[JayN]

The model year 2012 vs. 2013 thread made me think about another item I don't quite get, maybe somebody can enlighten me...
What is the difference between these different "hold assist" systems?
In particular, what is the difference between "hill hold assist" and "hold assist"?
I would think that "hold assist" on a flat surface was pretty pointless, while "hold assist" on an ascent could be very useful indeed. (Living in a place with snow and ice 50% of the year, a full stop in the middle of a steep hill can be quite tricky when you want to start again. Looking forward to Quattro in this situation by the way!)
"Hill decent control" I cannot even imagine what does.
Checking my brochures, I see that there are explanations for "hold assist" and "hill hold assist", but they are so similar that I cannot tell what the difference is between these two choices...!

 

[rontheman]

As I understand it, "hold assist" is linked to the handbrake and basically means that if you have applied the handbrake, you don't have to releaseit to drive off. "Hill hold" is only linked to the handbrake, and basically stops the car from creeping forward or rolling back (if stopped on a hill) while stationary, by automatically applying the handbrake when the car has come to a halt."Hill descent assist" is basically a sort of downhill cruise control at very slow speeds, to stop the car from gaining speed on steep declines, ie tries to maintain a very slow downhill speed on a steep hillI might be wrong, but I think that is essentially it.

 

[JayN]

if I understand you correctly, one (hold assist) should be an "automatic handbrake release", and the other (hill hold assist) should be "automatic handbrake application". (If this is correct, why on earth didn't they name them so?! At least to me it sounds more logical. But perhaps not very catchy.)
Wish I had researched this a bit better before ordering, for the useful one of these seems to be the "hold assist", which I understand is standard, while the "hill hold assist" is an optional extra. (Albeit not one of the more expensive ones...)
Glad I didn't order the "decent assist" then, doesn't sound very useful. And shouldn't the cruise control do the same thing?

 

[SETIG]

I have hill hold assist on my Tiguan. Basically when activated every time you stop it applies the brakes and automatically releases when you drive off. So you can forget ever applying the handbrake during the journey. However do not rely on it when leaving the vehicle unattended, as I understand some Tiguans have been known to roll away after 10 minutes or so. In this case always apply the electronic hold assist brake.

The hill descent control is a brilliant piece of kit. It makes numerous changes to the set up so that the vehicle is far more useable in extreme conditions. This was not available when I ordered my Q3

However I have not ordered the hill hold assist as I am not sure how it will work with stop start system.

 

[JayN]

I have read around a little bit, and if the "hill hold assist" is the same for Q3 as for other Audis, it's an "automatic handbrake", working the way you and rontheman describe it, and with a physical enable/disable button. (A picture showed this right behind the automatic gear lever, button marked "A".) With such a button, it should not be a problem having both "hill hold assist" and "start/stop", since you can disable one at a a time, I guess.

 

[Blackmore Hotspur]

I have the feature on my A6- it is a fantastic fearure that is sadly not on my soon to arrive Q3 and I will really miss it.

You have to activate it by pressing button every time you get in and start up; as soon as you switch off it defaults to being off. From looking at Q3 brochure picture I think button appears in same place on Q3 as an extra button just behind the electronic hand brake. When you brake and come to halt e.g at traffic lights or in stationary traffic it reads pressure applied and holds or brakes wheels so you cannot roll back or forth. You know it is happening as a green brake light appears on your dash (as opposed to red light when you manually apply electro hand brake) Either way to pull away you just engage gear in manual and at biting point it releases brake and off you go seemlessly with no roll back. (not sure what it's like with Auto but assume similar)

Out of interest, having seen detailed A6 thread on another forum, it actually engages all brakes as if using foot brake, it does not engage hand brake.

Hope that all makes sense and is useful

 

[Blackmore Hotspur]

Oh and yes it dovetails beautifully with stop start system

 

[pekX2to]

I have the feature on my A6- it is a fantastic fearure that is sadly not on my soon to arrive Q3 and I will really miss it.

You have to activate it by pressing button every time you get in and start up; as soon as you switch off it defaults to being off. From looking at Q3 brochure picture I think button appears in same place on Q3 as an extra button just behind the electronic hand brake. When you brake and come to halt e.g at traffic lights or in stationary traffic it reads pressure applied and holds or brakes wheels so you cannot roll back or forth. You know it is happening as a green brake light appears on your dash (as opposed to red light when you manually apply electro hand brake) Either way to pull away you just engage gear in manual and at biting point it releases brake and off you go seemlessly with no roll back. (not sure what it's like with Auto but assume similar)

Out of interest, having seen detailed A6 thread on another forum, it actually engages all brakes as if using foot brake, it does not engage hand brake.

Hope that all makes sense and is useful

I have this the hold assist option in combination with start/stop. You do not need to activate hold assist everytime you start the car. When the hold assist is engaged and come to a full stop, you can lift your foot and the brakes remain engaged. Once you step on the accelerator, the brakes are automatically disengaged.Very useful in stop and go traffic.

pekX2toEdited by: pekX2to

 

[rontheman]

I am currently using an A7 with this feature, pending delivery of my Q3. I have to say that in my view, the hill hold assist does not work well with stop/start, and basically the 2 are incompatible in my view. The operation of stop-start (with an auto gearbox) requires the brake pedal to be depressed. If the stop-start then activates (ie the engine switches off) and you then lift your foot off the brake pedal to let the hill hold assist do its job, the engine restarts.The other problem with hill hold assist is when you are parking, and you rely on some creep to manouevre in the parking space. With hill hold assist engaged, you lose this micro control, as the car tends to lurch a bit. I didn't spec hill hold assist, and now glad of that decision.

