Disabling Stabilitrak

Dirtbiker · December 3, 2013

Hi there. I am new to this webpage. I have had 4 GM trucks over the last 10 years and just ordered a new 2014 All Terrain Sierra. I currently have a 2010 Chev 1500 and loved it but with putting 180,000 km on in only three years, it is starting to cost more for repairs than it is worth. My experiment of not trading it off at two years and 120,000km to see of repairs would be cheaper than depreciation has not worked.

I normally will not buy anything the first year of a big make over but decided this time to give it a try

I discovered during a test drive that, like previous versions, you can disable the traction control and stabilitrak but at 56km per hour, it automatically comes back on. I was excited to get the new model but this frustrates me. I don't need my truck to drive for me. I enjoy steering with the gas pedal in the winter and always shut the TC and stabilocrap off everytime I get in the truck.

Has anyone figured out a way to disable it so it won't come back on automatically? I don't mind having to do it every time I start the truck even.

Is this something a tuner can fix?

I have been reading posts on this site for a few days now and haven't seen this topic anywhere so I thought I would sign up and ask.

Thank you in advance.

Cap'n Pete · December 3, 2013

I know that with my 'Vette, if you pushed & held the traction control button for 10 seconds, it would shut the system off completely (except ABS, which could not be disabled other than by pulling the ABS fuse). Not sure if the trucks would allow you to push & hold the TC button to disable the system or not?? (.........if I had my truck yet, I'd go try it out and tell you! ).

youcantkeepup! · December 3, 2013

correct you push and hold... but over 35mph the stibilitrac turns back on traction will stay off though

Cap'n Pete · December 3, 2013

^ ^ Gotcha. Ok, that's dumb!!

So what that means is, you can still roast the rear tires off, but in a straight line only. Don't try to crank the wheel and do a donut?!

......................although having said that, I just saw a youtube video a couple days ago of a guy doing a pretty sweet smoky donut in the middle of a parking lot with his new Silverado, sooooooo....................

Edited December 3, 2013 by Cap'n Pete

MotoMedic · December 3, 2013

So what that means is, you can still roast the rear tires off, but in a straight line only. Don't try to crank the wheel and do a donut?!

You can do donuts... GM just wants you to keep them at a safe sub-35 MPH speed!

TJay74 · December 3, 2013

So exactly why is the reason you need the stabilitrack off at speeds over 35mph????

Just because you think you are some expert driver in the snow doesn't mean you are. Try driving like a normal person instead of trying to practice your drift skills. No one wants to get hit by you when you lose control of the truck over 35mph when it is icy/snowy out.

There is no way to bypass the stabilitrack program or the traction control. It is handled by the BCM and none of the tuning programs out there modify this module due to liability reasons.

oldmann · December 3, 2013

So exactly why is the reason you need the stabilitrack off at speeds over 35mph????

Just because you think you are some expert driver in the snow doesn't mean you are. Try driving like a normal person instead of trying to practice your drift skills. No one wants to get hit by you when you lose control of the truck over 35mph when it is icy/snowy out.

There is no way to bypass the stabilitrack program or the traction control. It is handled by the BCM and none of the tuning programs out there modify this module due to liability reasons.

He may only be going 2 mph but the tires are at 98. That is the problem. I have never noticed the ST being turned back on at high speed, but I am sure it is. The ST is great in these trucks. I am a competent driver, but it does wonders.

MikeNH · December 3, 2013

So exactly why is the reason you need the stabilitrack off at speeds over 35mph????

Just because you think you are some expert driver in the snow doesn't mean you are. Try driving like a normal person instead of trying to practice your drift skills. No one wants to get hit by you when you lose control of the truck over 35mph when it is icy/snowy out.

There is no way to bypass the stabilitrack program or the traction control. It is handled by the BCM and none of the tuning programs out there modify this module due to liability reasons.

The nanny state crap can be a hinderance in certain conditions. The summer I was able to visit the dunes the stupid crap was always cutting in unless I ran in 4 low. By your absurd logic no one should drive an older vehicle without the nannies.

TJay74 · December 3, 2013

the way I look at is this though, cars didn't used to have the nannies. What happened, someone lost control of their vehicle and sued the manufacture saying it was their manufactures fault that the suing driver couldn't control their car. Suing person won stupid large settlement and now we all have nannies in our car that cant be turned off.

Prime example, firestone tire failures on the Ford Explorers. Owners didn't pay attention to their tire pressures causing tires to blow out killing a couple of people, with in 4 years after the wreck the .gov now mandates TPMS on every vehicle sold to warn drivers of low tires. We had to have this for what reason???

