Hill start assist is probably one of the top motivating factors of me wanting to get this car. I took a break from manual transmissions due to the anxiety of driving up and down San Francisco's steep hills with a manual transmission (even worse in the rain), but sorely miss it. My Civic is okay...but isn't as fun to drive.

My dealer hasn't had many 6MT Fits that haven't already had a deposit for, until this weekend...but the salesman who helped me was hesitant in letting me try the feature on some of the steeper hills in the city. I only got to try this at one intersection with only a slight incline and was able to feel the hold, but I still want to see how it holds up on inclines greater than 15%. Anybody have any comments and experiences with this feature?

Another question that nobody in the dealership was able to answer, and they wouldn't let me try: Does the car hold when you're facing downhill and trying to reverse? Can anybody confirm? Parallel parking on a steep downward slope is another point of great hesitation for me....

 

I live up on a mountain and the car does hold at steep inclines. When you start to let off the clutch it will then release the brakes. When facing downhill, the car does hold itself. Rest assured!

 

The thing I have noticed about it is that it only holds for maybe 2-3 secs after first pressing the pedal, though. So if you, for example, press in the clutch and continue to hold the brake for a few secs, by the time you release the brake, the hill holder is no longer engaged. At least, that has been my experience with mine. I don't require the feature, so I haven't played with it too much other than just out of curiosity.

 

qbrozen is correct. do not think you can sit there on a hill and take your time.

hill assist in the 6mt 15' fit is not as intrusive as other brands. it is not as annoying to use as the hill assist in korean cars.

 

Like others have said, the hold is about 2 seconds. It seems to only work on fairly steep hills. If it's just a small incline, it doesn't activate.

 

The fit also comes with a handbrake which is works great on hills hill holder must be nice but honestly, just hold the brake with your thumb on the button and it'll hold your car. As soon as you get going you release.

 

Living in San Francisco, I've tried all the techniques of starting on a hill. It's still terrifying when you're at a 30 degree incline intersection and can't see beyond the crest of the hill and the car behind you decided to stop 2 inches from your bumper! Lol. I figured a little computerized assistance would only help.

Another silly question....when it's activated and you release your foot off the brake, do the brake lights still stay on??

 

i was bored waiting for a package from fedex, so i started playing around with hill assist last night... i pulled up to a hill coasting in nuetral. stopped on the hill with the brakes, and kept rolling back with no intervening from the car, with repeated brake application, car worked normally.

as soon as i put the clutch in with the brake on, then let go of the brake hill assist would hold for a few seconds. if you just stay there with the clutch in and brake off, the brakes will release after a few seconds. after driving manual trans cars for almost 30 years, it is a weird feeling...

and yes, the brake lights go off when you release the brake pedal, regardless of whether hill assist is on or not. lights are activated by physical switches, and hill assist is operated by holding hydraulic pressure.

 

Interesting feature.

Parallel parking in the city is definitely an adventure, so I see where you're coming with that... I always use the handbrake.

Scratch that... I always use BART

 

On a steep hill I hold the e brake & ease in down as the clutch engages. Never driven a car with hill assist.

 

i like my fit...

 

Yes! Weird and wrong! If I want automatic crap I'll buy an automatic transmission... I mean come on... thats why manuals always have a hand brake...

 

Nice I hate all the nanny's they put on new cars.

 

more electronic nannies... meh

 

I dont mean to threadjack but, anyone notice that shifting between 1st through 3rd gear makes tapping or clicking noises while letting the clutch out? I find this clutch/transmission is noisier than my old 1992 si civic.

 

sheep nuts is correct..read his post

 

I have a slight incline at a traffic light leaving work each day. I noticed that some days hill assist works and some days it doesn't. I asked the service department at my dealer and they printed out a page from the service manual.

Apparently whether hill assist works depends on two factors; car incline (measured by an internal inclinometer) and foot pressure on the brake pedal. On this particular stop, I can make hill assist work or not depending on how hard I press the brake pedal when I stop. Apparently, the car is just at the edge of hill assist working/not working at this particular intersection.

I asked, because I wasn't sure the system was operating properly, as it's an intersection I use every day, and sometimes hill assist worked there and sometimes it didn't.

 

i grew up in the Bay Area.

handbrake is the key, i wouldn't trust any assist or anything on those hills.

get the friction point right, ease down the handbrake.

this is mandatory for all SF drivers, even in Automatics with weak torque converters!!

haha!

keep that left foot tamed!

 

In my experience with my car the hill start assist releases when the gas is pressed. I have not waited a full 2 seconds but every time I hit the gas, whether I release the clutch or not, the hill start assist disengages.

 

I've been playing with this as well ... as other have said, it's a weird feeling to not roll back immediately when letting go of the brake. I thought at first it wasn't working but realized that was because I was in neutral.