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PHEV... Auto hand brake engage discovery - game changer


Nick72
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I just discovered on an American forum that if you press the electronic handbrake up or down and old it then it will change modes from manual application to auto.

So far I've been putting the car into Park then pulling or pushing (I can never recall which way round) the handbrake button. Then then same in reverse for setting off. Apparently this is manual mode.

Seems that if you enable Auto mode you can forget about the handbrake. Putting it into drive disables the hand brake and putting it into Park enables it. All automatically. Furthermore,  if you open a door when moving forwards it applies the hand brake, just in case you fell out your seat onto the road and the car now doesn't run you over or squish you against the garage wall or whatever. Unlikely. But the faff saving of this Auto option sounds wonderful.

 

Not tried it yet. Just found out.

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Yeah my Mk4 Yaris defaults to behaving like that - It just makes so much sense! I don't know why car manufacturers didn't do that to begin with when they invented these infernal EPBs!! :laugh: 

 

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3 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah my Mk4 Yaris defaults to behaving like that - It just makes so much sense! I don't know why car manufacturers didn't do that to begin with when they invented these infernal EPBs!! :laugh: 

 

Yeh I know.

Last PHEV was same. Although you could just drive off and the EPB would auto disengage.

Going to be using the auto option for sure!

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38 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Yeah my Mk4 Yaris defaults to behaving like that - It just makes so much sense! I don't know why car manufacturers didn't do that to begin with when they invented these infernal EPBs!! :laugh: 

 

The Avensis (at least manual)  has had auto application on switch off/auto release on clutch uptake since iirc 2012 (it didn't for the first few years of production) ...  You can change the auto/manual behaviour too but I haven't tried opening a door whilst rolling to see if it applies 😝

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18 minutes ago, Heidfirst said:

The Avensis (at least manual)  has had auto application on switch off/auto release on clutch uptake since iirc 2012 (it didn't for the first few years of production) ...  You can change the auto/manual behaviour too but I haven't tried opening a door whilst rolling to see if it applies 😝

I don't know why mine has defaulted to manual mode as I would have thought most want auto mode by default.

The only time I might not want it is of I'm opening the door to check the curb when parking up outside my mum and dads. There I'd roll forwards with the door open. 

 

It is a shame the wing mirrors don't auto dip down to see the curb when you put the car into reverse. Pretty sure my last car did it.

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39 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

It is a shame the wing mirrors don't auto dip down to see the curb when you put the car into reverse. Pretty sure my last car did it.

I wonder if they reserve that for Lexus in the UK?

Btw in the US Toyotas which have auto-dipping side mirrors on selecting reverse the mirror switch has to be either set to right or left for it to work - if it is set in the middle it locks the mirrors - has anybody checked that on the UK cars?

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30 minutes ago, Heidfirst said:

I wonder if they reserve that for Lexus in the UK?

Btw in the US Toyotas which have auto-dipping side mirrors on selecting reverse the mirror switch has to be either set to right or left for it to work - if it is set in the middle it locks the mirrors - has anybody checked that on the UK cars?

Could do.

I never tried this. I got it set mid way. That would be awesome if that worked.

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My RAV4 Ordinaire (non plug-in) defaulted to auto-parking brake from new.

I can't tell from the manual whether this is the normal default or not.  It's possible my dealer enabled it during the PDI.

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Mine was set to auto hand brake and i'll definitely try the auto dip mirror trick. The Yeti had both mirrors dip when in reverse so useful.

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As ever, RTFM ... 🙂

Mine was automatic on delivery; TBH I hadn't realised that there was a tedious manual mode.

Throughout the handbook it talks of things you need to do if the parking brake is in manual mode. And in the section on the parking brake it says:

■ Turning the automatic mode on - While the vehicle is stopped, pull and hold the parking brake switch until a buzzer sounds and a message is shown on the multi-information display.

and

■ Turning the automatic mode off - While the vehicle is stopped and depressing the brake pedal, press and hold the parking brake switch until a buzzer sounds and a message is shown on the multi-information display.

 

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Funny how we discover things, I have rarely operated the handbrake in 2 years as always on auto, except when I forget and turn off the engine whilst not in park, then it does not auto engage, you need to do it manually or maybe roll away!

My wifes new MG ZS has an electronic handbrake and the manual says nothing about auto mode, then we discovered holding a button down does make it auto, its pretty clever it switches off when you drive off, but only if the driver has their seat belt on.

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Oh, and, there's nothing in the FM to suggest that the mirrors can be auto dipped in reverse ...

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And it begs the question, if they could do this with the parking brake, why not with the auto-hold feature. Really annoying to have to remember to switch that on *every* time I start the car. And also a bit annoying that it doesn't kick on until you've been stopped about a second. My previous car (Skoda) it kicked on automatically as soon as you came to a stop, and you could release your foot from the brake pedal. Stuff like this should either be standardised or at the very least configurable.

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2 hours ago, spicyhotone said:

And it begs the question, if they could do this with the parking brake, why not with the auto-hold feature. Really annoying to have to remember to switch that on *every* time I start the car...

