Hi all,

Does anyone know whether a Citigo S ASG will have the hill hold control? It's mentioned in the glossary in the brochure but I can't find anywhere saying it's actually got it fitted.

Has anyone out there got a Citigo S ASG who can test it for me? On a hill, in drive, handbrake off, if you release the footbrake does the car roll straight away? Or after a few seconds? Or only when you press the accelerator?

All help appreciated

Thanks

Ant

I have an Up ASG on order and I understand it is a standard feature on all ASG cars (Up/Mii/CityGo).

Definitely standard as the ASG box will not "creep" and only moves until the accelerator is pressed.

Phil

I phoned the Skoda UK helpline today and asked them. They said it doesn't!

Has anyone actually got one? And knows for definite that it's there?

Hello Ant,

I have a 75ps ASG and to the best of my knowledge there is no Hill Hold control,

If the gear selection is in D and the car is on a slope, the car will roll forward or back until you apply the brakes or handbrake. This is unlike the DSG gearbox which will creep forward or hold on a slope. I make the assumption that the Hill Hold you refer to is the system fitted to such as the VW DSG Passat which automatically activates the handbrake until you accelerate when it is automatically released.

Regards,

Mike.

Edited 22 February, 201313 yr by Ryn

No on the citigo it is activated when you use the brake pedal holds the car for 3 seconds or something round that time

No on the citigo it is activated when you use the brake pedal holds the car for 3 seconds or something round that time

Have you actually got one? And can fonfirm that it does it?

It's easy to confuse Hill Hold with Creep. I know that the citigo ASG definitely doesn't creep.

Ryn - Can you do the brake test for me? I'm hoping that when you release the foot brake (in drive on a slope) the car won't roll for a few seconds after you release the pedal.

Sorry to pester - it's quite an important issue for one of the people who will be driving our car.

thanks again

Ant

Hello Ant,

Will do the brake test as requested and post the result this evening.

Mike.

Hello Ant,

Tried hill starts on steep hill using the footbrake and handbrake and the moment that the brake is released the car immediately rolls forwards or backwards. Unless there is a fault with my car, I can categorically say that on mine there is no Hill Hold. Tried all combinations from Neutral into Drive and Sequential and Reverse with the same result.

If this is important due to a driver being disabled and finding it difficult to operate the brake to accelerator quickly enough I understand your concern. My wife has the same physical problem but has not had any real difficulty driving the Citigo.

If there is anything else I can do to help please feel free to ask.

Regards,

Mike.

This is an extract from the Autocar roadtest of a VW Up! ASG which confirms the hill hold (auto-hold) function as standard:

"Thanks to its tiny dimensions and light steering, the Up is easy to manoeuvre. The auto-hold function works well on steep hills, but it doesn’t prevent the car from rolling back on gentler inclines when queuing in traffic. What’s more, the Up ASG has no creep function, so you need to prod at the accelerator pedal to crawl forward in traffic or when parking".

So, I think it will also be on the identical Citygo as well.

Ryn - thank you very much indeed. Interesting that you say it's not an issue. The driver isn't disabled, but she does struggle with co-ordination which is why she has a license for an auto rather than a manual. She's also not very confident which is why we're looking at one of the smallest cars on the road. I think we're going to have to take another test drive at the dealership and find some hills to play on this time.

Not having hill hold matches what Skoda told me earlier. It's also not mentioned in the features list in the brochures (but it is in the glossary of technical terms). I'm guessing this is where the Up, the Mii and the Citigo are different - which I don't really understand because I thought they were mechanically identifcal, but who knows!?!

Thanks again

Ant

According to the sales brochure (Jan 2013, page 34) on SE and Elegance models you have ESC which says

Elements of ESC system:-HHC: Hill hold control allows for a safe hill start by holding the brake for a small amount of time, reducing the risk of unintentional reversing or roll back?

Does not say if its ASG, Manual or both types?

I have a VWup! ASG and I have hill holder. It stops a car for few seconds before rolling back. I didnt check if if works fo prevent rolling forward.

Sorry for my bad english.

I have a VWup! ASG and I have hill holder. It stops a car for few seconds before rolling back. I didnt check if if works fo prevent rolling forward.

Sorry for my bad english.

Many thanks - your English is perfect and a lot better than some "English" people.

It is strange that the VW UP does have it,and yet the Citigo does not.

The Smart has it,and seeing as it is the same kind of auto box,i would have thought they all had it. Perhaps it is only on the Elegance model.

