I've just got a new car with an electric handbrake that I've never had before, the moment you lift the clutch the auto handbrake comes off before the bite point, so now I'm forced to learn this new way to pull off after years of doing handbrakes starts, very glad this video exists.
I’ve been driving for 50 years and just took delivery of my first car with Hill start assist. It seemed to work ok for me, but until I saw this video, I didn’t understand HOW it was working, which was rather disconcerting and inefficient since I was still using the handbrake. This video has been a tremendous help, a clear description of how the system works and how to make the best of it. Thank you very much. I will now watch the rest of your videos and find out what else I didn’t know that I didn’t know.
I can't believe I never realised that it was the hill start assist that would delay me moving off by two seconds on hills! When I got my first car after passing this would confuse me and make me think I did not have the biting point so I would lift the clutch higher and stall continuously! The creaking noise too; I never knew why it happened. Another helpful video as usual!
Thanks for all the insights into hill starts. I travel often to San Francisco and i recently bought a manual. The city is a nightmare and has streets where your hood literally faces the sky at the stop sign.
I've been watching your videos for so long and I finally passed last Wednesday with 2 minors! Also I'm happy that I didn't get a hill start on the test.
I own a car that releases the brake when the bite point is reached. It’s a 2017 VW golf. Very useful mechanic for hill starts and just really handy as you don’t need to worry about keeping your foot on the break
It took me about a year because of backlogs and weather 🙄 but I finally passed, can’t thank you enough for the videos, along with my instructor they have really helped. Make sure to keep them coming for future drivers!
Just passed my driving test today with 1 fault (rolling back a bit from the start on a slope), though I am not from the UK the teachings have been really useful in understanding how to control a manual transmission car ,the car I used had no hill start assist and handbrake starts ain't allowed.....then the car has a very low and sensitive biting point and barely moves without adding gas(petrol car) ,hill starts are a nightmare .....This is the best driving channel ,thanks😊
Thank you for this video ! I got my licence 5 years ago and i always used the clutch before the gas on hills as my instructor taught me. Had an humiliating moment today on my new car but now i understand why i stalled 3 times in a row 😂
I would really like to say thank you😘😘😘 for improving my driving skills. I’ve been watching your video before and after I got my driving license. You’re tremendous help to me🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I have a license since 2018 and I still often use the parking brake method, especially in the traffic or on uphill stopping lights when someone is close behind me or on steeper hills, so I dont risk rolling back too much or into somebody, but like you mentioned, the parking brake is not as strong as the footbrake. My pakring brake is sometimes too weak to hold me on steep hills, so I at least use it to slow my car down and prevent it from rolling back fast like a boulder untill I get to the bite point. Hill hold assist is pretty useful, I sometimes wish my car had it too :D Thanks for the vid!
I actually ended up disabling hill hold when I was learning too because I found it harder when enabled (don't have an actual handbrake neither), never used it again 😅 great vid
My instructor's car is a vauxhall corsa 2015 reg. It has Hill start assist. It is incredibly annoying. It does not release when you press the gas. You count zero, one, two and it releases. This feels too long for me. It appears to last longer than your car, perhaps a second longer. My instructor taught me both methods (handbrake and footbrake) when teaching me Hill starts in maybe my second lesson (now on 24hrs). I found I have a preference for the footbrake method you describe at 5:15 simply because I initially found it more challenging and practised it with her over the handbrake method, and of course it's useful in all traffic conditions, not just on hills. In fact, only today have I started to use the handbrake much because my right foot is getting fatigued from floating it on the brake and gas etc. Anyway, for a long time I thought that the car wasn't moving, therefore I mustn't have the clutch high enough and therefore I needed to lift it higher. This invariably lead to a stall. Even today, potential serious fault if I were on a test as I gave way going uphill to a driver coming downhill, cars on the left, driver coming downhill passed, driver coming downhill flashed me and stopped clearly giving way, so I went to move and was stuck for a whole 2 seconds. Right as I started moving, he did too, clearly having decided I wasn't going to take that priority due to my apparent inaction. He recognised it quickly and stopped again, but it felt hairy. I would far rather disable it. I can get to the accelerator fine. I have the clutch just dipped below the bite point so rolling back is not an issue. It actively makes me feel like I have less control of the car.
Same problem I'm facing!!! Those seconds you have to wait for the hill assist to disengage is annoying, makes me think I don't have the clutch at the biting point so I lift it higher, then I stall. I drive a Opel Adam and unfortunately I can't switch it off so I'm going to have to use the handbrake method
I've found HSA can't be activated if you press the brakes firmly (as in push the peddle further down). You can actually feel the peddle nudge when the system releases the brakes. Problem with this is the HSA can activate even when you're on flat, but if you pull away with gas it doesn't tend to be a problem (unless you're less experienced perhaps). Good video Richard 👍
Some cars have a hold function if you press the brake pedal firmly. Most don't have this system in my experience. A Mercedes A class is the only car I've driven with it.
My dad's Dacia duster has a hill start assist system and it actually makes taking off harder because it takes too long to disengage as well activating alot of the time when I'm holding the brake at a junction
Good video. My 2013 Audi saloon has a hold assist that will keep the brakes on indefinitely until there is both gas and bite (although bite alone can trigger it sometimes) - the system detects when you've got enough power going to the wheels to move off with minimal rolling
My 2020 Toyota Corolla hatchback also has what's called a "brake hold" feature (I'm in the US, I don't know if the 12th generation Corollas in the UK have it). My car also has hill hold assist as described in this video, which can't be turned off. Anyway, brake hold is optional, and is activated by pressing a button on the center console. Like hill hold assist, brake hold uses the ABS to hold the brakes until there is enough power to move off. I'd love to learn how to do a real hill start, but I'm so scared of rolling back into someone and causing an accident. So, I've become completely dependent on the brake hold. Which I suppose doesn't really matter, because most cars in the US are automatics anyway, and the chance of me ever driving a manual car other than my own is likely zero. But hill starts is skill I'd like to learn. Maybe one day, I'll be brave and practice proper hill starts, without relying on the brake hold.
