So I bought a 2013 Fusion secondhand May 2015. That summer, I put on a new set of Michelin Premiere A/S tires on the car. I don't drive much so I am guessing I put on maybe 8000 miles on the car since then. This is the first real winter that I have had a chance to drive the car in snow/ice and it's really got me worried.
We had our first snow day a week before Christmas. We got maybe 3 inches or something. After the roads had been cleared, I went out for a drive. As I said, the roads had already been ploughed but of course there were small patches of a thin layer of snow here and there, such as at intersections and in front of people’s driveways. Every time I went over one of these patches, the rear of the car went sideways. Every time I took off from a traffic light, the front tires would start skidding in any small patches of snow that was there.
Then today, the day after Christmas, I was heading to the mall. A very light drizzle started. The temp was around 29 degrees so the water started turning to slush. Mind you, there was hardly any accumulation on the road. I was on the off ramp to the mall, in a long line of cars barely moving. When we were moving, it was at crawl speed. When I used my brake to stop from that crawl, the car would start skidding and the ABS would kick in. To say it was unnerving would be an understatement. Thankfully, I didn’t have a crash.
Now I have lived in Upstate NY for most of my adult life. I have driven through blizzards and over roads that had turned to skating rinks. I know how to drive in snow and ice. Before the Fusion, I had an Altima. It had well-worn 4-year-old tires on it. I would go driving in it in the middle of nasty winter storms to take photos (I do photography and winter is one of my favorite times to do that.) My Altima never gave me cause for concern. I mean I was driving over unplowed roads and the Altima kept going. Did I get stuck a couple of times? Sure, because I was pushing the limits of what the Altima could handle, but I never felt as though the car was going to slip out from under me.
What’s going on? Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you!
We had our first snow day a week before Christmas. We got maybe 3 inches or something. After the roads had been cleared, I went out for a drive. As I said, the roads had already been ploughed but of course there were small patches of a thin layer of snow here and there, such as at intersections and in front of people’s driveways. Every time I went over one of these patches, the rear of the car went sideways. Every time I took off from a traffic light, the front tires would start skidding in any small patches of snow that was there.
Then today, the day after Christmas, I was heading to the mall. A very light drizzle started. The temp was around 29 degrees so the water started turning to slush. Mind you, there was hardly any accumulation on the road. I was on the off ramp to the mall, in a long line of cars barely moving. When we were moving, it was at crawl speed. When I used my brake to stop from that crawl, the car would start skidding and the ABS would kick in. To say it was unnerving would be an understatement. Thankfully, I didn’t have a crash.
Now I have lived in Upstate NY for most of my adult life. I have driven through blizzards and over roads that had turned to skating rinks. I know how to drive in snow and ice. Before the Fusion, I had an Altima. It had well-worn 4-year-old tires on it. I would go driving in it in the middle of nasty winter storms to take photos (I do photography and winter is one of my favorite times to do that.) My Altima never gave me cause for concern. I mean I was driving over unplowed roads and the Altima kept going. Did I get stuck a couple of times? Sure, because I was pushing the limits of what the Altima could handle, but I never felt as though the car was going to slip out from under me.
What’s going on? Any thoughts would be welcome. Thank you!
