Taycan 4s parked on snow rolling forward - how why and wtf??

[Morchman]

Hi All

Just had a rather scary near miss and felt the need to warn people. Im a UK 4s owner, loving the car which Ive had for 6 weeks (pre cool issues aside).

We have had a classic UK snow fall overnight around a few cm's which is enough to decimate the town!! Drove my Taycan to the office and parked on a very slight incline, handbrake engaged. One foot out of the car and on the ground and the rolling starts!! A 2 ton car rolling on 3-4 cm of snow. Managed to get back in and pulled up a few feet away from a wall.

How the hell has this happened? Imagine this occurring on a sharp incline in a town centre?

Is there no anti-roll safety feature? My wheels were turning so I was told by a witness, meaning they werent locked or fixed by the handbrake.

I would definitely avoid parking this car on an incline in snow. Of more concern is the question as to how the car would behave in traffic facing downhill when stationary in these conditions?

Any thoughts welcome particularly from any UK dealers who may be aware of this issue.

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[KensingtonPark]

Are you sure it was rolling and not sliding? If you have the standard performance tires, the tires get pretty hard in low temps, it is totally plausible that it could slide on the snow.

 

[TIM]

Hi All

Just had a rather scary near miss and felt the need to warn people. Im a UK 4s owner, loving the car which Ive had for 6 weeks (pre cool issues aside).

We have had a classic UK snow fall overnight around a few cm's which is enough to decimate the town!! Drove my Taycan to the office and parked on a very slight incline, handbrake engaged. One foot out of the car and on the ground and the rolling starts!! A 2 ton car rolling on 3-4 cm of snow. Managed to get back in and pulled up a few feet away from a wall.

How the hell has this happened? Imagine this occurring on a sharp incline in a town centre?

Is there no anti-roll safety feature? My wheels were turning so I was told by a witness, meaning they werent locked or fixed by the handbrake.

I would definitely avoid parking this car on an incline in snow. Of more concern is the question as to how the car would behave in traffic facing downhill when stationary in these conditions?

Any thoughts welcome particularly from any UK dealers who may be aware of this issue.

Hello,

You said that your car has the handbrake engaged so did you had the following

symbol on bottom right of your instrument cluster after pressing the Electric parking brake and parking lock

? My advice is to try again and check if you get the symbol

coming when you press "P".

For everybody be careful to press "P" when you left your taycan, as investigating this case I found out the following in the manual

I checked it on my Taycan and it's "right" if I switch off using the power button then the symbol

does not appear. (it appear only if I press "P")

 

[Peter Kelly]

I had a similar incident and have just posted it. Car in Park, handbrake on, car off. Parked car slid down incline and crashed - see new profile pic!

 

[Dave T]

Are you sure it was rolling and not sliding? If you have the standard performance tires, the tires get pretty hard in low temps, it is totally plausible that it could slide on the snow.

Same question. Wasn’t it sliding and not rolling? I don’t see how snow would make it roll.

 

[Scandinavian]

Here is some reference from Good to Know.

so really surprising if the Parking Brake and the “parking lock” have engaged properly


Activating the P transmission range automatically
Hold the vehicle stationary by pressing the brake pedal.
D or R transmission range selected.

• Open the driver’s door and driver side seat belt.
  The parking lock and the electric parking brake are activated automatically.
  The brake warning light and the P transmission range display light up on the instrument cluster
  – or –
• Switch off the vehicle using the power button.
  The parking lock is activated automatically.
  The P transmission range display lights up on the instrument cluster.
  The parking brake is also activated when parking the vehicle on inclines and gradients of over 8 %. The brake warning light
  
  lights up.

 

[Nickj]

Wow, that’s amazing to have 2 similar incidents in a day! Def needs some investigation to get to the bottom of this. Snow expected here at weekend!

 

[Peter Kelly]

Wow, that’s amazing to have 2 similar incidents in a day! Def needs some investigation to get to the bottom of this. Snow expected here at weekend!

I would be very careful Nick. You cannot leave this car on any incline in snow.

 

[TSS]

Just a thought, I don't know how the handbrake mechanism works on a Taycan, but could this be some part of the mechanism cooling off rapidly because of the snow after and allowing it to slip?

I had this on a Golf many years ago. If I parked it on a slope with hot brakes, as the discs cooled and contracted the handbrake pads lost grip and it would slowly roll down the slope.

The solution of course was to leave it in gear. Not possible on a Taycan...

 

[Miwa]

Wow, that’s amazing to have 2 similar incidents in a day! Def needs some investigation to get to the bottom of this. Snow expected here at weekend!

Probably first snow after getting car, and people learning about summer tires in the winter....

 

[Morchman]

I had a similar incident and have just posted it. Car in Park, handbrake on, car off. Parked car slid down incline and crashed - see new profile pic!

Blimey thats shocking Peter. Can you imagine the carnage a 2 ton car is going to cause if it can roll away in any circumstances despite P being engaged.

This is unacceptable and I am going to make some enquiries.

Any dealers or specifically dealer taycan experts (of which there arent many) care to contribute here??

 

[Nickj]

Probably first snow after getting car, and people learning about summer tires in the winter....

I dont buy that. Plenty of cars not on winter tyres in the U.K. not rolling down hills. Winter tyres are not as common in the U.K. as other countries. Something’s a miss with this!

 

[Morchman]

Probably first snow after getting car, and people learning about summer tires in the winter....

I did consider the summer tyres issue. It does not explain these incidents.

 

[Morchman]

Same question. Wasn’t it sliding and not rolling? I don’t see how snow would make it roll.

I was informed by a witness the wheels were turning not locked as youd expect. I didnt see this as I was in panic mode trying to stop the car.

There is cctv footage Im trying to get hold of.

 

[svp6]

I dont buy that. Plenty of cars not on winter tyres in the U.K. not rolling down hills. Winter tyres are not as common in the U.K. as other countries. Something’s a miss with this!

Not that many as heavy as the Taycan (2305 kg)..... Heavier than the Panamera (1870 kg) and Cayenne (2215 kg). Same as Range Rover (2360 kg). Bet not that many of the Range Rover / Cayenne are equipped with slick performance summer tires, most likely they will be on all-season tires.

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