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07 During your trip
Towing a trailer
07
295
Trailer Stability Assist (TSA)
Trailer Stability Assist is a system designed to
help stabilize a vehicle that is towing a trailer
when the vehicle and trailer have begun to
sway and is part of the Dynamic Stability and
Traction Control system (DSTC). See page
142 for information on DSTC.
Function
A vehicle towing a trailer may begin to sway
for various reasons. Normally this only occurs
at high speeds but, for example, if the trailer
is overloaded or if the load is unevenly dis-
tributed in the trailer, there is risk of swaying
at speeds between approximately 45-55 mph
(70-90 km/h).
Swaying may be caused by factors such as:
•
The vehicle and trailer are hit by a sud-
den, strong crosswind
•
The vehicle and trailer are traveling on an
uneven road surface or drive over a bump
•
Sudden movements of the steering wheel
Facts about TSA
•
TSA intervenes at speeds above approxi-
mately 40 mph (60 km/h)
•
The DSTC symbol (
) in the instru-
ment panel will flash when TSA is working
•
If the driver switches off the DSTC sys-
tem's Spin Control function, TSA will also
be switched off (but will be on again the
next time the engine is started)
•
TSA may not intervene when the vehicle
and trailer begin to sway if the driver tries
to compensate for the swaying motion by
moving the steering wheel rapidly
How TSA works
Once swaying has begun, it can be very diffi-
cult to stop, which makes it difficult to control
the vehicle and trailer.
The TSA system continuously monitors the
vehicle's movements, particularly lateral
movement. If the system detects a tendency
to sway, the brakes are applied individually
on the front wheels, which has a stabilizing
effect on the vehicle and trailer. This is often
enough to enable the driver to regain control
of the vehicle.
If this is not adequate to stop the swaying
motion, the brakes are applied to all of the
wheels on the vehicle and on the trailer if it is
equipped with brakes, and engine power is
temporarily reduced. As the swaying motion
begins to decrease and the vehicle-trailer
have once again become stable, TSA will no
stop regulating the brakes/engine power and
the driver regains control of the vehicle.
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