 

[pekX2to]

I am currently using an A7 with this feature, pending delivery of my Q3. I have to say that in my view, the hill hold assist does not work well with stop/start, and basically the 2 are incompatible in my view. The operation of stop-start (with an auto gearbox) requires the brake pedal to be depressed. If the stop-start then activates (ie the engine switches off) and you then lift your foot off the brake pedal to let the hill hold assist do its job, the engine restarts. The other problem with hill hold assist is when you are parking, and you rely on some creep to manouevre in the parking space. With hill hold assist engaged, you lose this micro control, as the car tends to lurch a bit. I didn't spec hill hold assist, and now glad of that decision.

I agree, hold assist in incompatible wit start/stop. I have both options, the engine starts if I lift my foot off the brake pedal. Since I find the start/stop feature troublesome, I always turn it off. I find the hold assist more useful ?

 

[JayN]

But you do have the button to enable/disable "hill hold assist", right? I think I am going to not use this feature, even though I did choose it, and that I will find it rather annoying... ;-)

 

[rontheman]

Agreed, you can disable it, but are you really going to think of this, let alone do it,each time you park? I agree with you, it is annoying

 

[JayN]

Agreed, you can disable it, but are you really going to think of this, let alone do it,each time you park? I agree with you, it is annoying

Eh, no, I hope not. I will simply not turn this on. It will be as if it is not installed at all I reckon. (I assume it doesn't start in the enabled state when the engine starts.)
Since I'm used to apply the parking brake manually when I park (to leave the car) from all my previous cars, this will be properly ingrained so that I can continue with this without thinking about it.

 

[S Line]

<h1>hill/hold assist</h1>

I think this is a brilliant feature in conjunction with the S Tronic gearbox, However I have to agree that it is a little obtrusive when trying to do micro adjustments when parking or just trying to move the car without your seatbelt on as you then have to manualy take the park brake off. (What a big inconvienience when you are used to the car doing everything for you, Dipping the headlights, Locking the doors, and a host of other things some without us even aware that it is doing them for us)This is my 3rd vehicle with this feature & honestly think its great. +++++

 

[JayN]

Hehe... maybe I will be converted when I get my Q3 in two weeks time! But to be frank, I don't really understand why one would want to use the parking brake when not leaving the car parked. I am used to having my right-hand foot in one of two places, without any exception at all, either on the accelerator or the brake... (cannot even imagine where to put it if not in one of these two positions. Is there room some place for it that I am not aware of?)

 

[rontheman]

I think the purpose is encapsulated in the name -"hill hold assist". To me, that means something that stops the car from rolling back in the short time interval between taking a foot off the brake and pushing the accelerator, i.e much like waiting for the clutch to bite on a manual car before releasing the handbrake.Seems views are quite polarised here!

 

[JayN]

I think the purpose is encapsulated in the name -"hill hold assist". To me, that means something that stops the car from rolling back in the short time interval between taking a foot off the brake and pushing the accelerator, ...

Yes, but what you now describe is the "hold assist", I think, which is standard on all the Q3s, and not the "hill hold assist".

 

[Tyreman]

That is how I read it in the my hand book the Q3 has a hold assist as standard. My Q3 has the hill hold assist as an opted extra. One difference is that on my previous car a 2008 A4 when you had the hill hold assist turned on a green parking brake light illuminated on the dash. As opposed to a red one when the 'proper' parking brake was on. I am trying to not waffle too much. At say traffic lights I use the hill hold assist as opposed to the parking brake despite the fact that both disengage automatically as you pull away. In the A4 I was more inclined to push the button to turn off the hill hold assist until the next time circumstances made it useful. The green light reminded you it was ready for action. The trouble is when it is set to go as you coast to a halt it is a bit like as if the parking brake halts you a split second before you would expect. The lurch effect as a previous poster said when parking. Not a feeling I liked hence I didn't leave mine on permantly. I say didn't because the Q3 doesn't have the green light now I am tending to leave it on longer than before. I hope my observations makes some sense.

 

[Dinkum]

I do regret not having this. I have seen a few tutorials online about retrofitting it, so I may give it a go when there is a tutorial for the Q3. Alternatively, I may get it added when the dealership lets me know they have the kit for the cruise control unit.

I have noticed that there is often a slight lag on the brakes when you are on an incline. When you come to a dead stop, the brakes hold for a few seconds and then releases. If you don't have your foot on the brake, then you run backwards. It's almost like the car is saying 'I have HHA, but I must remember not to use it'

Edited by: Dinkum

 

[Jules]

Dinkum - that's an interesting point - I have noticed the sameon my car.

When you stop on a slope and you take your foot off the brake pedal,it seems to hold for just about enough time to getinto first gear, but will let the car roll back if you aren't paying attention...

Crikey, I might have to get the handbook out and read it now!!