Gen 4 Hill Star Assist

[kithmo]

I know HSA is automatic on the Gen 4, but I was under the impression that it only worked going forward, but today I had to reverse up a hill in a car park from a standstill and the car didn't seem to roll forward as I transferred my foot from the brake to the accelerator, in fact it shot backwards at such a rate that it surprised me a bit.

Does it work in reverse on the Gen 4 ?  

[BhxTrev]

Hi Kithmo, I know HSA works going forward but I honestly don't know if it also works reversing. I certainly rarely used it on my Gen3 Prius because having driven manual gear change cars for most of my driving life, I tended to use the foot-hand brake like a clutch going forward starting up a hill. If there is someone who knows if the HSA works reversing up a hill please let us Gen4 drivers know. I'll certainly ask my garage about this next time I'm in contact with them. 

[PeteB]

My Gen 3 HSA worked both ways.

I'm pretty sure it has activated when reversing uphill on my Gen 4, but the manual (p455) states:

"When the following four conditions are met, the hill-start assist control will operate:

• The shift position is in a position other than P or N (when starting off forward/backward on an uphill incline)
• The vehicle is stopped
• The accelerator pedal is not depressed
• The parking brake is not engaged"

I'll try to remember to double check next time I'm near a sufficiently steep hill (not too many around this part of Norfolk/Suffolk).

I had my last 3-yearly RoSPA retest in my previous (Gen 3) Prius and I mentioned the HSA during the cockpit drill briefing, so my examiner duly found a steep hill in Norwich to check I knew how to use it!

[MEP's Yaris GS]

I can't see why it wouldn't work in reverse, it has in all other cars that I've driven with hill hold / hill start assist.

[johalareewi]

Gen3 Prius HSA works in both forwards and reverse.  I have a very steep drive I reverse up.  HSA is great.

[PeteB]

On 10/09/2016 at 10:09 PM, PeteB said:

...I'll try to remember to double check next time I'm near a sufficiently steep hill (not too many around this part of Norfolk/Suffolk)...

I found a 12% hill this afternoon and HSA worked perfectly in both directions on my Gen 4 Prius.

Jon's right - it IS logical, but Toyota (and others) do plenty of illogical things!

[kithmo]

Thanks guys, makes sense really. 

[YarisHybrid2016]

Never tried it, but interesting to know!