Loss of control

[Reedler]

While driving home this evening my wife was telling me how our 3.0d x5 sport had slipped while going round a roundabout earlier this week. I thought that she may of been driving to fast going into the corner. Only minutes after this conversation we were turning off the duel carriageway to our house from a roundabout when I also had the car lose control for a split second (enough to slid the car sideways before coming back into line), as we had our two kids in the back and this was a bit alarming for us. The road was wet and it was raining but I have driven round this same roundabout in this car for over a year now. All tyres are in good condition. Is this down to driver error or has anyone else experienced this?

Many thanks

Reedler

[pvr]

That is very odd as I have never managed to do that. Do you remember seeing the traction control light come on on the dash?

[weirdfish]

It could just be oil or deisel on the road, and with the rain we have had it's made it slippery, try going around it again, ( on your own ), gently at first, then slowly speed it up a bit, but keep it within your capabilities just in case.
you could always try a completely different roundabout to the ones that have given you this problem.

[X5Sport]

The most obvious things are.............assuming speed not the issue.

Any Traction Control lights on when this happened?  You may have seen the DSC light flickering?

Bad road surface (too smooth or debris), or new road surface as both are slippery.

Diesel spill on the roundabout - makes them slippery as hell!!

Tyre pressures too low - you will often not get a warning if there's a slow leak.

Tread depth below 3mm?  This increases the likelihood of any aquaplaning.

Does it happen on all corners, or turns in a particular direction, or just once or twice and any direction?

If only in certain directions then is there any excessive play in the suspension, or if you move any of the wheels?  If you push a front or rear quarter down does it rebound and settle instantly or bounce a bit?

Those are the most obvious I can think of.

Richard

[jaynana]

hard to make these beasts lose traction - iv'e tried a few times around roundabouts. in fact its harder than the 318 i once had!! which used to screech the wheels a bit easier and the traction light would start complaining.

other than the reasons already mentioned, i've once had a car which liked to screech around corners easily. turned out to be bad tracking.

[AW8]

I have broken traction in mine before though being a prefacelift it does not have xdrive & bhas the older tried & tested set up. This was on a 90 degree left left hand bend with tarmac top coat broken way on one side of the lane and in damp and with a camber. Corrected it okay by throttle feather and counter steer albeit being briefly sideays in a large car isn't ideal.

Despite byears of driving FWD & RWD cars many without driver traction aids - Losing lateral grip in any car can be a little testing. In a heavy 4WD car the experience can appear less progressive when it happens & not smooth to recover.

I note the comments re tyre depth albeit just as lower tread depths can affect wet grip so of course can age/waer of the tyre. Tyres can go off so to speak & thus can offer less critical performance perehaps due to non depth wear & flexing for many miles.

Check pressures & get a decent alignment check if you cant rule out tyre wear &/or local road environment factors such as surface contamination or defects.

[X5Sport]

I tend to use the theory that a tyre aged more than 5 years is probably debatable on safety as it will be oxidising and may be getting brittle.  I rarely get any to actually last that long, but a low use car could easily get to 5 years on the same set.  I think it is the Caravan Club that recommends tyres over 5 years old be scrapped.

Whether or nor there is any truth in the theory I know not, but it seems like sound advice.

I also agree that there is no 'progressive' loss of traction with these beasts, it can happen kind of sudden like, and the recovery is usually equally abrupt!  I've only done it once that I can recall, and that was on a fuel spill.  At least the X5 was more stable than our E46 which has a nasty habit of the rear end 'stepping out' if driven enthusiastically on anything other than a dry road. 
In snowy conditions it's positively lethal on untreated roads... :drive:

[pvr]

... or in the hands of Mrs X5Sport 

[X5Sport]

:laughing1: :laughing1: :laughing1: :laughing1: O:-)
..........you're determined to get into trouble aren't you, and she knows where you live ) )

[pvr]

A bar of chocolate and she will be like putty in my hands  )

[Rusty]

[quote="pvr"]
A bar of chocolate and she will be like putty in my hands  )
[/quote]
Does that apply to all women?



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[X5Sport]

Only if it's a VERY large box of 'Godiva'........and that's nothing to do with the naked lady with a similar name and long tresses riding on a horse....

[Sanj]

[quote="Rusty Nail"]
Does that apply to all women? [/quote]

Nope, mine wants a holiday to match!  :blink:

[X5Sport]

) )  Got one of those too  ) )

[Reedler]

Hi Guys, thanks for all the replies. I can't remember the traction control light coming on, but to be honest I wouldn't of noticed as eyes were firmly on the road and mind was sending signals to my butt cheeks to remain firmly closed :blink:. Back tyres are a couple of month old and fronts are 10 month old with average mileage on them. My better half has said that about a week ago a warning flashed up along the lines of "self level suspension inact" or something along that lines. It flashed up once and has not returned. Both our "slips" we're at different roundabouts on different days so diesel on road is unlikely but not impossible. Haven't checked tyre pressure for a while but I will tomorrow. Was passenger in car again today with wife and kids and she has definitely lost confidence in her beloved X5 :'(.
Thanks again
Reedler

P.s with all this rain recently, our parking sensors have decided to play up. Read somewhere on this forum about water affecting them. They stopped working for two days giving all the signs that one was faulty, but now they are working perfect. Bit strange, me thinks we may have gremlins on board, No feeding diesel after midnight.