MY first experience with hill start assist

I wanted to see how well it works.

I was stopped at a steep hill and the traffic light went green, I took my foot from the brake and the car stayed put. No backwards roll. However, it didn't last that long, maybe 2 seconds before I felt the brakes release and the car starting to go in reverse.

I'm thinking it might have been wiser not to use a timer on the hill start but instead sense when the gas was being pushed hard enough to get the car rolling forward before releasing the brakes

All in all, I think it's a positive feature. Some more testing is needed though.

I agree, it can be helpful. There have been complaints against it by some forum members who found it to be a problem. For example, it could hinder a quick start.

The 2017 owner's manual says the hill start assist will not operate if the accelerator pedal is depressed before the brake pedal is released. Have you tested this?

^ That might require a few drivers to adjust their technique. I followed a pickup driver yesterday whose brake lights were on most of the time, even accelerating away from stops (probably a 2-foot driver, resting the left on the brake pedal).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eggman

I agree, it can be helpful. There have been complaints against it by some forum members who found it to be a problem. For example, it could hinder a quick start.

The 2017 owner's manual says the hill start assist will not operate if the accelerator pedal is depressed before the brake pedal is released. Have you tested this?

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I'm trying to think of how I start from a steep hill.

Since I have a manual and I don't heel and toe pedals anymore, I realize I must lift my foot completely from the brake before I touch the gas. On really steep hills I use the parking brake as my assist. Driving a semi for a living decades ago probably gave me the muscle memory I need to start a standard car up a hill.

However, if the next ex-Ms. Wallythacker needs to learn to drive a standard this feature will come in handy.

I spent an hour or so last night tooling around the falls, (the Christmas light display is fantastic!) and making it a point to drive on hilly roads.

I don't like the HSA. It does bog down a guy like me who can pretty much pull away on a 45 degree hill without so much as rolling back a centimeter. Truck, car, van, semi, motorbike, it doesn't matter, hills are no issue to me.

The HSA does take a second, maybe 2, before it drops the brakes. During these seconds I feel like the parking brake is on, because, basically, the parking brake is on. If I try a jackrabbit start it really feels like I might break something pulling away so fast when the computer has the rear wheels all but locked up solid. I wish I could disable it.

edit: I tried to hit the gas before I left off the brake to see if that disabled HSA. I'm too slow to do that.
Maybe the etacs or whatever thing I've read about here can disable it?