TLDR: Richard, the car you're looking for is the Golf MK7. I got one and it will hold the car indefinitely, and releases the brakes the moment you get to the clutch's biting point, not input from the gas pedal! I learnt to drive in a polo with the exact same system and hated it, I couldn't understand why there was a time limit in the first place if it can detect to disengage. It turns out it doesn't have to be that way. my golf mk7 has exactly what you're looking for, it will hold the car for you indefinitely, and will only release when it detects the clutch at the biting point. it is such a better system that it makes me feel like a lazy driver lol luckily I still remember how to move a car without it 😂😂 if you ever get the chance, check out the golf mk7 and mk8, the auto hold on that car is perfect. It's an actual cheatcode for doing hill starts, as the car will always automatically add enough gas when you get to the clutch biting point in order for you get going, regardless of how steep the hill is! It also wont let you coast down a hill in neutral, but if you ever want do that for whatever reason, you can push the electric handbrake button downwards instead of upwards which disengages the system until the next time you come to a stop.
It's a coincidence that i thought about my car having Hill Start Assist like a day before you uploaded this video. I flicked through the settings and saw the HSA was already activated in my car though i've never noticed it, maybe i'm too nervous so i just use the handbrake. Will try it out sometime.
I really needed this! I passed in May and just bought a new car that has hill assist. I’ve been stalling like crazy and I didn’t know why. I never stalled that much in my instructor car so it’s been giving me a lot of anxiety
My parents' VW T-Cross releases the hill assist brakes when the clutch is at the bite point, independently of the accelerator pedal position (or when a couple seconds have passed). I think my Megane does the same thing but I can't say for sure.
Woww thank you so much for this explanation i was stressing, I'm driving a suzuki baleno, recently gave me a warning light that ESP service system(Hill hold disabled) i noticed that this happens when ever i drive in a traffic jam, then disappears when i switch off and on the car. Now that you've explained this hill assist i think i know the reason for the hill hold to be disabled.
Ive recently gone from an old 2007 Peugeot 207 that ive had for 2 years to a newer model 2019 208 with hill assist, everything was going great untill i suddenly started doing hill starts like i did in the 207 and getting the juddering. Thank you for clearing up my confusion and now i dont think my car is broke, its just me 😂
Hi Richard, passed my driving test third time lucky at Speke today, third hardest in the country as you said 😂. Your videos have really helped and I’ll keep on watching!
My previous instructor's car had hill assist and it really helped me a lot in hill starts without handbrake but once I jump in my family member's car I stall quite a lot with some rollback. I believe the car does not have hill assist so I was encouraged to use handbrake to reduce those problems but it is so slow for me, it tends to make me hesitate and miss opportunities at hill junctions. Cars behind me aren't really that patient, sometimes i end up over reving by accident or not completely releasing the handbrake lol. I tried the handbrake technique quite a bit but quickly went back to do the bite to hold and then gas. I like that technique a lot and it gets me to actually find the biting point which I normally don't do but I guess it would not work on steeper hills like the one in Bristol, that one looks like I need a hand brake and more gas.
Thanks so much for your content, they are really helpful. I have a full licence for 2years now but I have been driving an automatic vehicle since until recently having to drive a manual replacement car. In the last few days, I have stalled a couple of times especially on hills as I kept using the handbrakes which made everything cumbersome, trusting the car to do the hill assist as you explained did the trick.
You know what's awesome? That I can buy a new car, come to your videos and you've already made one about issues I have :D I kept stalling it and didn't manage to quite understand what I was doing wrong. You explained it so clearly, thank you. I believe now I'll be able to enjoy hill assist, I was close to shutting it down because of how much anxiety it induced me in just few rides. BTW if you want to try interesting car - toyota GR 86 :D Now we have both mazda mx5 nc and gr 86, fun fun :D Especially on hilly roads - toyota is definitely a beast - you feel it accelerating even when it's in fourth gear and road is uphill and reacts to small amounts of gas already, whereas mazda would need 3rd gear, pedal to the metal and you count to 3-4 until you feel it gets the power. I heard that your mx5, so nd has similar feeling like toyota / because it's more powerful than nc, maybe that's more torque that makes the difference in feeling. Anyhow, just wanted to share another toy, if you can put your hands on it for test drive at least, seize the opportunity :D And thanks for having so many covered topics! Now to binge watching what I've missed in last year while I was playing around with mazda :D
I wish there is a light or something showing that the hill assist system is active. Sometimes I need to guess whether or not the car will hold the brake for me😅.
Get video with a full explanation, now I immediately want to see what hill start assist is like on the steepest road in England! We have a very steep hill where we live, and I was terrible doing hill start assist there, as I wasn't quick enough to take off, then slammed on the breaks so I didn't roll down.
I think the best help on hill starts is anticipating when the traffic will begin to move so you're not rushing. Rushing is when you will rocket the clutch up and stall. I seem to have nailed holding the car with the brakes, finding just enough bite to keep it there and then going to gas and lifting the clutch a tiny bit more. Don't know if my 2011 fiesta is helping me and that would quickly fail in many other cars.
