Hill start assist is kinda cool

[randallintacoma]

I know there have been other threads about the hill start assist feature on the Prius, but those seem to be asking questions like can you use it in reverse and other issues. I didn't see a thread on just how cool this feature is.

I have need to drive in downtown Tacoma and downtown Seattle a lot. Both are hilly places- particularly Seattle- and holding your car in place during a red light and during the extremely lengthy time that pedestrians in Seattle take to cross the street can be a challenge. My Camry Hybrid did not have this feature and I always hated the gas and brake juggle, it just seemed like it had to be hard on the car. I finally found myself doing what I could to traverse the hills rather than climb them just to minimize hill side holds.

Now here comes my Prius with another feature I didn't know it had. Hill start assist is intuitive to use and works very well. Toyota warns in the manual not to become too dependent on it or use it on icy hills, but I am sure that was written by the lawyers. Common sense would tell you that stopping on an icy hill would take more than hill start assist can give.

I have owned my Prius for a month now and I love that I am still finding pleasant surprises. Is hill start assist a new Prius feature or has it been around a while?

[bisco]

it's not on my 08, so it must be new on genIII. can you expound a bit? i have no trouble holding my prius or hycam on hills. sounds like my old manual tranny!

[Tideland Prius]

It's a new feature first introduced in the Toyota lineup in the 4Runner back in 2004. It has since expanded to most new models. It's mostly a convenience feature so that you don't have to do the brake/accelerator juggle (or use the handbrake/footbrake).

[hsiaolc]

It is a very cool and handy feature. I used it a lot when at traffic on a very steep hill and gives me a very big confidence of the car not rolling backwards.

Very neat and nice feature. It comes with all Gen3 Prius.

[fuzzy1]

This feature was on a manual transmission Subaru that my wife test-drove two decades ago, and it wasn't new then. It is missing from later and larger MT Subarus, such as my '97, but is present on recent AT Outbacks that I've driven for events.

I haven't used this feature on my Prius. Having gone MT-only a quarter century ago, until joining the HSD world, hill starts on cars that easily roll back are now deeply ingrained in the reflexes. Even in the hilly portions of Seattle.

[vday]

Can someone remind me how this is done?

[spiderman]

Press the brake pedal very firmly until it beeps and the indicator lights up. Remove foot from brake pedal and place on accelerator pedal. About 2 seconds later you will here another beep and the brakes are released.

[Retsyn]

Originally Posted by fuzzy1

This feature was on a manual transmission Subaru that my wife test-drove two decades ago, and it wasn't new then. It is missing from later and larger MT Subarus, such as my '97, but is present on recent AT Outbacks that I've driven for events.

I haven't used this feature on my Prius. Having gone MT-only a quarter century ago, until joining the HSD world, hill starts on cars that easily roll back are now deeply ingrained in the reflexes. Even in the hilly portions of Seattle.

Forester has had it on the MT since 2004. I think the legacy got it 2006-ish. It's fully integrated (you don't need to mash the brake or anything). If you're stopped on a hill and you engage the clutch, it will hold till you move forward. Very well done actually.

[randallintacoma]

Page 243 of the owners manual for specifics, but after the car is stopped, press further on the brake pedal until there is a beep and an indicator starts flashing on the instrumental panel. When you remove your foot from the brake, the brakes will remain engaged for 2 seconds, giving you plenty of time to move your foot to the gas pedal.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by Retsyn

Forester has had it on the MT since 2004. I think the legacy got it 2006-ish. It's fully integrated (you don't need to mash the brake or anything). If you're stopped on a hill and you engage the clutch, it will hold till you move forward. Very well done actually.

It is fully integrated on the Prius as well, but the Prius has no clutch. The system needs some way to know when to use it, hence the brake press activation.

Tom