BringTheRain403 · December 3, 2013

I"m fine with the TPMS. However, I do agree that the ST and TC are issues in certain conditions and you should be able to turn them completely off. I don't mind them so much on the AWD and 4WD vehicles because they track so well in the snow but when I had my Grand Am the TC would kick in right as I started to get momentum going up a hill in the snow and kill the throttle and then I'd be back to square one...

redwngr · December 4, 2013

The nanny state crap can be a hinderance in certain conditions. The summer I was able to visit the dunes the stupid crap was always cutting in unless I ran in 4 low. By your absurd logic no one should drive an older vehicle without the nannies.

Is it the TC that caused the problems in the sand or is the stabilitrac also an issue? I've had issues with a GMT900 (2500) in snow/mud when I forgot to shut off the TC, but I do like what the TC does in 'on road' situations.

Edited December 4, 2013 by redwngr

MikeNH · December 4, 2013

Stabilitrac would kick in when the truck got at all sideways/fishtailing. I like stabilitrac enough for normal driving but traction control is worthless. Just tonight pulling out onto a road that was wet the tires broke traction and power went away. If that happened trying to get through a gap in traffic there'd of been an accident.

Dirtbiker · December 4, 2013

So exactly why is the reason you need the stabilitrack off at speeds over 35mph????

Just because you think you are some expert driver in the snow doesn't mean you are. Try driving like a normal person instead of trying to practice your drift skills. No one wants to get hit by you when you lose control of the truck over 35mph when it is icy/snowy out.

There is no way to bypass the stabilitrack program or the traction control. It is handled by the BCM and none of the tuning programs out there modify this module due to liability reasons.

First of all, thank you for those that responded and tried to help.

To answer your question TJay74, I am not doing 35 mph when I need to spin my tires (with one exception I will explain later) I am usually doing less than 5mph. I work in the oilfield up here in Canada where we get lots of snow. Sometimes it is easier to turn around on a tight right of way in the bush by swinging the rear end around than it is to do a six point turn and risk getting stuck. When out in the bush sometimes I am trying to get out of a slippery valley and need speed to do it and having the truck apply my brakes for me kind of makes it hard. I have driven almost 2 million km in my life so far and have only had two accidents with one happening 23 years ago when I was 17 learning to drive and I rear ended a car at very low speed once. I have been forced to drive in places where a mistake can cause you to slide off a cliff and die from a thousand foot drop with no guard rails to save you. So I am actually a very good driver in snow and ice. If I wasn't I would have wrecked a lot more vehicles in life.

The other thing I like to do is drive in two wheel drive on icy highways not 4x4. This way when I am doing 50 or 60 mph and it is hard to tell if the highway has become icy, I hit the gas a little and see if the rear tires will spin. This tells me if it is indeed icy. Stabilitrak makes this impossible now.

I do like to take some turns in town by using the gas but once again I am doing less than 10 miles an hour and no one else is around when I do it so that I don't risk hitting anyone else.

So that is my reasoning. I am not a drifter but thank you for scolding me, that was nice

Have a great day everyone

Badass69 · December 4, 2013

I work and live in northern Alberta in similar conditions to the op. In the winter on slippery roads I don't lose control without any of this garbage the new trucks come with..... but then I actually learned how to handle a vehicle in the age before even antilock braking... And in a loaded with weight 3/4 ton I found the stabilitrack garbage to be unpredictable and flat out dangerous if the truck started sliding as the system had no idea what to do except the completly wrong thing being applying the brakes. I would like to see a resolution to this... but then again some fuse pulling may be in order... which probably gives you limp mode lol.

And guess what... on ice this stability junk can do what it likes but speed and road conditions prevail. I see piles of new trucks skid off the road just like any other ever has. Like maybe drivers should learn that centrifugal force in corners on ice is something combatted by slowing down... but nope. Or whipping lanes on ice like in the summer will toss you into a skid.... or that slamming on the brakes while skidding is doing more harm than anything.... or accelerating madly up an icy hill results in wheel spin. You can do 100 mph on glare ice on flat ground in a straight line just maintaining constant speed... but add any steering, braking, elevation and rpm change, transmission shifting, cornering or whatever... and prepare to meet that snowy cushion of the ditch... or the front of an incoming semi. Traction control or otherwise.

But having people learn to drive is too intensive or too much effort right. That or most people probably just shouldn't have a license.

Sent from the Great White North

Edited December 4, 2013 by Badass69

dkeven · December 4, 2013

coming for Northern Michigan I have to agree with these fine gents, there are times when it is more prudent to have a little slide and spin than random braking and engine management. With over 40 years of snow driving I am surprised a vehicle from a company with a Michigan pedigree isnt better thought out for their winter driving conditions. Of course as we all know the design surveys and color surveys and I guess driveability surveys all occur in California malls as they set the trends for the rest of us in some peoples opinion.

Edited December 4, 2013 by dkeven