Suggestions for driving on stop & go steep hills

Your profile says Prius on order, so I'm not sure if you were driving a Prius or not. And in California, presumably you weren't driving on ice or snow. I've never had my Prius roll back on hill, but if it does, why don't you want to use hill assist? That is what it is for, and it is a nice feature. I've played with a few times to see how it works, and it works really well.

 

What is hill assist?? I basically live in a city that is one big hill and am doing hills all the time...

 

Hi Mickey: I don't understand why you think it's not ideal to activate hill assist. There are times that I use it, but I like the brake & gas method just a little better. With the hill assist I feel that it takes just a little more effort on the ICE to get the car moving forward. With the brake & gas method, I feel that I can move forward without have the ICE increase it's RPM to the same as when using the hill assist.

I would say it's a personal choice.........use what your most comfortable with.

Why is the Prius this way. If it were like your old automatic, it would require more energy wasted to hold position on the hill. Use your brake, save energy = saved gas = saved money in your pocket !!

 

You can also keep a tiny bit of pressure on the gas pedal to keep from rolling back. Either way, this is a surmountable problem as you learn to drive the car. It would be a similar learning curve for any new car.

 

My guess is you were expecting a different response? The question/suggestion about hill-assist is very valid for your situation. If you don't want to use it, maybe a car with a manual would be better for you?

 

Try using power mode, the throttle is more responsive to low pressure so you'll start moving quicker when switching from brake to accelerator.

 

Wow, you do know it all, and I know nothing! Thanks for clearing that up. You have no idea.... You don't know me or the anyone else responding to your comments and queries well enough to make blanket statements such as the above and in your previous replies. It was your initial smart alec response to someone clearly trying to be helpful that showed your disregard for people genuinely trying to help you. Maybe if you had given a bit more information or details, or if you had stated you were just venting and acknowledged that nothing anyone says or do will help you, you wouldn't have received the response and suggestion that irritated you. Just a few tidbits of advice for using this or any forum, but I know you'll take it with a grain of salt.

Ok, I agree my response was bit "smart-nice person". Read some of my other posts and you'll see that I tend to use sarcastic humor, most times when appropriate. Sorry if I offended you, but I'm sure what I said was on other people's minds as well.

 

I use hill assist all the time even if I'm moving just a few feet. It's a great feature/benefit. Just push down firmly on the brake until the H/A light comes on then keep your foot on the brake until it's time to move. IMO, this is one of Prius better features. It's effortless to use.

 

OP, your responses to posters here have been smart-assed, i.e. "You're not familiar with driving on hills so you don't know what you're talking about/your suggestion sucks, etc." Maybe conduct yourself better?

 

I've driven in the city, and for situations like that, I'd say hill start assist is exactly what you should use - though maybe it'll take some getting used to for you? Can you explain why you don't like it - perhaps that'll clear up some of the confusion.
I also liked the idea to try Power mode - in Eco mode, it averages out the pedal input so there's a bit of a delay, and it also takes more pedal travel to get to a desired speed.

You could also try using the parking brake with your left foot - though that seems far inferior to hill start assist.

 

Re-read your original post. You weren't asking for anything - more like complaining about something, and when other PC members tried to provide helpful suggestions, you were quick to dismiss or discount them. I just happened to be the first to call you on it.:attention:

 

Use hill assist or move your feet quicker!