Hill-Hold feature; can I disable it?

[Carl Ulli]

I recently bought my 2012 Jetta TDI Sedan and it is the best car I have ever had. It is a Highline and I really like the many nice things it has in it. But having said that, there is a feature called Hill-Hold which keeps the brakes applied to allow the right foot to get off the brake pedal and move over to the accelerator pedal before releasing. I wish I could either decrease the delay time or remove the "hold" altogether. Too many times I get beeped at because I can't go until the brakes release. I have VAG-COM.

 

[mishkaya]

Youve got a problem if brakes arent releasing. Hill hold uses barely any brake pressure to hold vehicle.When is the last time your brakes were serviced? You can drive away straight away normally

I am not sure I agree with this statement. Each car reacts differently, and I dislike HHA enough that I have disabled it on all my vehicles that had this featue. To the OP, it can be disabledd via long coding in VCDS. I believe the option is in the ABS section IIRC. Someone else might chime in with more precise instructions.

 

[bubbagumpshrimp]

Youve got a problem if brakes arent releasing. Hill hold uses barely any brake pressure to hold vehicle.When is the last time your brakes were serviced? You can drive away straight away normally

Yeah...that's not true (in my case, at least). Since day one...taking off on a hill has been like trying to take off with the parking brake on. ******* ridiculous feature, in my opinion.

There's nothing wrong with my brakes. I've had my brakes checked a handful of times (roughly every 10k miles) and the wear is normal and they have plenty of life remaining.

 

[JSWTDI09]

I wish I could either decrease the delay time or remove the "hold" altogether. Too many times I get beeped at because I can't go until the brakes release. I have VAG-COM.

I have never done this, but I believe that it is possible with VCDS. Open the ABS (Brake) controller and look under coding for options about hill hold or HHC (Hill Hold Control). Look there and see what your options are. I believe that you can either change the delay or disable the "feature". A search here might also prove useful, I know that several other members here have found HHC to be annoying and changed it's operation. Luckily, I don't have it on my car.

Have Fun!

Don

 

[turbobrick240]

Huh, my hill hold works perfectly as well. My golf is the first vehicle I've owned w the hill hold feature. I really like it.

 

[bennybmn]

The instant I touch the accelerator pedal mine disengages. And I need to be on a noticeable incline to begin with for it to engage in the first place. If yours doesn't, there's an issue.

 

[SkeeterMark]

The instant I touch the accelerator pedal mine disengages. And I need to be on a noticeable incline to begin with for it to engage in the first place. If yours doesn't, there's an issue.

Same here. Mine releases as soon as the accelerator is pressed.

Maybe there are multiple settings (in addition to off) that can affect this, resulting in the various observations, but mine has never kept me from moving when I want to move.

 

[Savageman69]

you can turn it off i did it...using vagcom....i agree its annoying especially someone who usually doesnt use throttle on take off i find it greatly annoying, im quite capable of not rolling back on a hill on my own i feel its a great feature for women tho

 

[bigmikeinil]

mine will kill the engine if i try taking off before it releases. 2014 jetta sedan, made for some interesting stop lights in branson mo. after a week there ive learned to work with it and now consider myself a much better driver of the manual vehicle

 

[turbobrick240]

you can turn it off i did it...using vagcom....i agree its annoying especially someone who usually doesnt use throttle on take off i find it greatly annoying, im quite capable of not rolling back on a hill on my own i feel its a great feature for women tho

No need to disparage women drivers. Plenty of women drive a stick exceptionally well. It almost sounds like the Jetta got a different hill hold setting. Maybe something about the drum brakes?

 

[Savageman69]

No need to disparage women drivers. Plenty of women drive a stick exceptionally well. It almost sounds like the Jetta got a different hill hold setting. Maybe something about the drum brakes?

And plenty of women cant...oh and some men cant drive stick as well right lol? this is what this feature is for, for those who do not have the skill set to not roll down hills when taking off...just like they make replacement clutches or cars less then a year old for those who cant use a clutch well...anyway its a good thing this is a jetta specific forum then...oh yah and if you owned a jetta you would know no tdi jetta has drums. Maybe stick to golfs seeing thats what you have then we can keep facts facts and jetta information here where thats where its suppose to be....if we need to know about golf hill hold weill come see you in your section

 

[Carl Ulli]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to do something with it this weekend. I'm glad to know there are varying degrees of HHC. My Jetta has had all four brakes rebuilt at the dealership before I took possession of it. I wonder how many of you folks I'll see at TDIfest in Wisconsin. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Carl Ulli]

It's all good now!

"The instant I touch the accelerator pedal mine disengages. And I need to be on a noticeable incline to begin with for it to engage in the first place. If yours doesn't, there's an issue."

Thank you bennybmn. This was the most helpful reply to me. I was able to remove the HHC in the ABS group, but I decided to put it back on so that I can back my trailer into my driveway up hill. Knowing that a blip on the 'gas' pedal instantly releases the hill hold makes all the difference. Thanks again, and thanks to all of you for your experiences.

 

[bennybmn]

Glad it's working out! I bought my car (a year old at the time) from a honda dealer, so I had to learn everything on my own and from here! By in large, it's a very helpful forum.

 

[SkeeterMark]

Unless it is working incorrectly, it won't kill your engine.

To test, go to an abandoned hill. Push in clutch, foot off gas, press brake. Then release the brake pedal. It should hold you in place and then release after a couple/few seconds and you'll roll backward.

Now do this again, but before it releases and while leaving the clutch in, apply accelerator pedal. It will release and again roll backward.

To take off while it is engaged, do that, but let out the clutch like normal, while applying the accelerator pedal just before your clutch is engaging. If you let out just the clutch without adding power, I suppose you could kill it, unlike when you are on level ground where you can take off slowly without adding any go pedal to it.

If yours doesn't work like that, I'd say something is wrong.

 

[MK6_TDI]

I think it is different. I have a 12 TDI and it is stupid jerky off the line when letting the brakes go and not touching the pedal/touching the pedal. My 13.5 gli isn't near as rough. I hate the hill hold.....just don't have access to VAGCOM

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

 

[mishkaya]

I think it is different. I have a 12 TDI and it is stupid jerky off the line when letting the brakes go and not touching the pedal/touching the pedal. My 13.5 gli isn't near as rough. I hate the hill hold.....just don't have access to VAGCOM

Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk

Where are you at in OK? There are a few people with VCDS who might be able to meet up with you.

 

[jcart]

Going uphill it works ok and is predictable in our sig rig. Downhill I've stalled it a number of times because of timing I forget it has HHC... Annoying as traffic stacks up while I scramble for the starter button.... Hahaaaa

jrc

 

[S2000_guy]

I hated the Hill Hold Assist until I purchased my VCDS. With VCDS, I turned it down to the "least intrusive" level and I like my car much better. With the HHA as delivered, I'd start to let out the clutch and "brake torque" the car; not good for the clutch and just a general pain in the buttocks. With it turned down, I hardly notice it anymore; it's there, but not really noticeable. The change is worth the price of the VCDS.

 

[CT_Gman]

Try the HHB with the car pointed downslope and the car in reverse. I had this situation in a parking spot. I almost could not back out!

 

[turbobrick240]

Try the HHB with the car pointed downslope and the car in reverse. I had this situation in a parking spot. I almost could not back out!

I've done that a few times with zero problems. I wonder if the Jettas come with the setting cranked up. In any case , blipping the throttle should release the brakes.