Why do so many hate hill start assist?

[Crooked Letta]

I don't hate it, nor do I love it. I do leave it on just because it doesn't bother me and I don't contribute hill starts to the thrill of driving. I wouldn't really relate this to something like auto rev match although hill starts are a skill that should be known, obviously, but to me it is more like a start button. When you start arguing stuff like this and I do see peoples points but hello electronic throttle bodies and so forth. Driving a newer vehicle with a stick is not like driving and old school carbureted vehicle by any means. Some things you notice, like hill assist, and some things you don't but they do make the driving experience easier even though you don't notice them working.

Now something like Rev match is a no no for me. This is a skill that you should always be improving on and un like hill assist there really is no timing/clutch work involved. One of the best feelings is heel & toeing and nailing butter smooth shifts while linking corners. A perfect hill start hasn't satisfied me since I was 14 and once you get it, you got it.

 

[Intuit]

I've been driving a manual for eighteen years now. I try to begin slipping at idle engine RPM (800) and off the clutch pedal roughly by 900-1200 RPM. So my engine goes vvvvvVVVVRRRRROOOOMMM rather than RRRRRRVVVVVvvvvvvvVVVVVRRRROOOOOMMMM.

When learning this clutch, the hill-assist feature made it much more difficult to learn the friction points. Switching between my other car and this one only made the learning experience worse. So I turned it off and never looked back. Hill-assist seemed to be holding the car "long" after I had enough engagement to get it moving.

The only time I'll use the hand brake is starting out on STEEP hills under slippery Winter conditions; helps limit front wheel spin. Otherwise my roll back is virtually non-existent.

I've never had any issue with hill-assist reactivating itself. If you have any doohickeys plugged into the OBD-II port or have been disconnecting the battery, that could be a possible consideration as to why your hill-assist is periodically reactivating.

The clutch and engine in every car has a different weight or feel, friction point, and engage/disengage height; modified by engine performance characteristics. My 1.9L for instance, has a heavier feel, much lower engage/disengage height. Despite having a considerably higher first gear speed (a negative in traffic jams) the engine on it requires much less accelerator input to get going. I suspect the displacement affords it more low-end torque. It is more difficult to lug the engine, but then, you get more "feedback".

 

[jmrtsus]

I started driving a 1959 Fiat 600d 4-speed at 12 years old (52 years ago!). I could get 4 gears and stop in 60 feet before hitting the garage. Since then I have owned 4 autos and 16 manual transmission cars. Here in hilly E. TN it is great when all the fools behind you get right on your bumper at red lights. I learned the hand brake routine also at 12 years old but having the car do it for me is nice. I like it! As to the infotainment screen give me buttons and dials. On the other hand having the phone linked is also nice!

 

[silverblueBP]

I've noticed the hill assist cuts out as soon as I start to let the clutch out. I see no ill effects from it. Have driven a manual since 1976. It's just another convenience.

 

[milkman42]

A perfect hill start hasn't satisfied me since I was 14 and once you get it, you got it.

lol that's perfect

i love the hill assist. i have some nice 45* hills around here to contend with

 

[Bluedrank]

I personally really like it. Florida is extremely flat, but I visit my family in the mountains of NC twice a year. Having the hill assist takes a lot of the stress out of driving in Asheville, which is basically a suburban / urban environment but completely in the mountains. So there's stop and go traffic AND super steep hills. I managed just fine in my SRT4 back in the day, but hill assist is still very much appreciated.

I think if I lived year-round in an area with hills I might feel differently.

 

[tiggerbren]

How easy is it to disable the hill assist?

The first time I came across this feature was on a rental Ford Transit in Europe. It was a lifesaver on the steep streets of Genova, Italy.

On a small car like the Fiesta I don't feel it's necessary unless you're just learning stick, and in that case you might want to actually try to learn the skill and be a better driver for it. I hadn't thought much of it but if it hinders performance in any way I will disable it.

 

[Intuit]

How easy is it to disable the hill assist?

The first time I came across this feature was on a rental Ford Transit in Europe. It was a lifesaver on the steep streets of Genova, Italy.

On a small car like the Fiesta I don't feel it's necessary unless you're just learning stick, and in that case you might want to actually try to learn the skill and be a better driver for it. I hadn't thought much of it but if it hinders performance in any way I will disable it.

Disable it. You won't miss it. You'll find it somewhere under the Settings menu. If you can't find it, just let me know and will drill down a more precise location. But it's pretty easy to find.

