# Is there an easy way to disable the hill assist?



## jbaker2810 (May 14, 2013)

I wasn't aware that we had a hill assist. What does it do?


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

I"m curious about this as well. 

What is hill assist? And if you disable it. Then how will you be able to get up the hills?


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## llbanks522 (Nov 23, 2017)

chadtn said:


> Does anyone know of a simple way to disable the hill assist? I did a few searches, but couldn't find much info that was Cruze specific.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> I didn’t know about this feature. There is a video from My Chevy Link under “How Things Works” that mentions it under the Auto/Start Stop. It keeps you from rolling back when stopped on a hill when you take your foot off the brake. Supposedly it’s an automatic system. I’ll have to find a steep hill and try it.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Hill assist holds the car with the brakes for a short period after you let off the brake pedal but before the throttle (& clutch) are engaged to start the car moving. It's to prevent the car from rolling backwards when starting from a stop on steep hills. If it's adjustable it will be in the vehicle settings on the infotainment system.


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## llbanks522 (Nov 23, 2017)

Lamar Banks said:


> chadtn said:
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know of a simple way to disable the hill assist? I did a few searches, but couldn't find much info that was Cruze specific.
> ...


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## jbaker2810 (May 14, 2013)

obermd said:


> Hill assist holds the car with the brakes for a short period after you let off the brake pedal but before the throttle (& clutch) are engaged to start the car moving. It's to prevent the car from rolling backwards when starting from a stop on steep hills. If it's adjustable it will be in the vehicle settings on the infotainment system.


So are you confirming that these cars have hill assist? If so I am assuming this is only for auto transmissions. I am manual which would explain why I had no idea!


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

obermd said:


> Hill assist holds the car with the brakes for a short period after you let off the brake pedal but before the throttle (& clutch) are engaged to start the car moving. It's to prevent the car from rolling backwards when starting from a stop on steep hills. If it's adjustable it will be in the vehicle settings on the infotainment system.


There's nothing there in vehicle settings.


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## chadtn (Feb 27, 2018)

I'm not sure if the automatics have hill assist or not, but my 2018 manual does. I can't find any settings to disable it. That's definitely something GM should add if possible.

Does anyone have wiring diagrams for the gen 2 cars that they would be willing to share? I haven't found much information about them online. I'm hoping there is a simple way to prevent the hill assist from turning on.

Thanks!

Chad


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The 2017 Cruze Owners Manual doesn't mention Hill Assist. This most likely means the car doesn't have it but it's not a guarantee it doesn't have it. It does mean that if the car has it then there's no way to turn it off.


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## llbanks522 (Nov 23, 2017)

obermd said:


> The 2017 Cruze Owners Manual doesn't mention Hill Assist. This most likely means the car doesn't have it but it's not a guarantee it doesn't have it. It does mean that if the car has it then there's no way to turn it off.


The My Link Video says all Malibu’s & Cruze’s have it. I will definitely have to try it on a steep hill


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## Jacque8080 (Oct 31, 2017)

I have a 2018 with 3 pedals. It usually engages for me at 15 degree inclines or more. It comes in super handy that I don't need to rev the engine much from a stop. And I imagine it saves wear on the clutch.

It however, doesn't seem to engage always. If I stop, use hill assist, then creep forward a few feet, then it doesn't engage at the 2nd stop.


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## 17Hatch6MT (Dec 28, 2015)

Also three pedals. I almost always use the hand brake to keep from rolling back. The other day, I attempted to start up a steep hill, but (duh!) the transmission was in neutral. I detected no hill assist feature being active at that time. Maybe it was the hand brake usage or that I'd already crept once (line of traffic waiting at a stop sign).

Not having faced this situation before, not even yet being fully confident what I'll get for a given RPM with this engine, and being close to the bumper of the car behind me, I ran the engine at a decent RPM before slipping the clutch. Thick smell of burning clutch that took a long time to dissipate, even though I slipped it for only a second or so. Given my experience with earlier three-pedal cars (haven't owned an automatic car since 1986), I can reasonably claim to be easy on clutches. Hope this one lasts. One reason I took the manual is I thought there'd be less probability of requiring unscheduled repairs.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

My Volt has hill assist but I've discovered it's only active above about a 30 degree uphill incline. You'll have to find a steep hill to test on.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Lamar Banks said:


> Lamar Banks said:
> 
> 
> > I wonder if driving in “L6” shuts it off like the auto/start stop?
> ...