'Not rushing' is one of the best bits of advice I gave my pupils. That was best achieved by releasing the hand brake very slowly. If holding on the foot brake works for you, then fine. But I wouldn't recommend teaching that method as the foot brake is much more powerful than the hand brake so it's much harder to feel when you have the required control with the clutch. Plus of course you often need power from the accelerator pedal as well as the clutch, which is impossible to do if your foot is using the brake. That then requires a quick skip from brake to gas and is one of the causes of rushing, which, as you correctly say, is best avoided. Well done for not rushing, but try using the hand brake. Especially if you're supervising family or friends in the future.
@@chriscurtain1816 If you know the car you are driving very well then the right amount of bite point should be enough to hold the car on the hill, this will stop the car from rolling backwards and that gives you just about enough time to release the brakes and put your right foot on the gas pedal.
@@maiden5427 I know. Hence my third sentence above. But it won't work in every situation given the wrong combination of car (power), load / number of passengers and gradient. Any difficulty usually gets exposed on the first change of car, especially if that's to a significantly less powerful car than the one used for lessons.
Having passed my test back in the last decade of the last century, I've always used the "set the gas, find the biting point, release the handbrake" method. I've had one modern manual, which must have had hill hold assist, and on hill starts it was always upset with me not releasing the handbrake the second I touched the gas, and would beep to tell me off. 😅 The new method of not setting the gas to pull away just feels all kinds of wrong. Even the diesel 205 I passed my test in would not let me get away with that, and that was a difficult to stall car at the time. I suspect a recently qualified driver would really struggle with an older car if they were taught that way.
Hill hold assist drives me insane sometimes, I've stalled repeatedly in that past because I wasn't giving enough gas for it release the brakes, so I was effectively trying to pull away in "tick over". In my instructor's Kia, it seems to come on when it feels like it. Got used to it eventually where I just needed to give that extra gas, much like a regular hill start, for it to release the brakes.
Personally, I always use the handbrake method for hill starts. My car is diesel anyway so you could never hold the car using "no gas" - the car will barely move on the level without almost stalling, if you I don't rev the engine. Even when I drove a petrol, I still used the handbrake method. The handbrake should easily hold the weight of the car and if it doesn't, it should be fixed.
Fiat Panda III does have Hill Hold Assist, but the issue you described about the car fighting with the brakes does arise there. I can physically feel the brakes disengaging and me shooting off, the car doesn't let go when I press the gas pedal. It's cheap to just insert a rudimentary type of HSA into a car's computer, I feel
I have the opposite problem with the hill hold assist on my WRX. It only holds me in place for like half a second and then I start rolling back, so I've learned to just give the right amount of clutch and bite point to accelerate myself just enough to stop from falling back, give the right amount of revs and then come off the clutch when I'm ready. I'm probably burning my clutch a bit by doing that but I'd rather do that than not fall back into someone's front bumper.
In my Puma, if you take your foot off the brake and press the gas whilst the clutch is still fully depressed, it holds the car car for 5 seconds, allowing the clutch to be slowly raised. I'm also an ADI
Something I wanted to point out is that some cars have handbrakes that engage all four wheels. In my car, it actually pulls the brake pedal down when you pull the handbrake. That being said, the handbrake is definitely less powerful. I've rolled backwards on hills because I hadn't pulled the handbrake hard enough.
When I first had a car with HSA, I didn't know that cars had it or what it was, and I thought my brakes were sticking / locking! I did learn something knew though in this video; I didn't realise the foot brake operated the back brakes, I thought the back brakes only activated / work the hand brake and worked on a drum system. I thought that's why when you brake hard, the car front dips into the road a little, but I guess that must just be the G force 🤔
I have a seat Ibiza 2017 which needs gas. My instructor never taught me to give it gas because the engine was strong enough to set off using the bite point. I really struggled when I got the car and even stalled on very slight inclines which was very stressful!
hi, this is off topic but 44% of drivers fail at luton, i’ve been driving around there recently but some of the places on the routes are confusing. would you do a video covering tricky luton roundabouts and junctions? edit: my test is monday
Your videos continue to be helpful even a year after getting my license - thank you! A quick question - have you found any difference in doing handbrake starts with an electronic handbrake vs a traditional one?
Question: In cars with the new electric handbreak, is htere another way to do a hill start without doing the lifting of the clutch to the middle and pressing gas?
I dont' find hill start assist to be reliable. Unless I'm not doing it right, I find it sometimes works, and sometimes I expect to work but it doesn't (so i roll slightly). I engage the "brake hold" button (not the parking brake button) in the Civic Type R so that acts as my "hand brake" now for more consistency. I believe brake hold is more for applying the brakes for you when you are at a light/stop so you don't have to use the brake pedal.
Passed about 7 months ago with no minors. Your videos helped me a lot on all the subjects. I own a car with electric hand brake hill starts seems to be a pain. Any advice? Cheers
My 06 manual forester has this but there no time limit you can just keep ur foot on the clutch for however long you want and It won’t roll. I’ve driven a few manual Suzuki’s Hyundai and Volkswagen’s from the 2010s and non of them have had this
It’s actually a very interesting system compared to this. It actually works quite different it will engage when you come to a complete stop with the brakes and the clutch fully depressed. You can then completely come off the brake and just hold the clutch all the way down and it won’t roll back. It’s completely separate to the accelerator it actually releases when the clutch is even slightly brought up from full depressed position
I learned to drive privately before taking lessons so picked up some odd things. I legitimately find a handbrake start significantly more stressfull regardless of gradiant.. but I've never tried not having hill start assist or a vehicle that requires gas before the clutch I guess.
