Hill start assist or...?

[hal9000]

The manual for my se says hill start assist activates automatically and it doesn't have any mention about a manual activation switch.... So what's the little button on the side of my shifter that seems to do nothing other than turn on a little green dash light showing a car on an incline?......

[2014FordFusionSE]

3 hours ago, hal9000 said:

The manual for my se says hill start assist activates automatically and it doesn't have any mention about a manual activation switch.... So what's the little button on the side of my shifter that seems to do nothing other than turn on a little green dash light showing a car on an incline?......

 

That button will 'lock' your car to its current speed when going downhill so that you don't have to ride the brakes. I forget what the feature is called but you can check on Ford's site.

Hill start assist is separate and will activate automatically when you're on an incline. It'll prevent the car from rolling backwards when you release the brake on an incline.

[hal9000]

Thanks. The manual dash icon index didn't have that symbol, and Aside from "hill" I wasn't sure what word to search for. I routinely make a drive that drops 6k' altitude in about 100 miles so im sure I'll get some use out of that feature!

 

[mwr]

16 hours ago, 2014FordFusionSE said:

Hill start assist is separate and will activate automatically when you're on an incline. It'll prevent the car from rolling backwards when you release the brake on an incline.

I've never noticed that, and I live in hilly country.

[aschulz261]

I believe it's called hill descent control.  It lights a yellow light on the dash.  I use mine daily where I live.  It helps to maintain speed while going downhill to the max regen amount or until the battery is full.  After that, it starts the engine and uses engine braking.

[mwr]

1 hour ago, aschulz261 said:

I believe it's called hill descent control.  It lights a yellow light on the dash.  I use mine daily where I live.  It helps to maintain speed while going downhill to the max regen amount or until the battery is full.  After that, it starts the engine and uses engine braking.

I use that feature frequently, and love it.

[hal9000]

On 11/13/2022 at 4:38 PM, aschulz261 said:

I believe it's called hill descent control.  It lights a yellow light on the dash.  I use mine daily where I live.  It helps to maintain speed while going downhill to the max regen amount or until the battery is full.  After that, it starts the engine and uses engine braking.

I heard it kick into engine braking yesterday on a long descent but didn't notice any dash indicator that the engine was running..... Theoretically they could engine brake without starting the engine just by engaging the transmission (would make the most sense from a speed reduction and fuel efficiency standpoint).

Dang, now that's another question I have to find an answer for!

[aschulz261]

When the engine is being used for deceleration, there is no fuel being burned. It's a mode used by all gas engines called decel fuel cut off.  Any time the throttle is closed and the vehicle is decelerating in any fuel injected car, the injectors are shut off. 

 

There is no indicator on the dash to tell you the engine is running.  If you are in the empower or engage screen on the left side of the dash, the gauge turns from blue (battery power) to white, (engine power).

 

If you press the hill descent control button on the shifter, you will see a yellow light on the dash turn on.  That tells you the feature is active.  With it off, there will still be regen on deceleration, but it is calibrated to feel like a normal car decelerating.  With it turned on, the deceleration won't feel any different, it will just try to hold your speed if you are headed down a hill by increasing the amount of regen.

 

With it turned on, once the battery is full, it will use the engine to try and hold your speed.  This will result in pretty high engine rpms.

 

With it turned off, I'm not sure what happens when the battery is full.

[MeeLee]

On 11/12/2022 at 7:22 PM, 2014FordFusionSE said:

 

That button will 'lock' your car to its current speed when going downhill so that you don't have to ride the brakes.

Thanks, learned something new.

In most cases, I just release the throttle, and if I need more braking power, will use the eco setting. Eco setting gives enough regen to coast downhill a bridge, and maintain speed.