Has anyone tried Hill assist on pinyon mountain Heart attack hill?

mo0s3

New member
We are heading out there today and I wanted to know if anyone has used it and how well did it work ?
I used it at truck haven but I don't want to try something if it would be dangerous.
 

JoeB-JKURX

New member
We are heading out there today and I wanted to know if anyone has used it and how well did it work ?
I used it at truck haven but I don't want to try something if it would be dangerous.

Not sure what the issue is at your location but can't think of anything associated with Hill Start Assist that would be dangerous (unless you were depending on it - like on a switchback on Black Bear Pass - and it didn't work). Both auto and manual trannys have it as a driver selectable function. Gives you time to get your foot from brake to skinny pedal before you start rolling.
 

mo0s3

New member
I have used it on steep declines at truck haven, it is a bit strange how it takes over braking lol
 

mo0s3

New member
Not sure what the issue is at your location but can't think of anything associated with Hill Start Assist that would be dangerous (unless you were depending on it - like on a switchback on Black Bear Pass - and it didn't work). Both auto and manual trannys have it as a driver selectable function. Gives you time to get your foot from brake to skinny pedal before you start rolling.

I was gonna try it at Heart attack hill , we will see [emoji16]
 

Journeyman

New member
I have not tried it on pinyon yet.
But I have tried it and I don't like just letting go and letting the jeep do its thing. Plus it's just goofy how it sends little brake signal to your calipers. It seams to do them independently.
How was the squeeze? Last time I was in the area I made an attempt and decided to back out! Damn thing is tight. Felt like no top and some carpet for a slide job would be appropriate.
 

JoeB-JKURX

New member
I have not tried it on pinyon yet.
But I have tried it and I don't like just letting go and letting the jeep do its thing. Plus it's just goofy how it sends little brake signal to your calipers. It seams to do them independently.
How was the squeeze? Last time I was in the area I made an attempt and decided to back out! Damn thing is tight. Felt like no top and some carpet for a slide job would be appropriate.

I just watched some videos of folks going down Heart Attack Hill (including a rollover). Hill Start Assist wouldn't help in any way on that descent unless you wanted to shift into reverse and back up. It is for going up hill, not down. If you have an automatic transmission, you also have something called Descent Control that will work your brakes as you describe. If you have a manual tranny, you have Low range, low gear to slow the rig with engine compression (which the auto doesn't provide much of). From what I saw of the videos, you'd have to be pretty ballsy to use either Descent Control or Low/Low without touching the brakes (and have a really good spotter to keep you level as you go down the hill).
 

DMF

Active Member
I didn't need it on heart attack hill. Being in low gear help by itself but I'm only running 35's so stopping was pretty easy. Also if you take the left side down, just keep your nose downhill. There's no need to turn the wheel much or any at all until you're close to the bottom.

This was me doing the squeeze.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McHGAXjEGOA
 
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WarriorJeep

New member
Perhaps I'm simply being obtuse, but I would hate to miss an opportunity to learn something...

Are we speaking about Hill Start Assist, or Hill Descent Control? I was actually unaware of the Hill Start Assist feature until just now, however the Hill Descent Control (button as it exists on my dash shown belowI've used several times in some pretty hairy spots, and it works both uphill and downhill very well.

Jeeps manual defines them as follows:

Hill Start Assist When equipped with an automatic transmission, this feature prevents the vehicle from rolling away when starting on an up- or downhill gradient. It holds the vehicle stationary for 2 seconds after the driver's foot is removed from the brake pedal, allowing time to apply the throttle


Hill Descent Control HDC is only intended for low speed off-road driving.

HDC maintains vehicle speed while descending hills in off-road driving conditions by applying the brakes when necessary.

Thanks in advance for clarification

hilldescentbutton.jpg
 

ScoobyCarolanNC

Active Member
OP Is talking about Descent Control. I had it in my 2011 Explorer & used it every now & then on washed out fire roads & in fields. Not sure how it works on the wrangler but the Ex shifted into 1st gear & used ABS on each wheel to control it. Steep snow & ice cover it probably saved my butt a few times. Still, if you got enough momentum that it couldn't control & went over 25mph you were on your own...
 

SilverBack

Member
The Hill Decent Control on the wrangler uses all 4 channels of breaking/abs independently as well as controlling winging rpm to maintain 1000rpm.
I used it on a very steep stony decent after a surprise thunderstorm made the grapefruit to cantaloupe sized loose rock super slippery and cause two wild and hairy sideways slides. 4-low, 1st gear and pressed the button. I was amazed. Made it very slowly and safely down! I'm a believer!
 

mo0s3

New member
Yeah I was talking about hill decent.
I didn't use it on Heart attack, and as DMF said I went down the left side. The squeeze was really fun. No issues at all. Great trail, I would for sure do it again [emoji16]
 

WarriorJeep

New member
I'm glad to know I was on the same page

This JK is only my second jeep, my first being a CJ7 which had nothing compared to the technology that's in my 2015 JKU. So for me, its been a ride on the learning curve

Love the hill descent control though, I've used it on several 30% to 40% grades, wet, dry, iced, snowy, etc. And each time it worked flawlessly
 

Journeyman

New member
I didn't need it on heart attack hill. Being in low gear help by itself but I'm only running 35's so stopping was pretty easy. Also if you take the left side down, just keep your nose downhill. There's no need to turn the wheel much or any at all until you're close to the bottom.

This was me doing the squeeze.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McHGAXjEGOA

Awesome! Definitely on my to do list since I'm so close to Anza Borrego.
 
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