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## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

Mine has it, tried it today. Didn't realize it even had it. LOL


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## chadtn (Feb 27, 2018)

I'm hoping I can just unplug a relay to prevent it from applying the brakes. The first time I noticed it I was trying to get the car to roll backwards out of a driveway on a hill. On my other manual transmission cars I just push the clutch in and let off the brake, but the hill assist on the Cruze holds the car in place.

Thanks!

Chad


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## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

You always put it in neutral. LOL



chadtn said:


> I'm hoping I can just unplug a relay to prevent it from applying the brakes. The first time I noticed it I was trying to get the car to roll backwards out of a driveway on a hill. On my other manual transmission cars I just push the clutch in and let off the brake, but the hill assist on the Cruze holds the car in place.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Chad


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

chadtn said:


> I'm hoping I can just unplug a relay to prevent it from applying the brakes. The first time I noticed it I was trying to get the car to roll backwards out of a driveway on a hill. On my other manual transmission cars I just push the clutch in and let off the brake, but the hill assist on the Cruze holds the car in place.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Chad


Tap the throttle. A light tap that only generates a couple hundred RPM change is sufficient.


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## llbanks522 (Nov 23, 2017)

jblackburn said:


> Lamar Banks said:
> 
> 
> > Nope. Always active on mine...there's a huge hill down the street from my house where it's pretty helpful.
> ...


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## BigJay718 (Feb 1, 2017)

My 17 manual hatch most definitely does have hill start assist. Threw me off when i was trying to roll into traffic on the test drive. The salesman confirmed the car did in fact have a hill start assist, and it would hold itself for a moment on a hill when the clutch is fully depressed at the time the brake is released. If i am not mistaken, it can be defeated by releasing the brake while in neutral before depressing the clutch and selecting a gear.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

Having an automatic. I had to chance to check it out tonight. I can't imagine why anyone would want to disable it. And it only holds for a second. 

I would imagine it has a switch of some type on a clutch pedal. When the pedal hits a certain point. The assist releases the brakes. Right before clutch contact. ( Just guessing )

I can see that being a very useful tool for beginner clutches.


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## jbaker2810 (May 14, 2013)

My car is a 2012 Eco manual and I know without question I do not have hill assist. My street is a hill and have to parallel park every day and hill assist would come in handy! So I am guessing the responses thus far is that the gen 2 has the assist and gen 1 does not (at least manual)


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## Premier17 (May 20, 2017)

Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would you want to disable this feature? I find it really useful to have and don't see any negatives of having it.


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

I drove many cars here an in Europe. Mostly MT  The hill assist is great but you have to learn how to use it. Different car types, different settings. I had for example an Opel that the hill assist disengaged only when I pushed the gas and the car "forced" to move forward. The latest Hyundai I drove had the hill assist engaging for 2 seconds only after I released the pedal brake. Enough to help you to release the clutch and accelerate. It helps a lot when the red light is on a hilly street and you need to use your handbrake otherwise. So I'm not sure why somebody would like to deactivate it? I know the 2018 Cruze has is, for MT too.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

Premier17 said:


> Maybe I'm missing something here, but why would you want to disable this feature? I find it really useful to have and don't see any negatives of having it.





CRUISE-CRUZE said:


> So I'm not sure why somebody would like to deactivate it? I know the 2018 Cruze has is, for MT too.


OP stated a few posts back he wanted to roll back down his driveway by pushing the clutch in without having to put trans in R (like old school non-hill-assist cars)


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

All the cars with hill assist I drove didn't activate unless the slope was relatively high. I don't think a normal driveway incline is enough to get it engage. However it may deactivate after a few seconds after releasing the brake. I did a drive test with the 2018 Cruze diesel but I completely forgot about this feature and didn't have also a hill in my route to test it out ;(


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## chadtn (Feb 27, 2018)

CRUISE-CRUZE said:


> All the cars with hill assist I drove didn't activate unless the slope was relatively high. I don't think a normal driveway incline is enough to get it engage. However it may deactivate after a few seconds after releasing the brake. I did a drive test with the 2018 Cruze diesel but I completely forgot about this feature and didn't have also a hill in my route to test it out ;(


The bottom of the driveway. heh..








Chad


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jbaker2810 said:


> My car is a 2012 Eco manual and I know without question I do not have hill assist. My street is a hill and have to parallel park every day and hill assist would come in handy! So I am guessing the responses thus far is that the gen 2 has the assist and gen 1 does not (at least manual)


You have a manual hill assist. It's activated by the lever between the front seats.


