[Newspyderv10man]

It is so flat in Florida I forgot I had it on the R8.

If I lived in Hilly Country I would be PO'd with something that I would never need.

Lets hope it never engages for me.

 

[rmicroys]

The one thing I have found about the HHA feature on the R8 is that the 'stickiness' is proportional to how hard you press down the brake while you are stopped on the hill. If you hold the brakes just hard enough to stop yourself from rolling backwards, the effect of the release is much less 'sticky'. Has anybody else noticed this? Try it, the next time you're on a hill, press down the brake pedal really hard - and then try to take off. The HHA then really holds the car back.

 

[feudal serf]

a few questions about this feature, since i haven't picked up my car yet which is a manual.

1. How do you know you have it?
2. Is the stickiness on all the time, even though you aren't necessarily on a slope?
3. I guess it's a feature you can turn on and off.

Thanks
Tom

If you look on the panel behind the passenger footwell there will be a list of codes.
UG1 = Hill Hold Assist

 

[willyjp]

It should be pretty obvious if you have it: stop on a hill (heading up OR down) with the (foot) brake; release your foot pressure from the brake pedal: if your car doesn't roll for about 3 sec., you've got it!

IF you have it, it's ALWAYS ON (when you brake to a stop on a hill); no switch to turn it off.

It appears to be a hydraulic pressure holder, because, as observed above, the harder you press on the brake before you release, the tighter the brakes seem to be on when you begin to let out the clutch (or R-Tronic does)....so if you've pressed pretty hard, it can take a bit more throttle as you let in the clutch than if you were JUST stopped on the flat. IE: it takes a bit of getting used to!

I'm almost certain that it has been a STD. feature of ALL US cars (MT & RT) from introduction...it has always been listed as a "feature" but never as an option; don't know about Canada cars.

 

[v10]

With a MT the Hill Assist will engage anytime you stop and leave your foot on the brake... doesn't matter if you're on an incline or not. Since there is no light or beep that indicates it has engaged, it increases the chances of you stalling and getting rear ended.

 

[randombloke]

doesn't matter if you're on an incline or not.

that sounds really stupid - makes no sense that they didn't have some kind of inclinometer in the mix.

 

[willyjp]

With a MT the Hill Assist will engage anytime you stop and leave your foot on the brake... doesn't matter if you're on an incline or not. Since there is no light or beep that indicates it has engaged, it increases the chances of you stalling and getting rear ended.

well, I have to say my '10 v8 would respectfully disagree with that statement....

I even went out and tried it after reading your post, just to be sure....

my hill holder does NOT engage on a level surface....in fact, my garage slab has a TINY bit of incline...just enough to make water drain out...and the HH most emphatically does NOT come on when I'm on that surface

if I back out and UP the mild but definite incline, and stop and hold the brake, THEN, when I release, the hill holder holds it for the usual 2-3 sec. but it sure doesn't come on on the level, and never has

I would think, as you suggest, it could be a hazard or at least a PITA to have it always come on on the level....I wonder if the design changed, or if yours is too sensitive or not responding to the car's level sensor

 

[v10]

well, I have to say my '10 v8 would respectfully disagree with that statement....

I even went out and tried it after reading your post, just to be sure....

my hill holder does NOT engage on a level surface....in fact, my garage slab has a TINY bit of incline...just enough to make water drain out...and the HH most emphatically does NOT come on when I'm on that surface

if I back out and UP the mild but definite incline, and stop and hold the brake, THEN, when I release, the hill holder holds it for the usual 2-3 sec. but it sure doesn't come on on the level, and never has

I would think, as you suggest, it could be a hazard or at least a PITA to have it always come on on the level....I wonder if the design changed, or if yours is too sensitive or not responding to the car's level sensor

I haven't driven my car in a while because it's being shipped, but when I get it I'll test it again to see if hill assist still engages on level surfaces. I know before it engaged in a level parking lot because I had my foot on the brake for a while since I was talking to someone. Problem is even on an incline, you state it holds the car for 2-3 seconds... it doesn't release the brakes even if you're giving it gas and engaging the clutch? Who wants to wait 2-3 seconds while stopped at a red light when the light turns green?

 

[randombloke]

it doesn't release the brakes even if you're giving it gas and engaging the clutch?

that doesn't sound right - the point of hill hold is that it lets go when you give it gas.

 

[v10]

that doesn't sound right - the point of hill hold is that it lets go when you give it gas.

Exactly! When I first arrived in Germany I rented a VW Golf and I believe it has a Hill Assist feature as well. But in the VW the feature was very transparent... the brakes would release as soon as I started to give it gas. It does NOT work that transparently in the R8... the R8 is very reluctant to release the brakes (until 2-3 seconds has passed).

 

[willyjp]

no, at least in my car, it does NOT resist throttle/clutch (much)....

sure, I can tell the difference of when it's set and when it has let go, but with just a little practice (just a bit more throttle if you intend to start slow), it's pretty transparent.....occasionally throws a first time driver for 1 or 2 hill starts...; on a faster start...say 4-5k rpm as you engage the clutch, you really aren't aware of it at all

personally, I think the "problem" (if it is one for someone) is that the R8's brakes are just so darn powerful...such a BIG area clamped in those big, multi piston calipers....that IF the brakes are "held", you are a lot more conscious of the resistance for that very brief moment until it "lets go."

and it's really not a "problem" but rather a kind of assist in stop and go traffic going up OR downhill...but I could live w/o it, using the e-brake is what I've always done before

I would have to agree that my '10 Jetta wagon w. DSG has a much more transparent hill holder, but even there, if you start up on a hill, you have to nudge the throttle just a bit more and you feel it let go with a kind of silent "pop" of release

 

[randombloke]

the way v10 was talking makes it sound like they have to wait out the hill-hold rather than being to override it with any amount of gas:

it doesn't release the brakes even if you're giving it gas and engaging the clutch? Who wants to wait 2-3 seconds while stopped at a red light when the light turns green?

if that's the case, then it seems something is wrong somewhere.

 

[v10]

the way v10 was talking makes it sound like they have to wait out the hill-hold rather than being to override it with any amount of gas:



if that's the case, then it seems something is wrong somewhere.

Having to use a high rpm launch to overpower the hill-hold isn't doing the clutch any favors.

 

[willyjp]

Having to use a high rpm launch to overpower the hill-hold isn't doing the clutch any favors.

on a moderate upslope, I can smoothly start up and over-ride the H.H. easily w. 1800-2000 rpm, less if I did want to let the clutch slip a little more; and that's w. a v8's lesser torque...

wonder if your hill holder is setting too easily and not releasing as easily as it should....it really should be non-issue as far as driveablilty, and a clutch SAVER on hill starts

 

[v10]

on a moderate upslope, I can smoothly start up and over-ride the H.H. easily w. 1800-2000 rpm, less if I did want to let the clutch slip a little more; and that's w. a v8's lesser torque...

wonder if your hill holder is setting too easily and not releasing as easily as it should....it really should be non-issue as far as driveablilty, and a clutch SAVER on hill starts

Ok, well when I get my car back I'll check and see how difficult it is to over-ride it.