Sorecntly my area got hit with some snow, first time i had to drive my baby in harsh weather. Twice the dsc came on and caused my car to 1. make funny noises and 2. nearly collide with another vehicle. the first time was at a downhill stop where i was skidding a bit the second time i was taking a turn at 12 mph and it kicked on and straightened out the car headinginto a parked car. I turned it off and quickly spun the wheel and cuaszed my car to fishtail misssing the parked car by 2 inches if that. Can anyone explain how this system is "supposed" to work? I'm pretty sure its not supposed to cause accidents, i thought the goal was to prevent them?

 

I'm a little confused. Maybe you can help me understand.

Coming to a stop, the weird vibration sounds like the antilock brakes, not the DSC. If your wheels are locking up, the ABS releases and re-applies the brakes to each locked wheel, each cycle taking a fraction of a second. This allows the wheels to turn a little, providing steering control. The recommended procedure (probably in every owner's manual) is to stomp on the brakes and keep your foot on the brakes, letting the ABS work.

I don't think the DSC was engaging in your 12 mph turn, either. Going straight is what happens when you lose control - inertia. DSC cuts power (fuel) to the engine, again to keep the wheels from spinning (in this case under power, not during braking) so you can maintain control and turn the car.

Third, front wheel drive cars don't fishtail. That's what happens in a rear wheel drive car when you're on the gas. So I'm not sure what you're trying to say. And it's pretty incredible if you were able to find the switch and disengage the DSC while in the middle of a skid. I disengage my DSC (not a 3) when it's cutting power in the snow, for instance, and I'm more concerned about being able to start up a hill in the snow.

Maybe I'm missing something.

 

If you intended to turn, but DSC straightened out the car by operating on indiviual brakes, something must be checked. DSC uses quite a few sensors, including steer input (driver intent), yaw, accel, etc. Best to take to your dealer, and do not accept "turn if off" as an answer.
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Othat random questions are how much experience you have driving in the snow, and what tires you have on the car.

 

I've never drivena DSC car, only read about them and how they work but I have to agree w/Win here. Take it to the dealer and don't take "no" as their answer. It sounds like something is not right w/it and based (only) on what Win said, it might be the steering input sensor.

 

You've obviously never seen me take a tight turn @ 60-65mph in my 3.

No, I know that's drift or slide. J/K....

 

sorry it slid my bad, and no it was the dsc that kicked on becuase the light went on in the dash. and yes i know where the button is from experience ( every time i have to beat someone3 from a stop i turn it off) so the noise came from the brakes then? thats good less i have to worry about. No one else has had a problem with the dsc?

 

hmmm. it could be the tires. i know before i got my snow tires that my all season toyos kept sliding every time (although i may have made it slide a few of the timesbut i have fun with it in emptyparking lots haha) the all seasons that are on the cars arent that great. if you get alot of snow where you are id recommend snow tires. they have saved me a few times when accidentally sliding. but go to your mazda dealership because they probably could figure out the problem.. and if you are under warranty it wont cost anything to fix i dont think. i dont have this on my car though. it may be something to look at.. also do you drive in the snow alot or no?

 

Thought I'd weigh in on this one. Just got my 08 3 as winter was kicking into gear. I've already had 2 occations where the DSC came on. In both cases I was turning on a snow covered road and the car did exactly as it should have. It knew the direction I was turning, detected that my car was understeering, and cut the motor ouput down a bit and pulsed the rear brakes just enough to cause the back end to kick out enough to make the turn. I was going about 20-25mph.