this is on pg 59 of the manual, it is supposed to help you start from a hill without rolling back too much. however, i cannot figure out how to use it. has anyone had any experience with this, and is this a standard feature?

 

Hi,
I just bought mine yesterday and noticed how this works today...by accident. Basically, it does it automatically.

If you are on a hill, with the brakes on, when you release the brake, the car holds there momentarily, so that you can easily switch to the clutch and go forward. It works very nicely.

To test it, just go to an incline, come to a stop, put the shifter in neutral, let go of the brake and you will see that it "hangs" there for a second or so, then let's go of the brakes for you.

very cool

 

Unfortunately, it's not available on U.S. spec cars
You'll notice a litle asterisk next to many of the features in the manual. This indicates that the feature may be an option, or may be for certain markets only.

 

I must be misunderstanding the hill assist thing then...because my car is US spec.

Anyway, my car definitely "hangs" on a hill, unassisted by my foot, then releases.

Not sure if that helps you or not though

 

Wowzer, you need to have DSC on your car in order to have hill assist.

BlitZ

 

Hill Assist comes with DSC in the USA. You have to have one foot on the brake pedal and one on the clutch. When you take your foot off the brake to start out, it delays releasing the brake to give you time to rev the engine and begin releasing the clutch. I find it very convenient in traffic, but prefer using the handbrake when starting up my steep driveway after stopping at the mailbox. I've had years of using the handbrake start and am very comfortable with it.

 

Mine has it and it's very handy. It only holds a couple of seconds so don't take too long to start up. When I first got mine, I hadn't read up too much on the Mini features and I thought that there was something wrong with my breaks

 

I love it. Like they said - brake and clutch at 0mph, release brake and it'll hold for a couple seconds. If you're in N without the clutch in, you'll roll when you release the brake. But hill start assist works in any gear.

 

My USA Mini Cooper with DSC has it. Since I've been driving manual trannys for 31 years, I don't need it but I'm sure it comes in handy for stick shift newbies. BTW, this option is NOT some sort of modern innovation, Studebaker invented it in 1936 and Subaru offered the "Hill-Holder Clutch" about 20 or more years ago. Several current Subaru models still have it.

 

It also works in reverse if, for instance, you are trying to back up a steep driveway.

 

Well, I stand corrected! I have a manual, and DSC, so I guess I have the hill-holder as well! I'll have to give it a try!

 

I love it on my new MCS

 

I have it on my auto, it really is neat

 

yea, my dads r56 has the hill assist and its us spec

 

It works great when going up ramps as well

 

I do like hill assist. While it's relatively flat around here, I happen to live in a very hilly spot. And then there's those man-made hills...bridges over highways w/traffic signals at all corners. Yup...hill assist comes in real handy.

The only time I was with it was trying to maneuver in an inclined parking space...there was a delay every time I wanted to let gravity help me out. I was merely amused, though....overall hill assist is !!!!

 

I have an auto w/DSC and therefore hill assist. I find it annoying. Seriously, I have two feet, two pedals, and if that does not work, I can even use the emergency brake. Hill-assist with an auto is just counterintuitive and I find myself giving the car to much gas and racing up/down hills. Thumbs down.

I'm glad some people are enjoying it though.

 

Yea, I can't see why you would want hill assist on an automatic trans. However, you definitely want DSC.

 

I have the auto trans but mostly use the manual mode.When at a stop on a hill(slight or steep) I just flick it in 2nd and she won't fall back or creep forward.

 

I'm so used to heel-n-toe when starting on hills that the hill assist has no value to me. Although the pedals on R56 is not as easy to heel-n-toe; the offset between the two pedals is too large.

I do have a question though: the hill assist only works if you have the clutch depressed? So if I needed to roll backward in a hurry, (the driver in front of me is still learnig to drive a stick and suddenly rolls backward as the light turns green), I can't be in forward gears while holding the clutch pedal down.

 

Yes.

You shouldn't have stopped so close.

How far is that car going to roll, and how much warning do you have? Hill Assist lasts for less than 2 sec. IIRC.

I'm not sure whether pulling it out of gear and releasing the clutch would instantly disengage it or not. Someone will have to try it to find out.

 

Does this disable w/ DSC?

I could possibly see this being more annoying than useful to me. Been driving stick in hilly areas for almost 15 years now (learned in SF Bay Area of all places) and very rarely feel the need to have my car apply the brakes for me.

 

I thought it would feel unnatural to me but I actually like the feature, A LOT!! Even though I've driven a standard most of my driving-life, I still have that trepidation when I'm stopped on a sharp incline. Now, with hill assist, there are no worries. If you're good on hills, it only makes you better. If you take too long to disengage the clutch, the hill-assist won't help much.

 

My Mini has the DSC and Hill Assist feature - I agree it would help a newbie but when I first started to drive this Mini I did not know about the Hill Assist feature and found it confusing. When I was starting slow off a slight incline - I judged the throttle based on the car not sliding backward only to have the engine almost stall a few seconds later when the Hill Assist feature let go. But after a time or two I caught on and it now goes unnoticed.

Heel-toe is (for me) impossible in this Mini. That is my only gripe with this great automobile

 

Confusion was my exact reaction to the Hill Assist. Being the old fart that I am, I initially thought there was something wrong with my Tranny. The feature had the exact opposite of the intended effect on me. Not only did I almost stall my Mini on the first couple encounters with Hill Assist, I also searched to find the right gear (with annoyed people behind me) as I instinctively struggled to overcome this "odd behavior".

Thankfully, I've adjusted to the "idiot-proof" feature and have learned how to outsmart a technological feature that is "smarter" than 31 years of driving manual transmissions.