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## 17Hatch6MT (Dec 28, 2015)

BigJay718 said:


> My 17 manual hatch most definitely does have hill start assist. Threw me off when i was trying to roll into traffic on the test drive. The salesman confirmed the car did in fact have a hill start assist, and it would hold itself for a moment on a hill when the clutch is fully depressed at the time the brake is released. If i am not mistaken, it can be defeated by releasing the brake while in neutral before depressing the clutch and selecting a gear.


I also detected its presence on my car recently. Thanks for the clue about how to engage it. That said, I've been so used to using the handbrake since 1986 that I missed it until now and won't miss it if it stops working.


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## Jacque8080 (Oct 31, 2017)

I just confirmed that I don't need to keep pressing the brake once hill hold is engaged! How cool is it to keep the clutch disengaged and press the brake and release the brake? And the brakes stay engaged.

Let's think of all the cool things us 3 pedal drivers can do now.

We can concentrate more on the launch when the light turns green. We can rev the engine quickly enough to spool the turbo a little (probably not). But we can balance the engine and flywheel mass against the desired torque to pull the Cruze forward up the incline. All the while we can manage the single wheel spin. (I would have paid extra for a torsen LSD.) Yes, people stare if one wheel squeals a little from an anonymous compact sedan. They don't know there's a whole lot more torque from where that came from. This leads us to the next option we can explore.

What if we could trigger this when we aren't on a hill? Why would someone do that? I am jealous of the Challenger line lock feature. Yes, line lock only brakes the non-drive axle. But I could trigger this as like a poor man's launch control that is completely unnecessary on a Cruze? I dunno.


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## firehawk618 (Feb 24, 2013)

Jacque8080 said:


> I have a 2018 with 3 pedals. It usually engages for me at 15 degree inclines or more. It comes in super handy that I don't need to rev the engine much from a stop. And I imagine it saves wear on the clutch.
> 
> It however, doesn't seem to engage always. If I stop, use hill assist, then creep forward a few feet, then it doesn't engage at the 2nd stop.



My car has 3 pedals also. I haven't noticed this feature in D or Lx. I'll have to pay attention the next time I'm on a steep grade.

There's definitely no settings to turn it on / off / more / less sensitive in my car.

My previous 2017 Volt had settings in the car you could change.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

How strong is it? For my Honda I almost stall out when I forget it is active. For me I just have to hit the brake pedal and that usually activates it. let off at the red light and hand brake it the feature was off. It's one of those features they heavily bragged about the Spark and Sonic when the gen 1 Cruze manuals didn't have it at the time. Kinda glad they have it but kinda late.


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## Jacque8080 (Oct 31, 2017)

I did almost stall the Cruze once because it hung onto the brakes longer than I expected and I didn't have enough RPM for the incline I was stopped at. It doesn't release immediately but seems to take a second or second.

I admit that I'm still not used to driving a turbo engine. I'm used to my boost coming from a pulley and the responsive throttle response.


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## chadtn (Feb 27, 2018)

I didn't find a way to disable it when I searched previously. I found some posts where people were swapping the automatic transmission accelerometer sensor into their manual Camaros. The automatic version doesn't include yaw and will prevent the hill assist from knowing when you're sitting on an incline. I wasn't going to spend the $80 on changing sensors though. It shouldn't be very hard to defeat once we know what wire to pull. Does anyone have access to the gen 2 wiring diagrams that would be willing to share? I'll look through them and test on my car.

It really annoys me when the hill assist kicks on. It doesn't give you any indication of when it's active and is way too slow releasing the brakes. If it's on and I forget to wait for the car to start rolling back before letting the clutch out, it usually causes the car to stall or brake boosts and leaves way harder than necessary. If it launches too hard then second gear has a good chance of grinding horribly under the load.

Thanks!

Chad


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## Carminooch (Mar 23, 2018)

My 2018 diesel manual hatch has this feature. I really had mixed feelings about not being able to easily disable it with a setting or a button. My previous car 2007 forester had hill assist and it failed (or should I say, failed to disengage) spectacularly in an extremely inconvenient urban freeway environment (George Washington bridge lower level rush hour bottle neck). This experience caused me to disable it and GROSSLY THOROUGHLY DETEST IT

I have 14,000 miles now and living in the northeast, I’ve found the hill assist very easy to live with and to benefit from it in driving. To drive with it in a way to gain the most out of it and convenience. Trying to fight it is futile. I’ve actually grown to appreciate it 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

I LOVE the feature on my 17 auto


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