Methods and systems are provided for traction detection and control of a self-driving vehicle. The self-driving vehicle has drive motors that drive drive-wheels according to a drive-motor speed. Traction detection and control can be obtained by measuring the vehicle speed with a sensor such as a LiDAR or video camera, and measuring the wheel speed of the drive wheels with a sensor such as a rotary encoder. The difference between the measured vehicle speed and the measured wheel speeds can be used to determine if a loss of traction has occurred in any of the wheels. If a loss of traction is detected, then a recovery strategy can be selected from a list of recovery strategies in order to reduce the effects of the loss of traction.