ESC almost wrecked my truck!

code-man26 · March 11, 2020

While out on a dirt road enjoying my newly installed prerunner suspension I successfully turned off the Traction Control and ESC (electronic stability control). Went for a run down the woops and ESC turned itself back on and applied the brakes during one of my drifts. COMPLETELY unexpected and caused the truck to handle undesirably (to say the least). In talking to another Chevy guy he said the ESC turns itself back on at 35mph and above!... Is there anyway to 'tune' this out and make it stay off when desired?

This is exactly why I held onto my 05 Duramax for so long. It had ZERO 'nanny hardware' that would f*#k with me while offroading.

MTU Alum · March 11, 2020

You are disabling a federal requirement so there won't be any tuner stuff available to turn off esc. Your only option is to disable another module or sensor that ESC needs to function. There are three options depending on what system you want to disable.

1. Pull SDM fuse. This will disable the air bags in truck. ESC uses long and lat acceleration signals.

2. Disconnect wheel speed sensor. You will either lose or have limited abs and tcs. This could affect auto 4wd.

3. Pull eps fuse. You will lose steering assist so probably not a good idea.

I would not recommend pulling abs fuse because you have eboost and will lose brake assist.

code-man26 · March 12, 2020

18 hours ago, MTU Alum said:

You are disabling a federal requirement so there won't be any tuner stuff available to turn off esc. Your only option is to disable another module or sensor that ESC needs to function. There are three options depending on what system you want to disable.

1. Pull SDM fuse. This will disable the air bags in truck. ESC uses long and lat acceleration signals.

2. Disconnect wheel speed sensor. You will either lose or have limited abs and tcs. This could affect auto 4wd.

3. Pull eps fuse. You will lose steering assist so probably not a good idea.

I would not recommend pulling abs fuse because you have eboost and will lose brake assist.

Wow!! Looks like I'm SOL... They really tied that thing into some really important other stuff. Dangit, I was hoping for something like my DFM "kill switch" module that was a plug in and play type thing.

I'm definitely not going to mess with airbags, speed sensors or steering assist. Thanks for the complete info!

Cheers!

Chris Callanan · March 12, 2020

Excerpts from the Manual below - So it looks like yes, it will come on above 35mph.. only way to keep it off is to be in 4WD-Low

From page 27 of my Sierra Manual

Traction Control/ Electronic Stability Control The vehicle has a Traction Control System (TCS) that limits wheel spin and the StabiliTrak/Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system that assists with directional control of the vehicle in difficult driving conditions. Both systems come on automatically when the vehicle is started and begins to move. . To turn off TCS, press and release g on the center stack. The traction off light i displays in the instrument cluster. The appropriate Driver Information Center (DIC) message displays. . To turn off both TCS and StabiliTrak/ESC, press and hold g until i and g illuminate GMC Sierra/Sierra Denali Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/ Mexico-1500-11698638) - 2019 - CRC - 3/5/19 28 In Brief in the instrument cluster and the appropriate DIC message displays. . Press and release g again to turn on both systems. StabiliTrak/ESC will automatically turn on if the vehicle exceeds 56 km/h (35 mph). Traction control will remain off.

Then from page 247

When the transfer case (if equipped) is in Four-Wheel Drive Low, the stability system is automatically disabled, g comes on, and the appropriate message will appear on the Driver Information Center (DIC). Both traction control and StabiliTrak/ ESC are automatically disabled in this condition.