Eaton Cummins automated transmissions were designed for superior reliability, performance and efficiency. In this video, our experts will discuss how traction control works with the Endurant HD and XD series transmissions in your International truck.

What is traction control?

Traction control is a way for the vehicle to regain control in the event of a wheel spin situation. the traction control system will apply the brakes to the wheel that's spinning so that the wheel that is not spinning can gain traction and you can get out of a sticky situation.

When I might experience traction control?

You might experience this if you are in loose soil, in icy or snowy conditions or any time when traction is low and when traction control could have an effect on the transmission’s ability to shift.

When the traction control event occurs, an warning light will appear on the dash to indicate one of the wheels is starting to spin. The transmission will prevent a shift from occurring. The driver might notice that it's not shifting when it normally would be, or he might notice that the engine is starting to lose power. That's because the engine is defueling to prevent more power going to those wheels.

What should I do if the truck gets stuck?

In the event that the truck gets stuck, the transmission will go into Low mode, you will notice that the truck will go down to first gear and little L will appear in the gear display where you're normally seeing a D for Drive. At this point, you turn your traction control back on and you allow yourself to walk out of that situation.

How would I power through a snow drift?

First, put the transmission into Manual mode by pressing in on the shift stalk. When that happens, you will see an M (for Manual mode) in the gear display where it used to be a D for drive. Once you see that, press the off-road button. However, once you hit the off-road button, you're going to notice that your traction control light should be flashing in your instrument display. This means that you're going to be able to actually get your wheels to spin from here. In Manual mode, you control the upshifts and downshifts with the shift stalk. You can power through and maintain that momentum as you're going through the different situations. Once you're done, simply press the shift lever to change it back from Manual mode to Drive mode. At that point, the automated functionality has returned to the transmission. 

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