Hold Function

[PAISLEY1903]

Never used it before...  did today as was sitting for ages stuck somewhere.  Pressed it and took foot off break and it worked.

I remembered from previous reading you just press accelerator to "un hold it" which again worked.

I noticed whilst driving a green Hold on the dash.  I pressed the hold button again and it went off.  Just wondered why I had that on screen..  what did I do wrong !

[Cyker]

That just means the Hold function is active, so whenever you brake to a stop with the foot brake, the system will automatically hold it so you can take your foot off.

If the green Hold light is off, then when you let go of the foot brake the car will immediately release the brake (as normal).

 

[ernieb]

Green light is just an indication that the Hold function is enabled, it works brilliantly in hilly areas especially when it’s a stop/start situation. I use it regularly.

[PAISLEY1903]

Happy days!  Thank you. 

[Peterd23]

There does appear to be a limit to the gradient where the hold will work - I found a steep hill down where it refused but at least told me on the display.

Also there is a time limit, but I am not sure how long, before it declares time is up and releases - again, with a warning.

Shame it keeps the brake lights on, would be useful if it didn't but that's life. Certainly a lot easier than using the 'Park' switch while in 'Drive' - it does work but messy to release.

[ColinB]

I use the hold function all the time, both on my RAV4 and the previous C-HR. The only downsides for me are that you have to turn it on every time that you start the car and that it tends to release with a jolt when you move off, so I turn it off when manoeuvring in tight spaces. 

[Other Homer]

I asked my dealer (Motorline Bristol) about the brake light being on all the time when using the Hold button in traffic. His response was "its the law" but of course he could have been talking rubbish as selling me a car? This is my first automatic - naively it seems now I just assumed before all those stood in traffic with their brake lights on were sat with the clutch in and foot on brake pedal rather than using the handbrake. Ha ha now I know better as my brake lights are on as well!

[Cyker]

TBH I think a lot of those people are stood in traffic with the clutch in and foot on the brake pedal!!!

Judging by the sort of drivers I encounter regularly, I suspect most of them don't even know what brake hold is!  

[Roy124]

My selling dealer explained Brake Hold at the outset. 

[Bernard Foy]

I use the hold function frequently also as I’m surrounded by hilly streets in the nearby town. If remember correctly on previous Toyota’s when I came to a stop eg at traffic lights I gave the foot brake a slightly extra push and the hold operated. It’s a pain in the butt having to enable it on every time you start a new journey.

[Cyker]

On 12/13/2021 at 7:09 PM, Roy124 said:

My selling dealer explained Brake Hold at the outset. 

You're lucky - Mine pretty much gave me the keys and left!

Thank smeg I already test drove one at another dealer's opening event, or I probably would have been stuck there for an hour trying to figure out how to turn it on!  

This is my first button-ignition keyless entry automatic!!

On 12/13/2021 at 7:29 PM, Bernard Foy said:

I use the hold function frequently also as I’m surrounded by hilly streets in the nearby town. If remember correctly on previous Toyota’s when I came to a stop eg at traffic lights I gave the foot brake a slightly extra push and the hold operated. It’s a pain in the butt having to enable it on every time you start a new journey.

Yeah my colleague thinks the same, prefers the 'firm press' activation over the button. I can see why as I forgot to activate it this morning and nearly rolled into the back of someone! (Another time the autonomous brake warning saved me!  )

I do like the brake hold tho' - It is a good substitute for the handbrake+neutral I'd do in my old manuals.

[Talshia]

II like the Brake Hold,  and use it most of the time,  but it has two features I do not like.

1) The Brake lights stay lit when the Brake Hold is active in holding the car, It must annoy drivers waiting behind at traffic lights.

It would be better if the brake lights went off after a few seconds on Brake Hold.

2) You have to Re activate the Brake Hold function each time you "restart"  the car.

Just my thoughts.

Keep safe

Paul

[Stopeter44]

3 minutes ago, Talshia said:

1) The Brake lights stay lit when the Brake Hold is active in holding the car, It must annoy drivers waiting behind at traffic lights.

It would be better if the brake lights went off after a few seconds on Brake Hold.

Worst of both worlds, IMO. If the brake lights go off, you might have some one to eager to move off ramming your rear end.

Secondly, only dinosaurs care about brake lights being on these days.

and of course, keep safe.

[robo1]

Yes during the Jurassic period I was taught to put the car into neutral and put the hand brake on whilst waiting at traffic lights at night to stop blinding the driver behind.  Things have changed and it’s not easy to do it with automatic hybrids and push button hand brakes. Don’t feel guilty anymore as most drivers have rear brake lights on whilst stationary.