@@lukesalvidge118 apparently most learners prefer the handbrake. For me it just feels like a slower start (time pressure) and more things to do (multi tasking stress). Footbrake feels incredibly natural to me..until im stuck in traffic on a hill for 4mins at which point I might give in and use handbrake haha
@@tomedinburgh4490 I used to use handbrake all the time but now I don't. I don't have hill start assist, but I just use foot brake unless I'm stuck in traffic for ages
Good afternoon Richard, I wanted to say thank you for the videos that you make. Between my lessons with my brilliant driving instructor and watching your videos, I passed my driving test yesterday with six minors which I'm very happy about so thank you! Do you have a website you would recommend for tips and things to look out for / avoid when buying a car?
*try it like this - pull the handbrake - press the clutch - press the handbrake button and hold it. don't put down - press the foot brake until you hear a click - release the handbrake - the car will stay until you leave*
What about just balancing the clutch? I find doing that way easier than using a handbrake hillstart. In fact, I still haven’t gotten the hang of handbrake hillstarts bc I’ve just gotten used to balancing the clutch.
I did all my lessons without these assists so I can't really criticise 'hill start assist' if I've never used it. But I would have thought a better design / system would be to have the relevant wheels / axil physically unable to turn backwards unless the driver selects reverse gear. So there would never be any risk of roll back (unless intended by the driver), and every hill start would then simply be a matter of establishing the appropriate control / power with the clutch and gas pedals.
Yes, this makes sense. If you're in a forward gear the system should stop you rolling back and not just for two seconds. Off the top of my head I can't think of any disadvantages to such a system.
@@birkhatt8969 Indeedy. 'Hill start assist' sounds good, but after the arbitrary two seconds, if you haven't established the required control you will then get a nasty shock when the system suddenly decides to release the brake anyway. Isn't it sensible for the driver to decide when, and how slowly, to release the parking brake? Then again we're both agreed a non rolling back axil would work even better.
I never used the handbrake method and I always used brake-clutch method(with or without hill assist), I found that the handbrake usage takes too long and I only used it for parking or waiting to long in a stand still traffic + it wears out in time
Not having a new car this is news to me. I have never heard of this. I have heard of cars without handbrakes which sound like a nightmare. I assume that the hill start assist can be turned on and off.
Thank you for your suggestion. This link may help you: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/driving-tests-improving-availability-and-processes/outcome/improving-driving-test-availability-and-processes-consultation-outcome
I just passed my test and my new car I'm picking up next week (VW Golf) has auto brake hold aswell as an electric parking brake which I've never used before. How would you do hill starts as a new driver with an electric parking brake? Or would you use the auto hold brake?
VW hill start does not seem to be "smarter than that". Even if I blip throttle there is still a delay until brake releases. Trying to find tips/how to deal with it.
Could you do a vid on Clutch braking? Essentially it's engine braking with clutch inputs to control the speed without accelerator input. It's very useful in extreme downhills in stick shifts. I wonder if it causes more clutch wear, since there is no accelerator input.
What’s your recommendations for when deciding when to go on a multi-lane roundabout but when your view is restricted by a car on the right lane, should you trust their decision and go with them or stop until you can see and make your own decision?
I recommend making your own decision because they could start going and suddenly stop. It's a problem, usually I wait for the car next to me to move then decide or try to see through their windows if possible.
The only thing that is wierd to me is that the hill start assist only starts after getting to the biting point and then the gas, if the clutch is all the way down and release the brake to gas, it rolls down... Maybe I'm doing something wrong... Idk
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Passed today with 3 minors. Thanks for all the wonderful content, I'm sure that it helped!
That's great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Hi
suck him off then
Do you have to bring minors with you during a drivers test?
@@YorktownClassI threw away my pickaxe, shovel and helmet for nothing. Thanks DVSA
I've just got a new car with an electric handbrake that I've never had before, the moment you lift the clutch the auto handbrake comes off before the bite point, so now I'm forced to learn this new way to pull off after years of doing handbrakes starts, very glad this video exists.
I’ve been driving for 50 years and just took delivery of my first car with Hill start assist. It seemed to work ok for me, but until I saw this video, I didn’t understand HOW it was working, which was rather disconcerting and inefficient since I was still using the handbrake. This video has been a tremendous help, a clear description of how the system works and how to make the best of it. Thank you very much.
I will now watch the rest of your videos and find out what else I didn’t know that I didn’t know.
Jesus Christ. My new car has hill start assist out the box and I had no idea this was a thing. Thank you for explaining this tech in wonderful detail!
I can't believe I never realised that it was the hill start assist that would delay me moving off by two seconds on hills! When I got my first car after passing this would confuse me and make me think I did not have the biting point so I would lift the clutch higher and stall continuously! The creaking noise too; I never knew why it happened. Another helpful video as usual!
Passed my driving test today with 4 minors. Your videos helped immensely, especially the test nerves video. Keep up the good work!
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Thanks for all the insights into hill starts. I travel often to San Francisco and i recently bought a manual. The city is a nightmare and has streets where your hood literally faces the sky at the stop sign.
I've been watching your videos for so long and I finally passed last Wednesday with 2 minors! Also I'm happy that I didn't get a hill start on the test.
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
@@ConquerDriving Thank you!
I own a car that releases the brake when the bite point is reached. It’s a 2017 VW golf. Very useful mechanic for hill starts and just really handy as you don’t need to worry about keeping your foot on the break
seat leon does this (2014 model what he has here), releases at bite point or with gas pedal, not terribly reliable with using no gas tho
as an old school stick driver,
handbrake is my assistant for a hill start.
😁👍
It took me about a year because of backlogs and weather 🙄 but I finally passed, can’t thank you enough for the videos, along with my instructor they have really helped. Make sure to keep them coming for future drivers!
