Will creep keep car from rolling backward on steep hills?

[insaneoctane]

A few weekends ago, I parked on a VERY busy street, uphill. I had maybe 12" of clearance in front and 12" of clearance in rear once done parking. It was snug. Anyway, I'm not a creeper, so I had some real challenges once I had backed up to within inches in the rear and wanted to pull forward and even my parking job out, because the car rolls backwards. I was pretty anxious trying to give it enough accelerator pedal to prevent roll-back, yet not ram the car in front. I managed, but I was very jerky and sweated bullets. It was probably funny to watch the idiot in his Tesla. Anyhoo- I thought about it later, and wondered if creep would have been the smart thing! Would creep absolutely prevent you from rolling backwards on a very steep hill?

PS- Tesla, please make it so my car can't roll backwards in drive!

 

[run-the-joules]

Did you consider using the thing on the end of your left leg to use the pedal to the left of your throttle?

 

[insaneoctane]

Did you consider using the thing on the end of your left leg to use the pedal to the left of your throttle?

I did both brake and accelerator, but Tesla pops up a message to not do that. Trying to find the right amount of accelerator that overcomes the hill with ZERO roll-back, but doesn't ram me forward with only 18" wasn't easy to modulate. At all.

 

[commasign]

Creep wouldn't have helped. It won't overcome a steep hill. Did you try using brake hold? i.e. shift from park to drive but don't let go of the brake pedal. Instead, push it down harder to engage hold. Then you're free to move your foot over to the accelerator pedal.

 

[insaneoctane]

Creep wouldn't have helped. It won't overcome a steep hill. Did you try using brake hold? i.e. shift from park to drive but don't let go of the brake pedal. Instead, push it down harder to engage hold. Then you're free to move your foot over to the accelerator pedal.

Yes, I was using brake hold (I often do). The problem was finding the right spot of the accelerator. The first, say, 5%, of the pedal only overcame the hill. So I needed more than 5%, but in a parking situation, you want as little as possible! The other problem, is that if I had guessed a little low, and say dialed in 4%, I would be rolling backwards! Even though it wouldn't be a free-fall, I only had inches to spare, so rolling backwards really wasn't an option! So, I had to shoot well past 5% to ensure I didn't roll back AT ALL, which launched me forward. Again, I managed, but it was awful. I was hoping creep would prevent no backward rolling......

PS- Obviously my 5% is made up, but it was some arbitrary NON-ZERO number!

 

[matto]

This thread may seem silly to some but I've experienced this phenomenon as well. I was on a very steep hill and I needed to back up a little, but not too much or I'd hit something behind me. It was trickier than I expected.

If I gave just a little throttle the hill hold would disable and I would immediately roll forward. I had to quickly stab at the accelerator, guessing the right amount of throttle that would a) overcome rolling forward while b) not launching me into the car behind me. You can't roll onto the accelerator to slowly find that sweet spot.

And using two feet didn't work either because the car just yells at you. A traditional automatic transmission would have no issues in this situation.

 

[commasign]

Yes, I was using brake hold (I often do). The problem was finding the right spot of the accelerator. The first, say, 5%, of the pedal only overcame the hill. So I needed more than 5%, but in a parking situation, you want as little as possible! The other problem, is that if I had guessed a little low, and say dialed in 4%, I would be rolling backwards! Even though it wouldn't be a free-fall, I only had inches to spare, so rolling backwards really wasn't an option! So, I had to shoot well past 5% to ensure I didn't roll back AT ALL, which launched me forward. Again, I managed, but it was awful. I was hoping creep would prevent no backward rolling......

PS- Obviously my 5% is made up, but it was some arbitrary NON-ZERO number!

Ah, ok. Yeah, that’s a hard one. Maybe in the future it’ll be a moot point cause you can just summon the car to meet you somewhere flat.

 

[ewoodrick]

A few weekends ago, I parked on a VERY busy street, uphill. I had maybe 12" of clearance in front and 12" of clearance in rear once done parking. It was snug. Anyway, I'm not a creeper, so I had some real challenges once I had backed up to within inches in the rear and wanted to pull forward and even my parking job out, because the car rolls backwards. I was pretty anxious trying to give it enough accelerator pedal to prevent roll-back, yet not ram the car in front. I managed, but I was very jerky and sweated bullets. It was probably funny to watch the idiot in his Tesla. Anyhoo- I thought about it later, and wondered if creep would have been the smart thing! Would creep absolutely prevent you from rolling backwards on a very steep hill?

