Why should a Tesla be allowed to roll backward on a hill?

[Silicon Desert]

It may be something I am overlooking. I'm relating this to my other car that when I am on an incline such as those San Francisco hills and other similar places; when I take my foot off the brake, it does NOT roll backward and potentially hit that tourist behind me so close on my bumper. Several newer cars have this feature. They just automatically hold the car from rolling back.

With the MX, unless I remember to press hard on the brake to put it in "hold" mode, it rolls backward when I take my foot off the brake. I'm thinking there should never be a reason for it to do this. On the rare occasion that I might need it to roll backward, I'll jut put it in neutral for a short time.

I'm reminded of a time when I had to use the emergency brake in an older car to hold it until I apply some torque with the accelerator as I move again. Maybe I should just get in the habit of hard pressing the brake pedal for a few seconds to get it to hold. Something I think the car should just do.

 

[ABC2D]

Something I think the car should just do

It does. Hill-hold with creep on you need to push the brake pedal rather forcefully to activate it, but if you turn creep off - hold is activated automatically at every stop

 

[gilscales]

I have never used Creep mode but doesn't that solve the problem?

 

[Silicon Desert]

It does. Hill-hold with creep on you need to push the brake pedal rather forcefully to activate it, but if you turn creep off - hold is activated automatically at every stop

Thanks. Then something is different about my MX. Whether creek is on or off, the car does not hold on an incline.

 

[Silicon Desert]

I have never used Creep mode but doesn't that solve the problem?

On my MX it makes no difference. I tried it both ways. Perhaps I just ask the service center.

 

[ABC2D]

I have never used Creep mode but doesn't that solve the problem?

I drive in as flat as it gets Florida, but would guess that roll forces of steep heels in SFO would overpower the creep torque

 

[Silicon Desert]

I drive in as flat as it gets Florida, but would guess that roll forces of steep heels in SFO would overpower the creep torque

You are correct. I observed that with creep on. And with creep off, it is even quicker to roll back.

 

[ABC2D]

Thanks. Then something is different about my MX. Whether creek is on or off, the car does not hold on an incline.

You might be "holding it wrong"

 

[Silicon Desert]

Silicon Desert said: ↑
Thanks. Then something is different about my MX. Whether creek is on or off, the car does not hold on an incline.
You might be "holding it wrong"

Possibly, but I have tried lots of combinations of creep on, creep off, pressing soft or hard on the brake to observe the "hold" indicator, etc. Regardless of what I do, it rolls backward on a hill that really is not very steep.

 

[mspohr]

It may be something I am overlooking. I'm relating this to my other car that when I am on an incline such as those San Francisco hills and other similar places; when I take my foot off the brake, it does NOT roll backward and potentially hit that tourist behind me so close on my bumper. Several newer cars have this feature. They just automatically hold the car from rolling back.

With the MX, unless I remember to press hard on the brake to put it in "hold" mode, it rolls backward when I take my foot off the brake. I'm thinking there should never be a reason for it to do this. On the rare occasion that I might need it to roll backward, I'll jut put it in neutral for a short time.

I'm reminded of a time when I had to use the emergency brake in an older car to hold it until I apply some torque with the accelerator as I move again. Maybe I should just get in the habit of hard pressing the brake pedal for a few seconds to get it to hold. Something I think the car should just do.

There may be times you want to roll backwards down a hill.
If you need to stay stopped on a hill, just press the brake hard (which is what most people do anyway).

 

[ABC2D]

Are you saying that your car rolls back while the hill hold icon is on?

 

[Silicon Desert]

There may be times you want to roll backwards down a hill.
If you need to stay stopped on a hill, just press the brake hard (which is what most people do anyway).

Agree there may be times I am willing to roll backward. My point (not made very clear I guess), it that those situations are much more rare than with normal driving where I don't want the car to cause a possible problem rolling back. In that case, I am willing to jut put it in neutral.

So yes, I just have to get in the habit of pressing really hard on the brake to hold it (unless as MasterT suggested it should be already doing that), and I possibly find out my X isn't acting the way it should.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Correct. Tesla has a system, you just need to engage it.

Lots of cars offer hill holder systems. Some only engage for a second or two, others wait for you to throttle forward.

You are used to your previous system, now you just need to get used to your new system.

 

[Silicon Desert]

`q

Are you saying that your car rolls back while the hill hold icon is on?
View attachment 344681

No, I will try to clarify. Any time the "hold" indicator is on, the car will hold on an incline ok and not roll forward or backward.

We are just accustomed to our other car that we have been driving for a few years that as soon as I come to a stop on an incline, it will never roll backward without a need to press hard on the brake or look for a "hold" indicator etc.

