not move. I tried to drive in a parking lot and the car would move but once that warning light came on it was almost like there was a clutch that was not engaged and the car would not move. When we bought the car we specifically asked how the car handled in the winter and the salesman said great. I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas what is wrong. It's an automatic and I can't afford to have it towed everytime it snows an inch.

 

Same experience here. Check out Crossfire Coupe forum above.

 

I ended up in the ditch last night...I was so upset! This is my first winter, too. If I were traveling in reverse and down hill I may have made it home...as it was it took me 3 1/2 hours for a 25 minutes drive...I was warned that the Crossfire may not work well in the snow...I had NO IDEA it was going to be like this. A friend and Crossfire owner suggested to get SLK Mercedes rims and 17/18 all weather tires~ Move the "W" to "S" and take the all wheel off. Crazy! It was disturbing! Good luck!

 

1. Continental all season radials or winter tire and rim swap.
2. W/S selector in (W) position.
3. 100-150 lbs of ballast in the trunk (two sacks of masons cement works well).

I employ all three and get around quite nice, just remember a four wheel drive it ain't...

P.S. Six inches of snow last night.

 

Could not have said it better. The W/S Selector is very imprortant.

 

My XF was not moving at all then I turned off the traction control and it moved all of a sudden, has anyone else had better results when turning off the traction control?

 

If you want to have less problems in the snow, invest in a set of cheap 18" rims and winter-specific tires. All seasons will get you by if you're not planning on doing much traveling in snow, and none in heavy snow. The stock summer tires (Michelin Pilot Sports) are NOT designed for ANY snow or cold temperatures. It is VERY unsafe and not advisable to attempt to drive in winter conditions with summer tires.

 

I live in wisconsin, and have the 6 speed with performance tires. Last year I had a 120 lbs and did ok when it wasn't snowing. This year I have no additional weight (don't ask, I'm lazy), and yes the TC is a pain. And this might be easier for auto's since you only need two hands, but you have to play with the TC switch when starting. When you feel it really kick in, turn it off, then when there's to much slip back on, and etc until you move. Don't know how but I can do all this while turning. But this only happens if I get caught in the snow. Otherwise I get to drive a neon, and sadly it's not an srt-4. I guess just try different things. I go out every year to an empty parking lot and practice driving in snow, taking turns, stopping, etc to get a feel for the car. And then after all that hard work I've worked up a hunger, so I make a few "donuts" and have some fun. And wings is right, its not good to drive on the perf. tires in the snow, and even cold. My example happened today. Had a red light at a monitored on-ramp. When it turned green, I floored it with tc off, back end got out, shifted to second, same thing, third tires were still slipping with tc off, and even into 4th going about 60. Conditions- around 25 degrees, clean road with exception of a dusting of road salt (no pieces, just the residue) and i had already drove the car for about 20 mins. Granted i could of let off the throttle at any point, but this just shows what lil traction there is.

 

I am on winter #3. I run the Michelins but do have the luxury of public transportation when I need it. When I am caught out in the snow I put it in 'W' and turn off the traction control. The traction control will not let you burn through snow when you have to. The traction control is good for slush and patchy ice but will not let you start up if there is any accumulation. If you have no choice better get some winter tires, add some weight, turn on the 'W' and turn off the traction control in the snow. Still won't be great but it should be serviceable.

 

Buy some 17 inch wheels from an slk320 sport, then slap some blizzaks snow tires only on them. Viola, you know have a car capable of going through over 6 inches of snow. The crossfire will plow the snow away with its low ground clearance. But it will go through it. We got 10 inches of snow here in chicago not too long ago, and the crossfire with this setup had no troubles. The whole set should run you only about a grand or so.

 

Goodluck finding any cheap 18 inch rims that will fit those tires try Wheels | Rims

 

Congrats to you on digging up a thread that is 6 years old for no reason.

BC.

 

Archeology is fun, you never know what you might find, skulls, gold, arrow heads ........ old threads.

 

lol
.................

 

I have a 100 mile round trip commute every day, and the crossfire is my daily driver. I live in northwestern NJ so drive up and down hills, on winding country roads, interstate highways and city streets on my commute. I don't have a choice to not go to work when it snows as I work at a hospital. I have NEVER had a significant problem with the car in the snow.

I have a set of 4 OEM 18 inch wheels with blizzak snowtires. I put about 120 lbs of weight in the cargo area. Put the W/S switch in W. And Drive. I do turn off the T/C when I go up a hill, as I find it easier to use my right foot to control the traction and maintain momentum going up the hills, but other than that, the car does just fine in the snow.

A light foot on the gas, a light foot on the brake, anticipate the traffic and you should have no problems at all...

 

My Crossies don't go at all in snow. They just sleep in the garage, under covers, with float chargers, until spring.