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Just passed my driving test today with 1 fault (rolling back a bit from the start on a slope), though I am not from the UK the teachings have been really useful in understanding how to control a manual transmission car ,the car I used had no hill start assist and handbrake starts ain't allowed.....then the car has a very low and sensitive biting point and barely moves without adding gas(petrol car) ,hill starts are a nightmare .....This is the best driving channel ,thanks😊
I just wanted to say thank you I watched almost all of your videos over and over before my second test and I passed with 0 minors!!!
That's great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Got my test a week today, these videos are incredibly valuable and help me feel more confident.
Good luck!
Thank you for this video ! I got my licence 5 years ago and i always used the clutch before the gas on hills as my instructor taught me. Had an humiliating moment today on my new car but now i understand why i stalled 3 times in a row 😂
I would really like to say thank you😘😘😘 for improving my driving skills. I’ve been watching your video before and after I got my driving license. You’re tremendous help to me🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
just passed today thanks to a combo of your videos and a patient instructor - thank you for everything!
That's great to hear! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Passed 3rd time today, couldn’t have done it without your videos, thanks so much !!!
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
In my opinion the best method for a beginner is to set gas,bite point then hand brake off in that order.
I have a license since 2018 and I still often use the parking brake method, especially in the traffic or on uphill stopping lights when someone is close behind me or on steeper hills, so I dont risk rolling back too much or into somebody, but like you mentioned, the parking brake is not as strong as the footbrake. My pakring brake is sometimes too weak to hold me on steep hills, so I at least use it to slow my car down and prevent it from rolling back fast like a boulder untill I get to the bite point. Hill hold assist is pretty useful, I sometimes wish my car had it too :D Thanks for the vid!
Ah! Can't be asked with all these fancy gadgets! Just using the biting point and fine pedal controls works just fine for me!
Same here John
I actually ended up disabling hill hold when I was learning too because I found it harder when enabled (don't have an actual handbrake neither), never used it again 😅 great vid
My instructor's car is a vauxhall corsa 2015 reg.
It has Hill start assist. It is incredibly annoying. It does not release when you press the gas. You count zero, one, two and it releases. This feels too long for me. It appears to last longer than your car, perhaps a second longer.
My instructor taught me both methods (handbrake and footbrake) when teaching me Hill starts in maybe my second lesson (now on 24hrs). I found I have a preference for the footbrake method you describe at 5:15 simply because I initially found it more challenging and practised it with her over the handbrake method, and of course it's useful in all traffic conditions, not just on hills. In fact, only today have I started to use the handbrake much because my right foot is getting fatigued from floating it on the brake and gas etc.
Anyway, for a long time I thought that the car wasn't moving, therefore I mustn't have the clutch high enough and therefore I needed to lift it higher. This invariably lead to a stall.
Even today, potential serious fault if I were on a test as I gave way going uphill to a driver coming downhill, cars on the left, driver coming downhill passed, driver coming downhill flashed me and stopped clearly giving way, so I went to move and was stuck for a whole 2 seconds. Right as I started moving, he did too, clearly having decided I wasn't going to take that priority due to my apparent inaction. He recognised it quickly and stopped again, but it felt hairy.
I would far rather disable it. I can get to the accelerator fine. I have the clutch just dipped below the bite point so rolling back is not an issue. It actively makes me feel like I have less control of the car.
Same problem I'm facing!!! Those seconds you have to wait for the hill assist to disengage is annoying, makes me think I don't have the clutch at the biting point so I lift it higher, then I stall. I drive a Opel Adam and unfortunately I can't switch it off so I'm going to have to use the handbrake method
Just wanted to comment and say thank you for your videos! They really helped me and I passed with 3 minors yesterday :)
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
I've found HSA can't be activated if you press the brakes firmly (as in push the peddle further down). You can actually feel the peddle nudge when the system releases the brakes. Problem with this is the HSA can activate even when you're on flat, but if you pull away with gas it doesn't tend to be a problem (unless you're less experienced perhaps). Good video Richard 👍
Some cars have a hold function if you press the brake pedal firmly. Most don't have this system in my experience. A Mercedes A class is the only car I've driven with it.
i've always found that the handbrake start is easier than hold assist, but I didn't realise it was such a common feature
My dad's Dacia duster has a hill start assist system and it actually makes taking off harder because it takes too long to disengage as well activating alot of the time when I'm holding the brake at a junction
Good video. My 2013 Audi saloon has a hold assist that will keep the brakes on indefinitely until there is both gas and bite (although bite alone can trigger it sometimes) - the system detects when you've got enough power going to the wheels to move off with minimal rolling
My 2020 Toyota Corolla hatchback also has what's called a "brake hold" feature (I'm in the US, I don't know if the 12th generation Corollas in the UK have it). My car also has hill hold assist as described in this video, which can't be turned off. Anyway, brake hold is optional, and is activated by pressing a button on the center console. Like hill hold assist, brake hold uses the ABS to hold the brakes until there is enough power to move off. I'd love to learn how to do a real hill start, but I'm so scared of rolling back into someone and causing an accident. So, I've become completely dependent on the brake hold. Which I suppose doesn't really matter, because most cars in the US are automatics anyway, and the chance of me ever driving a manual car other than my own is likely zero. But hill starts is skill I'd like to learn. Maybe one day, I'll be brave and practice proper hill starts, without relying on the brake hold.
TLDR: Richard, the car you're looking for is the Golf MK7. I got one and it will hold the car indefinitely, and releases the brakes the moment you get to the clutch's biting point, not input from the gas pedal!
