Fishtailing (also called tank slapping) is a problem with rear wheel drive vehicles. The problem occurs on low grip surfaces (wet road, ice, snow, gravel, etc) or when applying too much power. During fishtailing, the rear end of the car will swing from side to side as the driver attempts to compensate. In drifting, controlled fishtailing (power slide) is considered a good thing.

A similar behavior occurs in heavy braking, because of weight transfer, depending on the distribution of the braking force and on the weight distribution, but independent of which wheels have drive.