Having read the section about ESC in the brochure (thanks to Owens) and discussed this with the dealer it appears that the Citigo should have Hill Hold Control (HHC) as part of the ESC System. According to the brochure this should be on all SE and Elegance models with Manual or ASG Gearboxes.

What is not specified is how steep the hill has to be to activate it and for how long the HHC will hold the car. The brochure seems to indicate that the HHC only works in a forward start up a hill (....reducing the risk of unintentional reversing or rollback). Having tested my car again this morning, on a steep driveway into a car park, it appears that this is not activating on my Elegance 75 ASG as the car rolls back immediately after releasing the brake. HHC should be fitted to my car and active according to the brochure so it appears that I may have a fault.

I will discuss this with Skoda on Monday and post their reply.

Just a thought, does HHC have to be activated by some form of ECU parameter?

Regards,

Mike.

I don't know if it works if you have not driven anywhere and just select drive or if you have to have driven up and stopped on a hill for it to activate? I think in my DSG Ocky I have to select drive (with the brake on obviously) and hold it on the brake for a few seconds longer to get the HHC to work but may be different for the Citigo?

hill hold standard on ours and a good job it is. makes it very easy on gentle slopes specially at traffic lights .

Having read the section about ESC in the brochure (thanks to Owens) and discussed this with the dealer it appears that the Citigo should have Hill Hold Control (HHC) as part of the ESC System. According to the brochure this should be on all SE and Elegance models with Manual or ASG Gearboxes.

What is not specified is how steep the hill has to be to activate it and for how long the HHC will hold the car. The brochure seems to indicate that the HHC only works in a forward start up a hill (....reducing the risk of unintentional reversing or rollback). Having tested my car again this morning, on a steep driveway into a car park, it appears that this is not activating on my Elegance 75 ASG as the car rolls back immediately after releasing the brake. HHC should be fitted to my car and active according to the brochure so it appears that I may have a fault.

I will discuss this with Skoda on Monday and post their reply.

Just a thought, does HHC have to be activated by some form of ECU parameter?

Regards,

Mike.

i think it engages only in drive mode, not on start up and still in neutral. we are usually parked on level ground so don't really notice on start up

Seems to make sense now - It's part of ESC and comes for standard on SE and Elegence models, but is an option on the S model.

Thanks to everyone who helped

Ant

Hello Ant,

Pleased to have been of assistance.

Why I did not find the information in the Citigo Drivers Manual is really stupid, the description of how the HHC works is on page 62 under "ESC Uphill Start Assist System". For those who do not yet have their Citigo the Manual is available as a download, see this forum.

Quote: "The system holds the brake pressure ... for approx 2 seconds after the brake pedal is released"

Quote: "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"

Quote: "The Uphill Start Assist is active as of a 5% (1 in 20 or steeper) slope. If the drivers door is closed it is always active on slopes when in forward or reverse start off. When driving downhill it is inactive.".

According to the manual it should be active on my car unless it is not fitted with ESC which it should be. Looks like another trip to the dealer for me.

Regards,

Mike.

I think it has the same system on my golf, on a incline firmly press brake and will hold for a few second giving the driver enough time to accelarate away without roll back, I never knew it was on mine until recently , so give it a go

Seems to make sense now - It's part of ESC and comes for standard on SE and Elegence models, but is an option on the S model.

Well so much for reading the brochure and asking the Skoda technical helpline. Our Citigo S finally arrived yesterday and it had hill hold. I didn't believe it at first so I took extra care to test it several times.

On a hill the brakes definitely stay on for about 2 seconds after I release the foot pedal. I'm pleasantly surprised. We didn't order the ESP option. Maybe they fitted it for free!?!?!?

Since ordering ours it looks like they no-longer do an S with the auto box, so this combination may be somewhat unique.

Ant

Edited 13 June, 201312 yr by AntA

On 22/02/2013 at 17:23, AntA said:

I phoned the Skoda UK helpline today and asked them. They said it doesn't!

Has anyone actually got one? And knows for definite that it's there?

It does have hill assist 100% sure. Skoda confirmed this.

On 22/02/2013 at 17:39, Ryn said:

Hello Ant,

I have a 75ps ASG and to the best of my knowledge there is no Hill Hold control,

If the gear selection is in D and the car is on a slope, the car will roll forward or back until you apply the brakes or handbrake. This is unlike the DSG gearbox which will creep forward or hold on a slope. I make the assumption that the Hill Hold you refer to is the system fitted to such as the VW DSG Passat which automatically activates the handbrake until you accelerate when it is automatically released.

Regards,

Miof course it does its just some people dont know what it is or how to use it so they make uneducatedposts on forums misleading others.