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Hill Start Assist on 2012 Focus?

28K views 61 replies 26 participants last post by  ELCouz 
#1 ·
Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone knew if the 2012 Focus SE Manual has a Hill Start Assist feature? Sure would make pulling away on a hill easier (no more parking brake lol!). Please let me know.
 
#4 ·
Based on what I've seen on this forum and online, it appears hill start assist is not available on the 5-speed manual Focus. However, I've read the 2012 Fiesta 5-speed does come with this feature, even though the 2011 models did not.

Has anyone heard if there's plans to add hill start assist to later 5-speed builds of the Focus?
 
#5 ·
@Focus2012
I don't think HSA is available on 5M but you can always test by pressing hard on the break pedal and then lift the foot off it. If HSA is there, the car should be standing still for 2-3 seconds.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the input. While I agree everyone who drives stick should be able to start on a hill, this would be a really nice feature to have in a place like San Francisco, a city known for its unforgiving hills and cabbies who ride your bumper and lay on their horn if you're not moving .1 seconds after the light turns green.

Going back to my original question: has anyone heard if this is a feature which may be added to later builds, as is the case with the Fiesta?
 
#9 ·
..San Francisco, a city known for its unforgiving hills and cabbies who ride your bumper and lay on their horn if you're not moving .1 seconds after the light turns green....
Do one thing : let the car rol back a little. Just to see his face in the mirror. Or better: stay still for 30 seconds. [grinking]
 
#10 ·
Hi, I don't know if it will be added, however, having used the system, it makes driving in my hilly part of the world so much easier and ensures I don't roll back at all when pulling away on an incline.
Chrs
 
#11 ·
the only negative on HSA is if the hill isn't steep enough the car will creep forward. First time that happened to me I thought the guy in front of me was rolling back. Laid on the horn big time, then realized "oops...that was me! My bad!"
 
#12 ·
Or forward :p

I rolled backwards at a stop sign and my roommate was like, "What the hell was that? You don't drive a manual." Well, dual-clutch automatic... so I kinda do.
 
#13 ·
Thinking the same damn thing ^^ lol its a trick you need to slowly let out the brake to engage the tranny
 
#16 ·
Mine definitely does not have this feature. I don't think any of the SE 5 speeds do. If you did have it it would be under the same Driver Assist settings as traction control.

edit: And searching through the manual in PDF format I only see making explanations for DCT equipped vehicles.
 
#17 ·
Maybe I misread, but I could've sworn there was some reference to manual transmission vehicles in regard to actions to take in the event of dysfunction of the feature. I don't have the manual here in front of me, but I think it involved throwing the tranny in reverse or something? Maybe I'm thinking of something else?
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#19 ·
Well, I guess not a big deal either way, I'm mainly just curious while I wIt for my car to be built.

My 6MT BMW has the feature, and at first it's one of those things that seems kind of uselessly over-engineered, but once you live with it for a while it's actually a nice little touch.
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#21 ·
I'm sure glad my 5MT doesn't have it. I see it as another way to take control away from the driver, and to me control is the reason to have an MT. My hand brake works just fine.
 
#23 ·
That's how I gelt about it initially, but in practice the system doesn't do anything differently than I would do as a driver, so I'm okay with it. And the brake application is just long enough to move your foot from brake to clutch, and probably cancelled by throttle input anyway, so it really can't get in your way.

This is in contrast to, say, an automatic transmission, where the car's shift logic is often contradictory to my own.

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#27 ·
From page 278 of the current owner's manual (4th printing):

"Deactivating hill start assist
To deactivate hill start assist, perform one of the following:
• Apply the parking brake.
• Drive off uphill without re-applying the brake.
• Wait for two to three seconds until the system deactivates automatically.
• For automatic transmissions: If hill start assist is active in D (Drive), select R (Reverse). If hill start assist is active in R (Reverse), select N (Neutral).
• For manual transmissions: If a forward gear was selected when the system became active, select reverse gear. If reverse gear was selected when the system became active, select a forward gear."