 

[RBatty]

Hmm, on mine I don't notice any delay really. It seems to release instantly as soon as I move the clutch. I've never considered turning it off, because it is not intrusive. Mine also only works on uphill slopes, not downhill. My driveway has a slope and it does not hold the car when stopped facing downhill (why would it?). Mine is a 16, maybe they changed the settings?

 

[speed_easy]

Mines also a 2016 and the only ill effect I notice is when it doesn't engage (due to user error). That's when I release the brake too early before actually applying the the clutch and getting into gear. I've only had this happen on low to medium grade slopes since such a (poor) technique would not fly on any steep hill.

I learned stick on a car without hill assist and don't need it by any means. I keep the feature on because it adds a sophisticated touch to the overall user experience that, in my opinion, compliments the existing creature comforts of the car. Plus it puts me, and my unsuspecting friends who occasionally get behind the wheel, at ease knowing there's one less occasion to ride out the clutch, stall the car, or risk rolling back into the car behind you.

I would disable though it if it didn't work as well as it does now.

 

[Intuit]

Since the ABS system is there regardless, for the most part the system is just a bit of extra programming; I think. Accelerometers are probably used in other systems also.

So a feature like this probably costs nothing extra in hardware, for the manufacturer to implement.

Regardless I wonder though, if polled, who would pay extra for this feature?

While I personally don't find it useful and disable it, can definitely see it's value for other drivers. It's a good idea to have a standard feature. Just glad they gave us the option to disable it.

 

[Marco]

I leave it on as default, but I keep it from activating by letting go of the brakes before stepping on the clutch. I only let it activate when I'm parallel parking on a hill. So, I like it since I only use it when I want. Would never pay for it as an option though.

 

[JayGoldstein]

I live in Manitoba. What's a "hill?'

 

[Slurp812]

Flat land here. I understand mine is on (by default) Haven't encountered a hill to notice it yet.

 

[rweidman]

I had it on a 1963 Studebaker Lark. It is a great advantage to starting a manual on a hill. Holds for about 5 seconds and away you go. Helped me pass my Driver Test in 1968. Unexpected feature. Thank you Ford.

 

[tiggerbren]

You don't often find manual rental cars in the US, but they're not uncommon as rentals overseas. I would think this feature would be something that rental companies might want on their fleet since drivers with a variety of skill levels will be using them. I've driven manual cars my whole life and don't have the need for hill assist in my own vehicle, but in a vehicle that I'm only going to be driving for a day or two it's actually kind of nice. I drove a manual Ford Transit around Europe and was VERY happy that it had hill assist.

 

[Pat B.]

I'm sure a lot of people learned to drive stick on this car as it's such an affordable first car that's sporty. Considering I live in Anaheim Hills I would have appreciated this feature when learning. I learned on a Miata that was so small I couldn't turn the wheel while letting off the clutch haha But again, we have a lot of traffic and a lot of hills with lights on the steepest parts so when I found out this car had it I was pleasantly surprised, then turned it off lol

 

[neeqness]

I'm sure a lot of people learned to drive stick on this car as it's such an affordable first car that's sporty. Considering I live in Anaheim Hills I would have appreciated this feature when learning. I learned on a Miata that was so small I couldn't turn the wheel while letting off the clutch haha But again, we have a lot of traffic and a lot of hills with lights on the steepest parts so when I found out this car had it I was pleasantly surprised, then turned it off lol

Yes while I've been indifferent to it, I just realized that I had it off all this time. Even when off though it seems to kick in a bit on steeper hills and it is not entirely like other cars without it...there is still some delay occasionally which is why I thought I had it on all this time.

I did decide to leave it off though once I found out...

 

[Intuit]

For me when it's off, it's off. You'll want to make sure that your caliper isn't hanging.

The pads don't back-off completely meaning there will still be some resistance to roll, especially when you're sitting on an imperfection in the roadway.

often coast to a stop on the last many feet and depending on how steep a grade will be held in place by a seductive or raised crack in the roadway. Still have to pay attention as sometimes it just takes a bit of time to roll off the crack.

 

[jmrtsus]

My 2016 Hill assist works in both directions......have yours checked out. I have a steep sloped driveway downwards to my garage door or truck parked in the drive and it comes in handy when pulling backwards out of the drive. Maybe you need to be in reverse to activate it facing downhill?