I learnt to drive in a polo with the exact same system and hated it, I couldn't understand why there was a time limit in the first place if it can detect to disengage. It turns out it doesn't have to be that way. my golf mk7 has exactly what you're looking for, it will hold the car for you indefinitely, and will only release when it detects the clutch at the biting point. it is such a better system that it makes me feel like a lazy driver lol luckily I still remember how to move a car without it 😂😂 if you ever get the chance, check out the golf mk7 and mk8, the auto hold on that car is perfect. It's an actual cheatcode for doing hill starts, as the car will always automatically add enough gas when you get to the clutch biting point in order for you get going, regardless of how steep the hill is!
It also wont let you coast down a hill in neutral, but if you ever want do that for whatever reason, you can push the electric handbrake button downwards instead of upwards which disengages the system until the next time you come to a stop.
I passed my test today with 2 minors! Thank you so much for your videos, honestly!💛
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
It's a coincidence that i thought about my car having Hill Start Assist like a day before you uploaded this video. I flicked through the settings and saw the HSA was already activated in my car though i've never noticed it, maybe i'm too nervous so i just use the handbrake. Will try it out sometime.
I just passed today for the first time with 2 minors, thank you again for uploading all these videos, they really helped out!!!!
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
I really needed this! I passed in May and just bought a new car that has hill assist. I’ve been stalling like crazy and I didn’t know why. I never stalled that much in my instructor car so it’s been giving me a lot of anxiety
My parents' VW T-Cross releases the hill assist brakes when the clutch is at the bite point, independently of the accelerator pedal position (or when a couple seconds have passed). I think my Megane does the same thing but I can't say for sure.
Yes, I noticed that on my Insignia as well
my astra's hill hold assist is way too slow so i end up stalling or get honked at
Woww thank you so much for this explanation i was stressing, I'm driving a suzuki baleno, recently gave me a warning light that ESP service system(Hill hold disabled) i noticed that this happens when ever i drive in a traffic jam, then disappears when i switch off and on the car. Now that you've explained this hill assist i think i know the reason for the hill hold to be disabled.
passed first time today, been watchiing your vids for ages and really helped
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
I passed today with 3 minors. Thank you, your videos have really helped me in my journey!
That's great news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
Ive recently gone from an old 2007 Peugeot 207 that ive had for 2 years to a newer model 2019 208 with hill assist, everything was going great untill i suddenly started doing hill starts like i did in the 207 and getting the juddering. Thank you for clearing up my confusion and now i dont think my car is broke, its just me 😂
😅 Playing the learner is exactly what I've been doing. Thanks for that because I'll remember
Hi Richard, passed my driving test third time lucky at Speke today, third hardest in the country as you said 😂. Your videos have really helped and I’ll keep on watching!
That's fantastic news! Thank you for watching and congratulations on passing!
My previous instructor's car had hill assist and it really helped me a lot in hill starts without handbrake but once I jump in my family member's car I stall quite a lot with some rollback. I believe the car does not have hill assist so I was encouraged to use handbrake to reduce those problems but it is so slow for me, it tends to make me hesitate and miss opportunities at hill junctions. Cars behind me aren't really that patient, sometimes i end up over reving by accident or not completely releasing the handbrake lol. I tried the handbrake technique quite a bit but quickly went back to do the bite to hold and then gas. I like that technique a lot and it gets me to actually find the biting point which I normally don't do but I guess it would not work on steeper hills like the one in Bristol, that one looks like I need a hand brake and more gas.
Thanks so much for your content, they are really helpful.
I have a full licence for 2years now but I have been driving an automatic vehicle since until recently having to drive a manual replacement car. In the last few days, I have stalled a couple of times especially on hills as I kept using the handbrakes which made everything cumbersome, trusting the car to do the hill assist as you explained did the trick.
You know what's awesome? That I can buy a new car, come to your videos and you've already made one about issues I have :D I kept stalling it and didn't manage to quite understand what I was doing wrong. You explained it so clearly, thank you. I believe now I'll be able to enjoy hill assist, I was close to shutting it down because of how much anxiety it induced me in just few rides. BTW if you want to try interesting car - toyota GR 86 :D Now we have both mazda mx5 nc and gr 86, fun fun :D Especially on hilly roads - toyota is definitely a beast - you feel it accelerating even when it's in fourth gear and road is uphill and reacts to small amounts of gas already, whereas mazda would need 3rd gear, pedal to the metal and you count to 3-4 until you feel it gets the power. I heard that your mx5, so nd has similar feeling like toyota / because it's more powerful than nc, maybe that's more torque that makes the difference in feeling. Anyhow, just wanted to share another toy, if you can put your hands on it for test drive at least, seize the opportunity :D And thanks for having so many covered topics! Now to binge watching what I've missed in last year while I was playing around with mazda :D
Videos are very informative and easy to understand...many thanks
I wish there is a light or something showing that the hill assist system is active. Sometimes I need to guess whether or not the car will hold the brake for me😅.
Get video with a full explanation, now I immediately want to see what hill start assist is like on the steepest road in England!
We have a very steep hill where we live, and I was terrible doing hill start assist there, as I wasn't quick enough to take off, then slammed on the breaks so I didn't roll down.
I think the best help on hill starts is anticipating when the traffic will begin to move so you're not rushing. Rushing is when you will rocket the clutch up and stall. I seem to have nailed holding the car with the brakes, finding just enough bite to keep it there and then going to gas and lifting the clutch a tiny bit more. Don't know if my 2011 fiesta is helping me and that would quickly fail in many other cars.
Nah, it seems like you know what you are doing
'Not rushing' is one of the best bits of advice I gave my pupils. That was best achieved by releasing the hand brake very slowly. If holding on the foot brake works for you, then fine. But I wouldn't recommend teaching that method as the foot brake is much more powerful than the hand brake so it's much harder to feel when you have the required control with the clutch. Plus of course you often need power from the accelerator pedal as well as the clutch, which is impossible to do if your foot is using the brake. That then requires a quick skip from brake to gas and is one of the causes of rushing, which, as you correctly say, is best avoided. Well done for not rushing, but try using the hand brake. Especially if you're supervising family or friends in the future.
