A motoring expert has explained a useful hidden feature found on many SUVs, pickup trucks, and off-roaders that could get drivers out of trouble if they get stuck.
The YouTuber SamkoWorkShop creates videos showing what life is like as an off-roading enthusiast in rural America.
In one of his most popular videos, SamkoWorkShop explains that pressing a button twice in his Toyota Tacoma truck can greatly improve the way it drives off-road.
He said: “When I push it, if we watch the gauge in the cluster, what ends up happening is VSC, which is Vehicle Stability Control, and pre-collision braking system turns off. And let’s see what our icons are showing us here, vehicle stabilisation is turned off or greatly minimised, and auto limited-slip differential (auto-LSD) is off too.
“Now, if I press and hold that [same] button, you see now it’s telling us traction control is 100 percent off and we have no vehicle stability control and we lose the auto-LSD. And with auto-track off, it lets you just power through things.”
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In the video, SamkoWorkShop shows viewers what happens when he holds down a small button between the steering wheel and the driver’s door, which features a vehicle on bumpy terrain.
Known as VSC Off, this button deactivates several safety functions that manage the vehicles grip with the terrain.
Whilst it is not advisable to press this button under normal driving conditions, pressing the button can help give motorists more control when travelling off-road.
To demonstrate how that extra boost can help, SamkoWorkShop purposefully got his Toyota stuck in soft-sand and escaped by pressing the button.
He added: “As I come to a corner, such as what we have right here, where it’s just nasty, super deep, soft sand, as we go through this with nothing set in two-wheel drive we’re going to struggle. It’s going to be kind of a chore, we’re already hopping, we’re digging in, fighting through. And we are stuck, can’t go any further.
“Let’s hit this button, auto-LSD comes on. Let’s see if it’ll climb right out of this and go. It’s throwing dirt and, look at that, even though we were stuck, it’s pulling us right out of here like nothing.”
With nearly 132,000 views and more than 1,800 likes, many viewers were impressed by the hidden feature, stating they never knew what the button did before.
One driver wrote: “I really appreciated this video. I’ve had a Tacoma for about three years but never used that switch. Much better explanation than the owner’s manual.”
Another commented: “As a new Tacoma owner, I’ve been really struggling to figure out what the buttons really do, not just what the manual says. This was awesome and you’ve got a new sub.”
