Excited about getting my new Fabia vRS, I was just wondering how does Hill Hold Control work. If I am rolling to a stop on an uphill climb, if I don't touch the brakes will HHC catch the car and stop it rolling back. Or do I need to have stopped using the brakes before it works?

Had this on my old impreza, You need to press the brake while your on the hill. You can then take your foot off the brake (As long as its still in gear) and then once you give it some gas and bring the clutch up to a certain point the brakes release and off you go. Its a strange feeling at first but i really liked it

Edited 20 January, 201115 yr by banzaiman

Thanks for that banzaiman. I take it that was for a manual....does it work the same for DSG?

Edited 20 January, 201115 yr by fletch555

Yeah thats for a manual, im not sure why you would need the hill holder for an automatic. Its main purpose is to hold the car so you can keep your foot on the clutch pedal and then move your foot from the brake to the gas pedal. But there is no clutch pedal with a DSG box so your always going to have one foot free anyway

Edited 20 January, 201115 yr by banzaiman

I thought all automatics will hold a car on an uphill climb? Personally I thought the hill hold control was to do with DESCENDING down a hill rather than climbing it?

We have a steep(ish) hill that I have to travel down every day to our house and the DSG seems to hold the car in a low gear as you descend, using engine braking to good effect. As soon as you touch the gas it starts moving up the gears again but otherwise it will hold the car in a low gear e.g. 2nd or 3rd.

I thought all automatics will hold a car on an uphill climb? Personally I thought the hill hold control was to do with DESCENDING down a hill rather than climbing it?

We have a steep(ish) hill that I have to travel down every day to our house and the DSG seems to hold the car in a low gear as you descend, using engine braking to good effect. As soon as you touch the gas it starts moving up the gears again but otherwise it will hold the car in a low gear e.g. 2nd or 3rd.

But DSG isn't a traditional torque converter automatic....so I take it that's why it needs HHC

With DSG, when you stop, leave the car in D and your foot on the brake, the clutches in the box disengage. When you remove you foot from the brake it takes a very short time for the DSG box to take up drive and therefore on a hill it could run back and hence HHC. A normal torque auto box will have a certain amount of drive which stops you slipping back although on a very steep hill it will roll back.

do you mean this (extract from the manual

The uphill start assist makes it easier to start off on steep hills. The system assists a start

off by holding the brake pressure produced by the brake pedal actuation for approx.

seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The driver can therefore move his foot from

the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal and start off on the slope, without having to

actuate the handbrake. The brake pressure drops gradually the more you operate the

accelerator pedal. If the vehicle does not start off within 2 seconds, it starts to roll back.

The uphill start assist is active as of a 3% slope, if the driver door is closed. It is always

active on slopes when in forward or reverse start off. When driving downhill, it is

inactive.

do you mean this (extract from the manual

The uphill start assist makes it easier to start off on steep hills. The system assists a start

off by holding the brake pressure produced by the brake pedal actuation for approx.

seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The driver can therefore move his foot from

the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal and start off on the slope, without having to

actuate the handbrake. The brake pressure drops gradually the more you operate the

accelerator pedal. If the vehicle does not start off within 2 seconds, it starts to roll back.

The uphill start assist is active as of a 3% slope, if the driver door is closed. It is always

active on slopes when in forward or reverse start off. When driving downhill, it is

inactive.

That is exactly what hill hold control is, I have it on my Octavia and it is useful, it means I can have my foot on the brake and when I want to pull away I can move my foot onto the accelerator pedal and pull away without the car rolling back, As you give the car more power you can feel the brakes coming off by themselves.

Ian

Edited 20 January, 201115 yr by countryboy

Its brilliant on my Ibiza, we have a fairly steep climb out onto the main road from where we park at work and its so much easier with HHC. You just roll up and brake as normal, take your foot off the brake and it holds for a few seconds then slowly releases the brakes and pulls up the hill.

From peoples' descriptions and the manual description, you'd think it was quite a complicated system but after you've used it 2 or 3 times you'll find it very easy to use.

But DSG isn't a traditional torque converter automatic....so I take it that's why it needs HHC

indeed, but even a DSG does not need it. Mine does not have HHC and its fine on hills, yes it needs a slightly different driving style but its easy to adapt.

Whatever you do in a DSG, dont leave it in D on an uphill with the footbrake/handbrake released. Yes the car will hold still, but you are wearing away your clutches at a high rate. Because the DSG uses conventional clutches, its like you holding the car at biting point in a manual. Also never hold a DSG on the handbrake only in D, as the same applies. The clutches will be engaged and wearing away. If you must hold a DSG in D, then at the very least keep the footbrake depressed, or shift to N and apply the handbrake.

do you mean this (extract from the manual

The uphill start assist makes it easier to start off on steep hills. The system assists a start

off by holding the brake pressure produced by the brake pedal actuation for approx.

seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The driver can therefore move his foot from

the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal and start off on the slope, without having to

actuate the handbrake. The brake pressure drops gradually the more you operate the

accelerator pedal. If the vehicle does not start off within 2 seconds, it starts to roll back.