@@chriscurtain1816 If you know the car you are driving very well then the right amount of bite point should be enough to hold the car on the hill, this will stop the car from rolling backwards and that gives you just about enough time to release the brakes and put your right foot on the gas pedal.
@@maiden5427 I know. Hence my third sentence above. But it won't work in every situation given the wrong combination of car (power), load / number of passengers and gradient. Any difficulty usually gets exposed on the first change of car, especially if that's to a significantly less powerful car than the one used for lessons.
Having passed my test back in the last decade of the last century, I've always used the "set the gas, find the biting point, release the handbrake" method.
I've had one modern manual, which must have had hill hold assist, and on hill starts it was always upset with me not releasing the handbrake the second I touched the gas, and would beep to tell me off. 😅
The new method of not setting the gas to pull away just feels all kinds of wrong. Even the diesel 205 I passed my test in would not let me get away with that, and that was a difficult to stall car at the time.
I suspect a recently qualified driver would really struggle with an older car if they were taught that way.
I passed my test last year and I still do this
Hill hold assist drives me insane sometimes, I've stalled repeatedly in that past because I wasn't giving enough gas for it release the brakes, so I was effectively trying to pull away in "tick over". In my instructor's Kia, it seems to come on when it feels like it. Got used to it eventually where I just needed to give that extra gas, much like a regular hill start, for it to release the brakes.
Personally, I always use the handbrake method for hill starts. My car is diesel anyway so you could never hold the car using "no gas" - the car will barely move on the level without almost stalling, if you I don't rev the engine. Even when I drove a petrol, I still used the handbrake method. The handbrake should easily hold the weight of the car and if it doesn't, it should be fixed.
This
Fiat Panda III does have Hill Hold Assist, but the issue you described about the car fighting with the brakes does arise there. I can physically feel the brakes disengaging and me shooting off, the car doesn't let go when I press the gas pedal. It's cheap to just insert a rudimentary type of HSA into a car's computer, I feel
I passed my driving test this morning in Norwich, first try with one minor, from hesitation on a double mini roundabout.
Congratulations on passing!
Awesome Video Richard.
I have the opposite problem with the hill hold assist on my WRX. It only holds me in place for like half a second and then I start rolling back, so I've learned to just give the right amount of clutch and bite point to accelerate myself just enough to stop from falling back, give the right amount of revs and then come off the clutch when I'm ready. I'm probably burning my clutch a bit by doing that but I'd rather do that than not fall back into someone's front bumper.
That was helpful, thank you
In my Puma, if you take your foot off the brake and press the gas whilst the clutch is still fully depressed, it holds the car car for 5 seconds, allowing the clutch to be slowly raised. I'm also an ADI
Something I wanted to point out is that some cars have handbrakes that engage all four wheels. In my car, it actually pulls the brake pedal down when you pull the handbrake. That being said, the handbrake is definitely less powerful. I've rolled backwards on hills because I hadn't pulled the handbrake hard enough.
I learned it with my 2014 Fiat Panda. I use the clutch and brake. I only use the handbrake when I'm in uphill traffic
When I first had a car with HSA, I didn't know that cars had it or what it was, and I thought my brakes were sticking / locking! I did learn something knew though in this video; I didn't realise the foot brake operated the back brakes, I thought the back brakes only activated / work the hand brake and worked on a drum system. I thought that's why when you brake hard, the car front dips into the road a little, but I guess that must just be the G force 🤔
I hope my driving instructor will be as good as Richard!
I have a seat Ibiza 2017 which needs gas. My instructor never taught me to give it gas because the engine was strong enough to set off using the bite point. I really struggled when I got the car and even stalled on very slight inclines which was very stressful!
hi, this is off topic but 44% of drivers fail at luton, i’ve been driving around there recently but some of the places on the routes are confusing. would you do a video covering tricky luton roundabouts and junctions?
edit: my test is monday
That's about the average pass rate for the nation. Thank you for your suggestion and good luck with your test!
Your videos continue to be helpful even a year after getting my license - thank you! A quick question - have you found any difference in doing handbrake starts with an electronic handbrake vs a traditional one?
Thank you, electronic parking brakes are easier as they disengage automatically. Other than that I use them in the same way.
My kia rio confuses me a lot, on some hills it will activate hill hold assist but on not so steep hills it rolls back, very annoying..
Question: In cars with the new electric handbreak, is htere another way to do a hill start without doing the lifting of the clutch to the middle and pressing gas?
Same methods as a car with a manual handbrake but the electronic handbrake automatically disengages when you try to move the car.
I dont' find hill start assist to be reliable. Unless I'm not doing it right, I find it sometimes works, and sometimes I expect to work but it doesn't (so i roll slightly). I engage the "brake hold" button (not the parking brake button) in the Civic Type R so that acts as my "hand brake" now for more consistency. I believe brake hold is more for applying the brakes for you when you are at a light/stop so you don't have to use the brake pedal.
Passed about 7 months ago with no minors. Your videos helped me a lot on all the subjects. I own a car with electric hand brake hill starts seems to be a pain. Any advice? Cheers
My 06 manual forester has this but there no time limit you can just keep ur foot on the clutch for however long you want and It won’t roll. I’ve driven a few manual Suzuki’s Hyundai and Volkswagen’s from the 2010s and non of them have had this
It’s actually a very interesting system compared to this. It actually works quite different it will engage when you come to a complete stop with the brakes and the clutch fully depressed. You can then completely come off the brake and just hold the clutch all the way down and it won’t roll back. It’s completely separate to the accelerator it actually releases when the clutch is even slightly brought up from full depressed position
I learned to drive privately before taking lessons so picked up some odd things. I legitimately find a handbrake start significantly more stressfull regardless of gradiant.. but I've never tried not having hill start assist or a vehicle that requires gas before the clutch I guess.
