What is your experience with Hill Start Assist?

Brake on, clutch in, 4lo, and let it roll a little to click into place. 4lo + 1st is the MT hill start assist

 

I have clutch start cancel, way more useful to me than hill hill start nanny.

 

https://www.toyota.com/tacoma/ebrochure/

it states standard across all automatic transmissioned tacos. so manuals do not have them.

i just picked up a new 2019 TRD OFFROAD 4x4 automatic transmissioned and tested in my drive last night which is quite steep. I let the foot off the brake and she immediately rolled back a few feet and made lots of racket. didn't expect that. I did read the other thread - i think it was another thread- that basically said toyota isn't fully disclosing and the OR models crawl control interferes with the hill start assist.

it would be nice to have as i frequently go up a steep mountain gravel road in 4x4 hi and having it roll back if i have to stop to pick up branches in the way, is unsettling. I suppose i can use the hand brake BUT if everything says it has it why isn't it working as such? I did see a video online where for some toyota vehicles you have to sometimes push the pedal further than normal to engage it.

here is that link: 1:07 is where they talk about "has to be initiated by the driver"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWVN3O5r9o0

i have seen others take it into toyota but they say working normally? any ideas?

 

I love it in my manual tacoma. Saves on clutch wear & just makes things slightly easier when stopped on a big incline.

 

The only new MT that has it is the Sport, the discontinued SR MT had it also. The Off Road and Pro MT do not come with it.

 

I've got the off-road, and I really have to question why they wouldn't give that feature to the manual transmission - especially since off-road, you may have to do very steep hill starts.
Makes me glad for the handbrake

 

from what i have gleaned from the few posts on here, perhaps the whole crawl control interferes with hill start assist.

in order to use either multi-terrain or crawl control you must be in 4lo per the manual. thing is, the only time i ever you 4lo is descending a steep mountain gravel road in my xterra because otherwise the abs kicks in and i still skid a little. the same hill in my 4x4 patriot and my gf's awd crv goes down with zero skids. and they both only have 4hi at best- no 4lo. I am guessing becasue the xterra is so much heavier and the abs system must not be that good, that's why the skids unless in 4lo.

with the taco, i don't know what to expect. i will probably try 4hi and see and if same as xterra, use 4lo. going up the same hill i always go in 4hi and some speed.

 

They have a different brake booster from what I've heard, perhaps that has something to do with it

 

Same. I have tested it on the steepest hills I can find. It holds the truck firmly in place.

 

do you have to push the brake pedal in further once stopped like the video shows? I haven't had the chance to try since yesterday.

 

on super steeps

my 2nd gen holds, slips a foot or two, holds, slips..repeat.... with a lot of barking noises from the brake controller.

a true assist, not a 'hill hold' for what that is worth

 

Probably restating what many others have stated elsewhere, but if you have an AT TRD Off Road and are stationary on a steep incline and in 2WD or 4HI, it is normal for the ABS brake booster to fire as the vehicle rolls back at a "controlled" rate. While the noise and the backward movement can be alarming to the uninitiated (it was for me until I read up on the hill start assist system for AT TRD OR models), it will slow the backward roll enough to allow you to move your foot over to the gas pedal and give it gas. Once there is enough torque applied to the transfer case, the brake booster will stop firing and you are on your way.

In 4LO, usually there is enough torque to not require the hill start assist to kick in.

My guess on why things are different for the TRD OR models to that of other models, would be that they have brake boosters and the other models don't (this is also why the OR models make a whoosh noise sometimes when you push the brakes). It would appear that the brake booster is designed to only pulse the brakes, and cannot hold them statically for any length of time, so it just fires the brakes rapidly to slow the backward movement of the vehicle.

While its a long running joke, it is actually the case that many of quirks with these trucks are actually "normal". Over the last year of owning my vehicle, I like many on this website, have thought my vehicle was broken in some way, only to find out later through research that it's normal and functioning this way for a reason. It doesn't help that many dealerships are just as clueless as anyone else on the design philosophy that went into the truck, and as such, can't give a reasoned explanation for why things are the way they are.

It would be helpful if Toyota Corp had a FAQ or AMA type of website where the design engineers could interact directly with consumers and tell them why things are working the way they are.

 

I am glad I found this thread, otherwise I was going to schedule an appointment to have it looked at. I have other vehicle all with hill assist and some with brake hold, and none of them act like my OR does.

 

17’ TRDORDC AT 3.5, doesn’t work.... happened when I got it new, rolled back almost hit car behind, lights on dash, buzzing noise, light stayed on. Next day lights off took to dealer, tech said normal......I don’t depend on it at all, use hand brake if have to. Too much crap on this truck, but I love the truck anyway......

 

Mine works perfect. TRD Sport AC with 6 speed MT.

 

so obviously toyota's literature is wrong. won't be the first time for a manufacturer misrepresenting something. my 2017 patriot 4x4 states on the sticker it has hill start assist standard. it does not because the standard features also include the 5spd manual and i have the 6spd auto. I don't have hill start assist. Took me a while to dig into that one but my auto package does away with the hill start assist. perhaps our crawl stuff negates the hill start assist for us?

 

I have a 16 MT sport. Usually when I notice it kick in I'm in first with the break on. I push the break pedal all the way to the floor and then let go of the clutch, thing stays in place enough time for me to notice and then put my foot on the gas. Nice little feature imo. It's kind of fun on a trail hill. If you time it right it can help you get over those small steep technical muddy places.

 

i wish our OR 4x4 AT's came with it actually working. it seems on my/that model (trd offroad 4x4 automatic trans) it doesn't work as advertised for some reason.

 

So an update. I tested my hill start on my driveway today. In drive and on the hill I release brake. She made some grinding and beeping noises and rolled back about 1 foot then she held it for 2 seconds. I reproduced this a few times. So it does work, just delayed. Definitely usuable for me.

 

Useable...as a wake up alarm...?