OBW 2005 has Hill Holder?

I'm test driving 2005 AT H6 and it does not have Hill Holder. :-(

Voja

RockyRoad wrote:

I'm confused - does AT mean automatic transmission? Has any automatic ever had hill holder? What would be the point?

Yes AT is auto transmission. I think it is easier to implement it in a car with auto tranny then with manual. I don't know for Subaru's per se but I know my employer's Mercedes 560 SEL back in 1994~1995 had hill holder with AT.

Voja

Patrick Fisher wrote:

But, WHY?

Barry

As far as I know.... NO automatic Subaru has EVER had Hill Holder function. They simply dont need it.

This doesnt answer your question RockyRoad, but my manual 2001 Aussie-spec Liberty (Legacy) DOES have hill-holder. It's brilliant, but the number of times I have driven a different car, and expected it to be there, only to roll backwards on an incline.... it's almost dangerous !!!

One of those safety features that should be standard on ALL brands of car. Otherwise, it's easy to forget which cars DONT have it

Sp> I'm test driving 2005 AT H6 and it does not have Hill Holder. :-( >

with auto tranny then with >manual.

back in >1994~1995 had hill holder with AT.

But what on earth does it do? The whole point of hill-holder is to apply the brakes while the clutch is depressed. So on an automatic, what activates the hill holder? And why? I've never had an automatic car roll backwards on a hill any substantial amount.

No auto Sub ever had hillholder. Spinifex is right. AFAIK Oz Outback never did either (cos it started out as just AT & it never got specced on manuals?) Liberty wagon always did until last year. NOt sure when sedan lost it. Manual Forester is now only OZ spec Subaru with HH. So depends on what market you're in! Cheers

The hill holder is more of a novelty item here in the US than a safety feature, like power windows and door locks.

You don't need a hill holder anyway if you are good with a clutch. I learned to drive on a manual transmission Dodge van in an area with tons of hills. I got to where I could take off on a hill without rolling an inch.

I find that on my 2002 AT H4 when I'm on a steep hill I have to apply hand brake before I get going. Without it car will roll back by the time I release brake (foot) and depress accelerator.

Now some will say why am I not depressing brake with my left foot and right foot on my accelerator. Because I grew up on manual and my left foot is for clutch only so I'm ok the way it is now.

Anyway, I think hill holder on 560 SEL was brilliant idea considering that it is well over 2,500kg ~ 5,000 lb and if it starts rolling back you better get away from it.

Voja

B>>

AUSTRALIA

Here in Oz, or at least the state of Queensland, where I live, it is compulsory during Driving Examinations to do a handbrake or hill-start. If you can't do it, you fail, and you don't get your license. My test, some 15 years ago, included a 3-point turn ON a hill, requiring numerous handbrake operations. I passed without problem.

I find it strange that you mention using your handbrake on a hill in your automatic. Maybe I misread the tone of your comment (apologies if I got it wrong), but the distinct impression I got was that you were almost complaining about the fact that you HAD to use your handbrake on some occasions.....

I don't know where you are located, but isn't it a requirement of your driver's license testing to be able to perform this manoeuvre ???

Sp> I find that on my 2002 AT H4 when I'm on a steep hill I have to apply

USA

As an Englishman living in the US I am constantly amazed at the low standard required to pass a driving test here. It's almost seen as an automatic right to be able to drive a car from the age of 16! It is very rare to see anyone in a normal driving situation to apply the handbrake, even when parking. In fact, it is often referred to as the 'emergency' brake. (I use mine as I was taught - at every stop - much to the amusement of my USA passengers.) Keep in mind that the vast majority of cars here are automatic - and people often rely on the transmission to keep them in place. I always keep a safe distance behind stopped cars on an uphill slope, as at a traffic light, because they inevitably roll backwards. I can't remember the number of times I've seen people park, switch off the engine, take their foot off the brake, and then roll a few inches backwards or forwards into something.

I was given a licence here, purely by reading the state driving manual and answering 20 out of 30 multiple choice questions correctly. There was no requirement to take any sort of driving test. (I do, of course, have a full UK driving licence.) A significant number (~50%) of the questions on the test were related to insurance requirements and the various penalties for drunk driving or other infractions, and had nothing whatsoever to do with my competence to drive, or knowledge of the rules of the road. Also, although I could have taken the test in any of 30 languages (really!), almost all of the road signs are written in English, and are not symbolic.

To answer one of your questions, it is not a requirement of the drivers license to be able to execute a hill start, either with an automatic or manual transmission. Oddly enough, you do have to show the ability to reverse-park (parallel park). What I find even more incredible though, is that there is no distinction made between automatics and manual (stick-shifts)! Where I live, you can legally pass your test (at 16) in an AT vehicle and then, perfectly legally, hop into a manual transmission car and (attempt to) drive away!

To get back on topic, my manual shift '98 OBW does not have a hill holder (nor would I want one) but my colleague's '03 Forester does. It causes him more trouble than its worth.

Cheers, Rowan

My 2001 Liberty (Legacy) Wagon has it... and it's almost dangerous, as I have gotten soooooo used to it just being there in effect, that I forget it's absence when driving a different vehicle.

But I DO love it.... I think it should be standard in ALL vehicles, despite my not requiring it.... i'm perfectly capable of doing handbrake hill-starts.... but my old age (30 !!!) makes me lazy :)

Sp> USA

You got me all wrong. I don't mind applying hand brake on steep hills on my AT. I said I'm used to it since my first car was manual and I drove manual for almost 15 years. I'm just saying that having hill holder on AT car is not so bad idea.

I had to pass hill test as well back in Europe where I'm from and it was a good test.

Btw, I'm in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada now. A lot of hills here. :-)

Cheers, Voja

Sp> AUSTRALIA

As an Englishman living where all proper Englishmen are wont to do, I am constantly amazed by my compatriots seeming zeal for puffery. One does not care a whit whether you can apply your handbrake whilst diddling your sister in traffic on a steep hillside. Nor do we care how many frightfully boring you can be in "30 languages".

Oh yes, yes, we are such better drivers here in England, and on the Continent, too. One can observe that on holiday in France (ha !). Or Belgium.

I wager that "much to the amusement" of your USA passengers, you pompously pontificate on nearly every subject at hand. Please enrapture us in a continuing fashion with more anecdotes describing your daunting prowess with "the handbrake". I'm sure we'd rather read posts about all the things you can grasp with your free hand whilst motoring ... instead of trite tidbits concerning Subarus.

L Chadwicke

Well put, actually.

I'd love to know why the handbrake is used with an automatic transmissi>As an Englishman living where all proper Englishmen

Maybe bacause the driver thinks it's more considerate to following traffic than sitting there with 2 stoplights and an eye level one dazzling the person behind, especially if it's dark &/or wet. Common courtesy - another oxymoron?