This is so weird to me, I'm the exact opposite lol
@@lukesalvidge118 apparently most learners prefer the handbrake. For me it just feels like a slower start (time pressure) and more things to do (multi tasking stress). Footbrake feels incredibly natural to me..until im stuck in traffic on a hill for 4mins at which point I might give in and use handbrake haha
@@tomedinburgh4490 I used to use handbrake all the time but now I don't. I don't have hill start assist, but I just use foot brake unless I'm stuck in traffic for ages
Have my driving test on wednesday wish me luck
I can't find the article now, but there was talk of requiring hill start assist as part of EU type approval for new cars.
When doing handbrake method, do you rev up with gas first or hold the clutch to biting point?
I add gas first usually.
Legend!!
I Never Use Hill Assist
I Refer Using The Friction Point or the Handbrake.
Depending On how Steep the Hill is.
Good afternoon Richard,
I wanted to say thank you for the videos that you make.
Between my lessons with my brilliant driving instructor and watching your videos, I passed my driving test yesterday with six minors which I'm very happy about so thank you!
Do you have a website you would recommend for tips and things to look out for / avoid when buying a car?
That's great news! Congratulations on passing! This video may help: ruclips.net/video/k3SCr4BSzYc/видео.html
@@ConquerDriving thank you!
*try it like this - pull the handbrake - press the clutch - press the handbrake button and hold it. don't put down - press the foot brake until you hear a click - release the handbrake - the car will stay until you leave*
can we have another mock test video?
those are really good
There is one coming soon.
I Recently Buyied Hyundai Venue DCT Car In India With Turbo GDi 1.0 Engine.
What about just balancing the clutch? I find doing that way easier than using a handbrake hillstart. In fact, I still haven’t gotten the hang of handbrake hillstarts bc I’ve just gotten used to balancing the clutch.
I did all my lessons without these assists so I can't really criticise 'hill start assist' if I've never used it. But I would have thought a better design / system would be to have the relevant wheels / axil physically unable to turn backwards unless the driver selects reverse gear. So there would never be any risk of roll back (unless intended by the driver), and every hill start would then simply be a matter of establishing the appropriate control / power with the clutch and gas pedals.
Same
Yes, this makes sense. If you're in a forward gear the system should stop you rolling back and not just for two seconds.
Off the top of my head I can't think of any disadvantages to such a system.
@@birkhatt8969 Indeedy. 'Hill start assist' sounds good, but after the arbitrary two seconds, if you haven't established the required control you will then get a nasty shock when the system suddenly decides to release the brake anyway. Isn't it sensible for the driver to decide when, and how slowly, to release the parking brake? Then again we're both agreed a non rolling back axil would work even better.
Your videos made me pass. Thankyou!
Congratulations on passing!
I’m guessing this works the same way in automatics?
I never used the handbrake method and I always used brake-clutch method(with or without hill assist), I found that the handbrake usage takes too long and I only used it for parking or waiting to long in a stand still traffic + it wears out in time
Can the auto hold function do the same thing ? Or shouldn't it be engaged on hills? Guessing it brakes for longer on auto hold? Than hill assist?
I have never used hill start assist, and my current car 2005 fiesta doesn't have it. A bit of just rapid pedal hopping sorts it out lol
Not having a new car this is news to me. I have never heard of this. I have heard of cars without handbrakes which sound like a nightmare. I assume that the hill start assist can be turned on and off.
So the hill assist is working just forward, not on reverse, right?
When i was in driving school the hill assist releases the brakes when i lift the clutch even a slight bit. This is in a golf 7 and 8
Please can you do a video about the new DVSA driving test changes
Thank you for your suggestion. This link may help you: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/driving-tests-improving-availability-and-processes/outcome/improving-driving-test-availability-and-processes-consultation-outcome
I just passed my test and my new car I'm picking up next week (VW Golf) has auto brake hold aswell as an electric parking brake which I've never used before.
How would you do hill starts as a new driver with an electric parking brake? Or would you use the auto hold brake?
Does the 4s timer start after v leave the brakes? Or the moment the car stops the timer starts?
VW hill start does not seem to be "smarter than that". Even if I blip throttle there is still a delay until brake releases. Trying to find tips/how to deal with it.
Could you do a vid on Clutch braking?
Essentially it's engine braking with clutch inputs to control the speed without accelerator input.
It's very useful in extreme downhills in stick shifts. I wonder if it causes more clutch wear, since there is no accelerator input.
These videos may help: ruclips.net/video/LeG1JTpl6pc/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/nhS_lfQ8PFM/видео.html
very nice socks you have there
What’s the need for a manual car in the current generation. ?
how to use do uphill start with an auto handbrake in manual car?
What’s your recommendations for when deciding when to go on a multi-lane roundabout but when your view is restricted by a car on the right lane, should you trust their decision and go with them or stop until you can see and make your own decision?
I recommend making your own decision because they could start going and suddenly stop. It's a problem, usually I wait for the car next to me to move then decide or try to see through their windows if possible.
Could you explain what you would do say for example you're in very slow moving traffic Going uphill? How would you crawl uphill?
This video may help: ruclips.net/video/_6YyHxgZJMA/видео.html
The only thing that is wierd to me is that the hill start assist only starts after getting to the biting point and then the gas, if the clutch is all the way down and release the brake to gas, it rolls down... Maybe I'm doing something wrong... Idk