Ask Me Help Desk - One front wheel seems to be slipping (no power)

Hi, I have a 05' Town and Country Minivan which I really can't take anywhere in winter anymore without getting stuck. Even on almost flat surfaces. I noticed a while back whenever my front tires were slipping, one side seems to almost grind and doesn't get any power or traction. This has only got worse and I'm almost convinced I'm only driving with power to one wheel at this point. I get that same grinding sound if I put much of anything on the gas.

Any ideas?

If not, I'm waiting till Spring and getting rid of it. Worthless in the winter.

Thanks,

Get rid of the bald summer tires and put on Ice and Snow tires in the winter and you would be surprised the traction you have.

Seriously... getting around in snow or ice is #1. Having the right type tires for the weather, #2 having the right vehicle helps (2wd pickups and vans just plain suck in snow, not enough weight over drive wheels)... and #3. Knowing how to drive on snow and ice. If your tires spin... giving it more gas isn't going to help. Learning how to keep it to before the point you break traction is the key.

YOu have a front wheel drive....so you either have the wrong tires for the surface (few all season tires are good on ice adn snow) I run a dedicated set of ice and snow tires for the winter....and I get through with a 30 year old rear wheel drive car with no limited slip differential or chains when I see 4wd trucks and jeeps getting stuck because the people driving them don't know how to drive in low traction conditions.

My qualifications to say that? The day I got my learners permit we had a foot of fresh snow on the ground and another foot falling....went out with my father....old 1970 plymouth with a stick shift.....took all my drivers training during the winter...much of it on snow covered roads, and took and passed my first drivers test on an ice covered statel police exam lot..(an inch of ice over 4 inches of snow and was still sleeting when I was taking the test.

I was 16, I'm now 53. Not once have I gotten stuck that I didn't get myself out without help or needed a tow in my life so far. And my employers have never closed due to inclimate weather....ever.

Thanks for the reply but it's not the tires or the driving. I'm positive of that. I have quite a bit of winter experience myself and know how to drive.

I have slippage on that one side even on braking. Basically there is no power getting to that wheel when accelerating and there is also no stopping power on that wheel when braking. Seems to be some disconnect between that wheel and engine but that's where I'm not familiar. I can fix most anything on my vehicles but not familiar with the drive aspects of it. Didn't have this issue last winter and got progressively worse through this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothy

Get rid of the bald summer tires and put on Ice and Snow tires in the winter and you would be surprised the traction you have.

Seriously... getting around in snow or ice is #1. Having the right type tires for the weather, #2 having the right vehicle helps (2wd pickups and vans just plain suck in snow, not enough weight over drive wheels)... and #3. Knowing how to drive on snow and ice. If your tires spin... giving it more gas isn't going to help. Learning how to keep it to before the point you break traction is the key.

YOu have a front wheel drive....so you either have the wrong tires for the surface (few all season tires are good on ice adn snow) I run a dedicated set of ice and snow tires for the winter....and I get through with a 30 year old rear wheel drive car with no limited slip differential or chains when I see 4wd trucks and jeeps getting stuck because the people driving them don't know how to drive in low traction conditions.

My qualifications to say that? The day I got my learners permit we had a foot of fresh snow on the ground and another foot falling....went out with my father....old 1970 plymouth with a stick shift.....took all my drivers training during the winter...much of it on snow covered roads, and took and passed my first drivers test on an ice covered statel police exam lot..(an inch of ice over 4 inches of snow and was still sleeting when I was taking the test.

I was 16, I'm now 53. Not once have I gotten stuck that I didn't get myself out without help or needed a tow in my life so far. And my employers have never closed due to inclimate weather....ever.

You do not have 4 wheel drive and it is normal to have 1 tire slip, particularly on snow or ice. Could be a bad CV joint but it would have to be pretty badly damaged. Why not have a garage look at it?

If a CV joint failed... they go from noisey but working to broken. They don't slip (not that I've ever seen or heard of). The comment about no braking power on that wheel is a whole different can of worms and unrelated... and that alone makes it too dangerous to drive at all. In fact there really isn't anything mechanically that would let one wheel slip between the engine and the wheel. I think the transmission migh be slipping badly and ready to fail completely. It is theoretically possible that a hub stripped out where the splined shaft of the axel goes into it....But off the dragstrip...I've not heard of that happening. Certainly not on a minivan. Older Jeeps adn AMC cars with the 2 piece rear axels...yes...but those are all well over 30 years old.

If something is wrong, have it looked at.

Here's my take on this. This vehicle has ABS brakes with vehicle skid control. When the computers sense wheel slip, the brake actuator starts grabbing the wheel, and the engine power is reduced by half. When this happens, a grinding noise from the abs actuator sounds. Normal operation I call it. Some vehcles have a "VSC OFF" switch on the dash to cancel all this and drive normally if you want it that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kitch428

Here's my take on this. This vehicle has ABS brakes with vehicle skid control. When the computers sense wheel slip, the brake actuator starts grabbing the wheel, and the engine power is reduced by half. When this happens, a grinding noise from the abs actuator sounds. Normal operation I call it. Some vehcles have a "VSC OFF" switch on the dash to cancel all this and drive normally if you want it that way.

You know that though never crossed my mind before you mentioned it. But that very much could cause the symptoms described.