Makes it seem like at least some US-spec 5MT's are equipped with the feature. Or were meant to be, at one time. Or the manual made it through 4 printings without this error being picked up. [:)]
 
#28 ·
I'd agree there, except the vin suggests I don't have it either. My se sport is pretty loaded. Maybe it's a titanium feature? I'm going to try to activate it next time I'm on an incline. If not There's the parking brake, but that always feels like cheating. Not much you can do when someone's on your tail.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Okay so now I'm pretty confused. I'll find another hill shortly, but I tried it the other day (per the instructions in the manual) and it appeared to work. I put it in first, held down the brake, and let of the brake with the clutch still in. I didn't roll back, and was on a 30deg incline. It's possible the wheels just got caught on something, as cleveland is known for their terrible potholes.


EDIT: potholes. Damn.
 
#55 ·
Back OT. My Ti 5MT does NOT have HSA. It is listed as "Less HSA" in ETIS, and my driveway entrance would be enough to enable it if it was present.

Cliff Notes: HSA on 2012 DCT but not 2012 5MT Foci

/thread

Yes that's clear. Which is why HSA is discussed only in the "automatic" section of the manual.

My purpose for resurrecting this thread was to wonder aloud whether it will be added to future manual Focuses as it will be to the manual Mustang soon.
 
#35 ·
One of the main reasons stated by someone who buy a manual transmission is "I can do with it what I want when I want" (speaking, of course, of gear shifting). And a lot say "MT is for those who know how to change gears and use a clutch". I don't understand then why someone would be looking for HSA in a MT car ? If someone doesn't know how to do a stop-and-go on a hill (steep or not), well, I say to him to better get an automatic. There are two ways to do it:
- either using only the brake pedal or
- using the hand brake
The first needs knowledge and synchronisation, the second is for the beginers but a good method too. So, why do you really need HSA in a MT car ? Just asking. [idea]

P.S. I drove all my life MT, this car is my first automatic and yes, in Montreal we have some steep slopes/hills. [woot]
 
#37 ·
One of the main reasons stated by someone
- either using only the brake pedal or
Right. which requires a quick foot change and quick start. I'm proficient at doing so, but sometimes you don't have a choice. When [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]s park on your bumper at the light there's not much you can do.

At any rate, I spent the weekend in the southside area of pittsburgh, and there are some damn hills! it was fun to shift around and travel some curves (not fast, but fun anyway).
 
#36 ·
No, I don't need Hill Start Assist and yes, I know how to drive a manual.

Now that that's out of the way, listen to what you're saying: HSA is not a feature for automatic cars. How many automatics have you driven that roll backwards down a hill when your foot is off the brake? Now the Focus, with DCT, is a different animal and will roll back, which is why I gather Ford added the HSA. But traditionally, HSA has been a feature associated with manual transmission cars.

My 6MT BMW has the feature, and as I said before, it's not something I would have ever thought I would have wanted. But now living with it for the past two years, I think it's nice. And I still get to control when my car shifts. I certainly don't buy MT's for the pleasure derived from properly launching on an incline (though I can do it, I'm perfectly happy to let the car hold the brake for a fraction of a second in this case).
 
#38 ·
But traditionally, HSA has been a feature associated with manual transmission cars.

My 6MT BMW has the feature,
Thanks for the info. I didn't realize it has been installed with manuals before. I guess I assumed it was a DCT-only feature in their quest to make it mimic an automatic.

I can see where manual drivers just wouldn't want to deal with the added hassle of rolling back on hills and grow to like HSA as a result (as Bimmer Bob seems to have), but it should at least be something that can be turned off if desired.
 
#42 ·
In the European models it's a feature under the "driver assist" menu, and it works fine with the 6 speed manual... although I found it a bit slow to release if you're used to being really quick with the clutch on inclines.

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