[spinnaker15136]

I have been having an odd problem where I have no response to the accelerator on my 2015 Forester. It happens so fast it almost seems like it is my imagination. But it has happened a couple of times now so pretty sure it is really happening.

The problem only seems to occur after I slow down to almost a stop then go to accelerate again. It does not happen all of the time just every once in awhile. If I let off of the accelerator then press again the engine responds.

I don't know if it is related but the Hill Assist light has been coming on lately very periodically. I just had this power failure issue and the Hill Assist warning light had just been on.

I guess I need to keep better track of the symptoms. Not sure if the light was on in the last loss of acceleration episode. I also don't recall if the tach increased when i pressed on the accelerator but I am pretty sure it did not.

Has anyone else seen this problem or is aware of it?

 

[spinnaker15136]

Definitely related to hill assist. Happened again today and I have more information.

What happened today wa, again I was moving fairly slowly under 25mph. I pressed on the accelerator and no response. I glanced at the tack and it did not budge. It did not decrease. It did not increase. I gave the accelerator another tap and there was sort of like the car slowed very briefly and then back to normal. Right after the hill assist light went on.

Any ideas?

 

[spinnaker15136]

So why does Subaru think I need hill assist?

I have been having issues with hill assist.

https://www.subaruforester.org/vbul...-accelerator-anyone-else-have-problem-791405/

Found online where I could disable the feature so giving that a try to see if it helps. I go to thinking. So why does Subaru think I need hill assist?

I have been driving manual transmission vehicles for most of my life. I passed my drivers test in a manual transmission car with no power steering and no power brakes. I live in one of the most hilly places in the country. After all of those years I have almost never drifted back more than an inch or two even in the steepest hills in the area. If I don't need help in a manual transmission, I certainly don't need help in an automatic.

So I disabled the hill assiti in my automatic Foz and noticed no difference in the driving experience. So why does Subaru think I need hill assist in my automatic Foz? Seems like just another gadget that can go wrong.

 

[adc]

Every manufacturer as far as I know uses it. I have a 2016 chev spark 5sp. I was prepared to hate it but its nice.

I obviously don't need it bc I have been driving stick for 57 years. No big deal

 

[bbottomley]

With their move away from manual transmission, I think it's just going to become a standard part of the way things work.

 

[KLEMMER]

What kind of problems are you having? Only issue I am aware of is the Brake light switch is a common failure.

 

[bman400]

I have noticed that in older vehicles with automatic transmissions, if you were sitting facing up hill, and you took your foot off the brake, the vehicle would sit in position. However I have now noticed in a lot of newer vehicles the automatic transmission no longer holds the vehicle in position and tends to roll backwards when stopped at a red light if you take your foot off the brake. I have driven 3 European vehicles since 2012: 2013 VW Jetta TDI(DSG), 2011 VW Touareg TDI(Slush Box) and now 2014 Mercedes ML 350 Bluetec(Slush Box). All 3 were automatic transmissions with some form of brake holding feature.

Never really took notice of it much in the Jetta TDI. With the Touareg TDI I could set it for no hold, or automatic hold. I actually preferred the automatic hold in the VW Touareg as it allowed me to take my foot off the brake at a red light without fear of the vehicle rolling forward!!!! The Mercedes is automatic hold only if I pressed hard on the brake while stopped.

In all 3 cases because the vehicles are diesels with loads of torque, they all tend to roll forward on the flat as soon as you took your foot off the brake, so I consider the brake hold feature a nice safety item given that most drivers today are now so distracted that drivers tend to not notice their vehicle is moving forward or backward because their foot is not on the brake.

 

[adc]

I have now noticed in a lot of newer vehicles the automatic transmission no longer holds the vehicle in position and tends to roll backwards

My CVT holds the vehicle on a hill.

 

[Botnik]

A friend of mine had an early 2000s Forester (manual transmission) and had problems with the hill assist and needed the dealer to adjust it.

I had a 2007 Forester (manual transmission) and most of the time I never noticed it (have driven manual for many years) except for when I was trying to parallel park with the front of the car facing uphill. When I was doing that, the car wouldn't back up and go into the parking space, and I had to press the throttle pedal (if I remember correctly) to get the hill assist to let go, so I sort of had to launch the car backwards downhill towards the curb and other vehicles into the parking space. Not that great.

I think later on I figured out that I could go backwards in neutral, instead of in gear, so the hill assist wouldn't activate, but then if you do it that way, you lose your backup lights.

 

[bbottomley]

In the early days (SG and probably SF series), Hill Holder was a hydraulic approach that only worked when facing uphill. It traces back to Studebaker in the 50s (like my Dad's). Then they started to move toward more integrated, electrically controlled systems, and took note of the downhill situation. Nowadays everything is wired together.

 

[bman400]

The VW Touareg TDI and Mercedes Brake Hold Feature is done electronically using the E-Brake, unlike the above mentioned "Hydraulic" hill holder. I do find the Mercedes one much smoother than the VW unit. When I "launch" by pressing on the GO pedal on the Mercedes there is no notice or feel. Whereas with the VW there was a slight lurch/clunk as the E-Brake releases.

@adc, I did not know that the CVT held it on a hill. Don't own any vehicle with a CVT and will avoid them. I have rented vehicles that have CVT and hate them. I used to own a 2007 Suzuki Burgman 400 scooter which came with a CVT, loved on that vehicle, but when it comes to 4 wheeled vehicles, I prefer DSG or Slush boxes.

 

[Botnik]

In the early days

"Early days"? We're talking about a car I had, a 2007!

Scuse me I have to go drink my prune juice.

 

[bbottomley]

2007 is part of the SG series. It ran through 2008.

I don't know whether the move toward electronic "Hill Start Assist" happened with the advent of the SH series in 2009. It was the beginning of the electronic era.