Then we get in the Tesla (which of course is a LOT superior to the other car), and we temporarily forget and expect it to hold for that one second of time when I take my foot off the brake and apply the accelerator. The Tesla rolls back during that transition UNLESS I had remembered to press really hard on the brake to put it in that "HOLD" mode. And to clarify, it makes no difference if creek mode is on or off as to how hard I need to press the brake to get into hold mode.

So even without having an experience of driving a car with automatic hill hold, it seems possibly confusing to drivers that there is a difference between pressing the brake pedal hard or soft at a stop, especially considering we can't find any user guide description of this process. And I have run into at least 3 Tesla people at the service center confused by the need to press much harder on the brake to get into hold mode. Someone is looking into this for me.

 

[Enginerd]

I had a scare with this feature right after I took delivery of the car. I've learned the little trick. After you come to a complete stop, braking as you normally would, then you just press the brake a little bit further. This engages the (H) hill hold reliably. Now that I've been doing this for a few weeks, it's almost second nature.

After the (H) is engaged, take your foot off the brake if you like. One caution though. If you hover your right foot over the accelerator, even a little tap releases the (H)... and the car gets the (H) outta there.

 

[drift]

`q

No, I will try to clarify. Any time the "hold" indicator is on, the car will hold on an incline ok and not roll forward or backward.

We are just accustomed to our other car that we have been driving for a few years that as soon as I come to a stop on an incline, it will never roll backward without a need to press hard on the brake or look for a "hold" indicator etc.

Then we get in the Tesla (which of course is a LOT superior to the other car), and we temporarily forget and expect it to hold for that one second of time when I take my foot off the brake and apply the accelerator. The Tesla rolls back during that transition UNLESS I had remembered to press really hard on the brake to put it in that "HOLD" mode. And to clarify, it makes no difference if creek mode is on or off as to how hard I need to press the brake to get into hold mode.

So even without having an experience of driving a car with automatic hill hold, it seems possibly confusing to drivers that there is a difference between pressing the brake pedal hard or soft at a stop, especially considering we can't find any user guide description of this process. And I have run into at least 3 Tesla people at the service center confused by the need to press much harder on the brake to get into hold mode. Someone is looking into this for me.

May I suggest that you and the other 3 people you met at the SC read the owners manual. That's what it's there for.

 

[Silicon Desert]

May I suggest that you and the other 3 people you met at the SC read the owners manual. That's what it's there for.

I think you are missing my point and assuming I don't read (maybe I don't explain it well). I am saying my MX is not acting the way it is described. I can't speak for the SC people. Maybe they don't read

 

[Uncle Paul]

Maybe there are variations in Tesla Hill holding. Yours might need an adjustment to get what you want.
When I have my X in Creep mode I need to press significantly harder to engage hold. When creep is off, just a light pressure on the pedal will engage hold.

For me it is a great feature, much better than the hill hold in my Jeep. When I come to a stop, even on a flattish road, the car holds firm. No need to keep my foot on the brake all the time. Just a toe on the accelerator and off I go.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Maybe there are variations in Tesla Hill holding. Yours might need an adjustment to get what you want.
When I have my X in Creep mode I need to press significantly harder to engage hold. When creep is off, just a light pressure on the pedal will engage hold.

For me it is a great feature, much better than the hill hold in my Jeep. When I come to a stop, even on a flattish road, the car holds firm. No need to keep my foot on the brake all the time. Just a toe on the accelerator and off I go.

Thanks for your comments. Agree a great feature. You've helped confirm my car is not acting in that manner you describe and that is why someone is looking into it. Not really a big deal to me except to wonder why it is not acting the way it has in the past. I was beginning to think it is a software change, but now considering it is not acting the way it should. I'll know in a couple days because Tesla is looking into another more important unrelated issue, so an opportunity arises to look at this the same time.

 

[Yinn]

I had this problem early on with my car. I found myself surprised several times when the car started rolling backwards. So, I did some testing. I found that the brake pedal seemed to have a position sensor; and depending on your driving habits it will either kick on Hold or not.

If you're a hard braker, chances are it will almost always engage hold at a full stop.
If you're a soft braker, or if you tend to use a lot of regen before coming to a full stop; chances are there will be cases where it doesn't hold at the full stop.

I'm a soft braker, so I got into the habit of pushing down the brake pedal at the end of every stop. This was ok for a while, until I found myself rolling backwards again. Back to testing...

I found that because as a soft braker, it occasionally kicks on and occasionally does not. When it's not on Hold and I push the brake pedal down; it engages Hold. When I'm on Hold already and I push it down hard; it disengages Hold. So really the pushing down hard didn't solve anything at all.

The SC may be able to reposition the sensor or calibrate it; but I got into the giving a slight jab when I'm at a full stop and got into the habit of looking for the H before I release. Not the best solution; but hopefully the insight helps.