[philip42h]

Honestly, I don't see either the need or the point of the "brake hold" function - if I want to keep the brakes on I leave my foot on the brake pedal; if I'm likely to be parked up for a little while I put the car into "park". That approach has served perfectly well for driving automatics for as long as I have driven them.

Each to his or her own, of course ... 😉

[duncerduncs]

Ref "it's the Law", that is correct - Highway Code (remember that!) states the last car in a queue must display a brake light at all times, obviously the car can't tell if you're first or last in a queue of traffic so it's designed to display brake lights all the times.

I did one of those customer surveys recently and suggested that the brake hold gets put in the media software under vehicle customisation, that way you can choose to have it on all the time and not have to remember to set it - or you can not use it at all!

[Stopeter44]

2 hours ago, robo1 said:

Yes during the Jurassic period I was taught to put the car into neutral and put the hand brake on whilst waiting at traffic lights at night to stop blinding the driver behind.

To be honest, it's what I generally did with a manual transmission car, but since having automatics, I don't do it any more. I am beginning to think it's a UK thing, the neutral and handbrake at red lights thing, a quick search didn't find any thing in the French equivalent of the Highway Code.

[Roy124]

4 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

If the brake lights go off, you might have some one to eager to move off ramming your rear end.

I was second to a 911 at traffic lights today.  He kept anticipating a green light and inched forward each time traffic stopped.  Eventually there was a clear car gap twixt us. The next had to be green 

Then a young lad pressed for pedestrians. 😁

 

[robo1]

2 hours ago, duncerduncs said:

Ref "it's the Law", that is correct - Highway Code (remember that!) states the last car in a queue must display a brake light at all times, obviously the car can't tell if you're first or last in a queue of traffic so it's designed to display brake lights all the times.

The Highway Code does not actually say that

In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.
Law RVLR reg 27

So The brake hold does not comply with the law  Wonder if Toyota is aware of this  

 

 

[Cyker]

Yup, that is absolutely the correct thing to do - If everyone sat there with their brake lights on like this during their driving test, we'd have a lot less drivers on the road!

The problem is everyone already ignores this law, and like e.g. illegal e-scooters it has just become accepted practice. Even the police and taxi drivers do this as a matter of course. When I drove manuals still (I do miss the gears and clutch!), I would always try and spot other cars who had their brake lights off like I did, but 9 times out of 10 I'd be the only one doing the handbrake+neutral thing!

In the Mk4 I don't even bother now as the car just does not want you to use the 'handbrake' - It's too small to just grab so you have to look away and hunt for it, and when it is engaged in D the car will strain against it constantly, wasting Battery power and burning out the MG2 windings (Putting current through a static electric motor for long periods is not healthy for them!).

If you do what you're 'supposed' to, according to driving instructors and the HWC, and go EPB+Neutral, the car will start complaining at you to shift into P or D.

So brake hold it is!

The thing is, Toyota can't make the brake light go out on brake hold, as brake hold is effectively just you holding down the brake pedal, except the car holds it for you. It would be like the brake light going out if you held the brake pedal down for too long normally. When you think about it that way, it makes sense why it works the way it does.

 

[Trewithy]

Many things in the Highway Code are not law merely advisory.  However failure to comply can be used against you in court.

[Trewithy]

Actually I never use Brake Hold.  I haven't had a problem when stopping at a red light of flicking up the parking brake switch when my foot is on brake pedal then releasing the brake pedal, saves dazzling the car behind.  When the traffic light goes green just press on the accelerator to pull away and the parking brake auto releases. 

[duncerduncs]

1 hour ago, robo1 said:

So The brake hold does not comply with the law  Wonder if Toyota is aware of this 

The important part you missed was the fact that the car doesn't know where you are in the queue, as such the safest way is to program the car to display brake lights whilst brake hold is on - it becomes a right side failure at that point.

I could be argued that it's the owners use of the brake hold feature that doesn't comply with the law rather than the feature itself!

Once all cars come with V2X they will be able to 'tell' each other where they are in a queue and turn off the brake lights automatically - Disney have had this feature since 2006...

[Cyker]

7 minutes ago, duncerduncs said:

I could be argued that it's the owners use of the brake hold feature that doesn't comply with the law rather than the feature itself!

Yes, exactly this! While the brake hold facilitates the infraction, it all boils down to the fact that the driver is responsible for what happens. The original use for the brake hold was as a sort of hill-start assist for automatics and EPB-equipped cars, as they can't use the clutch and handbrake tricks manual drivers do to avoid rolling back on steep hills, but it's evolved into an extra foot  

 

[Stopeter44]

Is having the brake lights on an infraction, let's assume it is at the very least best practice, but the text above says "should" and not "must". Is it so long since I spoke English everyday, that nowadays "Should" and "Must" mean the same thing ?