The uphill start assist is active as of a 3% slope, if the driver door is closed. It is always

active on slopes when in forward or reverse start off. When driving downhill, it is

inactive.

Someone should get the Campaign for Plain English on to Skoda - what's wrong with 'put the handbrake on'?!

Not sure I've got this 'hill hold' thing right. I tested it this afternoon when there was no-one behind me - the wee green 'hill hold' symbol came on but the car still rolled back!

Never had a light come on before? On a slope the time moving from foot brake to gas, the hill control stops you rolling backward while between the pedals. It does the same backwards if you want to reverse up a slope.

The green hill-hold symbol? Is it a picture of a shoe on a pedal? If so isn't that the symbol to remind you to keep the brake pedal pressed whilst you move from P to R/D etc?

Didn't know there is a symbol for hill hold. I have certainly never noticed it. You sure you are not mixing it up with the shift lock symbol?

Someone should get the Campaign for Plain English on to Skoda - what's wrong with 'put the handbrake on'?!

Not sure I've got this 'hill hold' thing right. I tested it this afternoon when there was no-one behind me - the wee green 'hill hold' symbol came on but the car still rolled back!

Hi Brian, you must have had your car in neutral then if you saw the green light that looks like a foot in a brake drum. That is not a hill hold symbol. It is the warning that the interlock for the gear lever has engaged. If you put your foot on the brake then it goes off. If you put your foot on and off the brake a few times while gently holding the gear lever you will feel the lock moving. The hill hold works automatically, if you stop on a hill with the brakes on and the car in gear, take your foot off the brake pedal and the car will not roll back for a couple of seconds and should take up the drive and you should feel and maybe hear the brakes releasing as you put your foot on the throttle pedal to move away.

Ian

Run boy and Fletch beat me to it DOH!!

Edited 15 January, 201214 yr by countryboy

Thanks chaps .

I certainly didn't get 'hill hold' - just made a bit of an erse of myself on a public forum . Never mind, could have been worse - could have taken it to the dealer to complain that hill hold wasn't working . It was indeed the foot in a circle symbol I was referring to - no idea where I got that from!!

This is the first auto I've ever driven, so I'm back on the 'L' plates. When I've been stationary on an incline (say at a set of traffic lights) I have applied the handbrake - then tapped the foot brake, stuck it in 'D', released the handbrake, and then driven off. I've had the wrong end of the stick completely it would appear! On my test drive the salesman told me to use the handbrake until I felt comfortable with hill hold (I tend to be a bit of a 'belt & braces' person, so followed his advice).

Having the car in Drive with the hand brake on is just pitting the clutch against the hand brake which is going to get costly.

Having the car in Drive with the hand brake on is just pitting the clutch against the hand brake which is going to get costly.

Aye, I was thinking that! Like I say, on a learning curve.

Embarrassing as it is to admit I thought 'hill hold' meant the car held on a hill with no need to apply either the foot brake or handbrake - although I now realise that was an exceedingly stupid thought. I did make it clear when I went to buy the car that I was an automatic virgin - he could have explained it a bit better!

Fortunately, I've only had the car a couple of months - lesson learned!

Pretty stupid advice from the salesman I say. Instead of keeping you in your ignorance regarding the box and its functions, he should have spent a minute or two explaining it to you. It's not your fault you didn't already know how DSG works, but it's his job to show you the bl**dy car he is selling to you If your previous car was locking with a key, I suspect he'd advise you to continue key-locking instead if using the remote fob....

Regarding the OP's question, No, the HHC will not engage If still moving as you're describing. You have to be stopped, foot on brakes and then as you lift your foot from brake to accelerator pedal, the car will keep still for 2 seconds to give you time to move your foot (HHC On). It's not any complicated, just remember this for the first times: As you will depress the accelerator pedal while HHC is on, the brakes will still be engaged so you'll feel some more resistance than usual. Take care not to depress the pedal further in order to overcome this resistance, as when the HHC comes off you'll find your self driving away a little too fast.

It also works when you're reversing UP a hill, so in all situations when you're going UP a hill but not when when you're desceding it, neither forwards nor backwards.

Thank the Lord for this forum (especially on the Sabbath), or I'd be forking out for a new clutch soon!

The more I hear the more I think Skoda need to get on top of the salesmen knowing absolutely jack **** about the cars they are selling.

I should have been clearer - when sat on an incline with the handbrake on I had put the car in 'N', so 'D' would only have been very briefly engaged with the handbrake on.

Do you take your foot off the brake, then engage 'D', or engage 'D' with foot still on the brake?

Is it all right to stop in 'D' with the foot brake applied?

Yes while stopped in d with the clutch will be disengaged so no wear