PS- Tesla, please make it so my car can't roll backwards in drive!

Creep definitely can help, but dependent on the angle of uphill, may not be quite enough. Slow maneuvers are indeed the place where creep can be very awesome. You can generally maneuver with the brakes, not the accelerator.

 

[AltLogic]

I believe creep would make it a little easier. It mimics an automatic so when parked on a steep hill pointed uphill it will accelerate backwards at a lower rate than with creep off when “D” is selected. So, you would roll backwards less when transitioning from brake hold to “5%”. This would give you more time to find that perfect accelerator position.

I miss a proper hand brake

 

[lolder]

The car may "yell" at you but the brake will still work and do what you want. The brake always overrides the throttle and in fact cancels it altogether. Don't worry about the "yell".

 

[SergeyUser]

It is actually the only reason I use “Creep” mode (but like it is mentioned it can still rollback). I don’t understand why Tesla programmed all cars that way. It should avoid rolling back in both modes, like all other automatic transmission ICE cars do.

 

[lolder]

Creep mode in any car may be either too much or too little depending on the hill. I find it takes barely any force on the go pedal to disengage the hill hold. If you try to modulate the brake and go pedal on any modern car the power will cease or go to idle creep. The manufacturers have programmed the cars so that brake pressure closes the "throttle" completely to get out of the frivolous lawsuits about SUA.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Creep is just applying a small amount of power all the time. Whether it's enough depends on the slope.
If the slope is too much, it's a hill start.

In a normal car like my Volt or Prius (heh) I'd let it roll backwards and use the parking/"hand" brake to hold it while I find the catch point. (If really insane slope, I might use left-foot braking to hold the car while I guess the correct throttle position for the biting point). Then release the parking brake and press the accelerator

 

[insaneoctane]

I'm not sure this would be easy in any car. I do wish the Tesla would not roll backwards in "D"rive. Period.

 

[SergeyUser]

My theory is that maybe this behavior has something to do with energy efficiency, as keeping it not rolling without “H” mode may result in extra energy spend. Maybe this is the reason.

I wish Teala hired someone from Apple to work on details like that. They seem to understand details like this better than everyone else.

 

[SergeyUser]

Btw, proof that this is possible is Autopilot mode (someone mentioned this on another thread, but for another reason - to allow true one-pedal driving by bringing car speed to 0 when accelerator pedal is depressed). Tesla will not roll back on Autopilot on any hill. Without “H” mode.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Tesla sadly has no feature currently that would have helped.
The hill hold is OK, but tends to roll backward if you disengage it with a too gentle throttle push. Too strong and you’ll launch.
Creep doesn’t provide enough force to prevent rolling backwards.
I’d like a “never roll back” option if Tesla could provide the feature in firmware.

Your best option would have been to double foot the brake and throttle, and gentle increase throttle until you felt it strain against the brake. Requires some finesse though.

 

[DrDabbles]

PS- Tesla, please make it so my car can't roll backwards in drive!

For those of us that want the car to move without needing to use the pedal, or those of us that switch into drive while the vehicle is still slightly moving really don't want this at all. This just seems like the classic driving a car on a hill problem.

 

[MrAustraliaTax]

Your best option would have been to double foot the brake and throttle, and gentle increase throttle until you felt it strain against the brake. Requires some finesse though.

But you can't. The car doesn't respond to the throttle because it notices that you still have the brake pedal pressed, and throws up a warning message saying don't do that.

Using Hold + a careful stab at the accelerator pedal is the least worst way to minimize rollback in this situation. Creep ON helps a little bit, but not much. You then have to jump over to the brake quickly so you don't bash into the car in front.

A related deficiency of this design behaviour is that with Creep OFF it is exceedingly difficult to come to a really smooth stop whilst going uphill (eg at traffic lights on a hill).

 

[bay74]

I have used a block of wood. Behind (downhill side of) a rear wheel.

Not in a Tesla.