My feelings exactly.  A friend has a Skoda and his Brake Hold feature does stay on for each time the car is started.  Same with the Cruise Control.  I can understand if these things disable if certain conditions aren't met, but it's so simple to set up software that re-enables when all necessary conditions are met.  Hondas and Volvos I've driven work this way.

On the subject of RTFM, my friend with the Skoda didn't realise he could open his windows (and sunroof) by holding the fob unlock button (and close them again with the lock button) until he tried it after seeing me do it with my RAV4.  He'd had his car over 2 years at the time!  And it was enabled by default, didn't need to have the dealer enable the feature.

Some years ago, before remote locking became common, a friend noticed a window open on her BMW after getting out.  She went to get back in to put the key in to close it, and I told her to put the key in the door lock and hold it in the lock position, which closed the window.  She was astonished to see this on a car she'd had for 5 years!  (I believe BMW were the first to offer this feature in the 1980s and it appeared on some Vauxhalls soon after).

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2 hours ago, PeteB said:

My feelings exactly.  A friend has a Skoda and his Brake Hold feature does stay on for each time the car is started.  Same with the Cruise Control.  I can understand if these things disable if certain conditions aren't met, but it's so simple to set up software that re-enables when all necessary conditions are met.  Hondas and Volvos I've driven work this way.

On the subject of RTFM, my friend with the Skoda didn't realise he could open his windows (and sunroof) by holding the fob unlock button (and close them again with the lock button) until he tried it after seeing me do it with my RAV4.  He'd had his car over 2 years at the time!  And it was enabled by default, didn't need to have the dealer enable the feature.

Some years ago, before remote locking became common, a friend noticed a window open on her BMW after getting out.  She went to get back in to put the key in to close it, and I told her to put the key in the door lock and hold it in the lock position, which closed the window.  She was astonished to see this on a car she'd had for 5 years!  (I believe BMW were the first to offer this feature in the 1980s and it appeared on some Vauxhalls soon after).

I'm not a big fan of the automatic window opening by remote button. Few years ago, did this inadvertently with my car, opened all the windows. It snowed heavily overnight, and the car was full of (melting) snow by the time I got in in the morning. And being the winter, took many weeks to dry out properly!

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16 minutes ago, spicyhotone said:

I'm not a big fan of the automatic window opening by remote button...

In that case you're probably happy it isn't enabled by default!

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Similarly with the Skoda Yeti, it had a parallel parking mode, select drive past a potential parking spot and the car would indicate its big enough, tell you to select either forward or reverse and you’d control the accelerator the car would do the steering. Worked very effectively. One of the guys on the Yeti forum had said his wife did not want to drive the Yeti until she found out that feature and he could never get a look in after that.

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15 hours ago, PeteB said:

My RAV4 Ordinaire (non plug-in) defaulted to auto-parking brake from new.

I can't tell from the manual whether this is the normal default or not.  It's possible my dealer enabled it during the PDI.

Same as mine!

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10 hours ago, spicyhotone said:

And it begs the question, if they could do this with the parking brake, why not with the auto-hold feature. Really annoying to have to remember to switch that on *every* time I start the car. And also a bit annoying that it doesn't kick on until you've been stopped about a second. My previous car (Skoda) it kicked on automatically as soon as you came to a stop, and you could release your foot from the brake pedal. Stuff like this should either be standardised or at the very least configurable.

So on mine if I press the brake pedal hard the auto hold comes on provided I selected at the start of the drive. My Merc did the same and that was a manual gear box.

Have you tried holding down hold for 5 seconds? 😉

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5 hours ago, PeteB said:

In that case you're probably happy it isn't enabled by default!

Damn. It isn't?  I want it to when I press hold. I got to experiment now.

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Ok so I just experimented...

Auto EPB works great. Soooooo much better.

Tried holding down Hold for 5 plus seconds in case of hidden magic. Me thinking I could enable it permanently. Nope. I notice that when setting off after Hold engaged it is quite jerky. Kind of leaps forward. Not good for getting out of a tight spot for sure.

Holding down open on the fob does nothing. No opening of everything. Same for locking. If window open then holding down lock does not wind the windows up. Why is this not done as a matter of course by default. Crazy.

Wing mirrors do not auto dip when putting into reverse no matter switch side selected first. That's a shame. Even Peugeot had that. Would have thought that appropriate as they didnt give us the 360 cameras!

 

Grrr.

 

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I’ve been also playing with the auto wind mirror dip and I can not get it to work. I wonder if that is another dealer only function that is not documented in the manual? It would be so good to have I have a situation when we visit Derbyshire and park that there is a low level wall on the LH side and I have to drive in and reverse out, on way system, I need to accurately get the reverse turning point as there is another wall I need to miss as I drive out. The dipping mirrors would be so useful.

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1 hour ago, Nick72 said:

...when setting off after Hold engaged it is quite jerky. Kind of leaps forward. Not good for getting out of a tight spot for sure.

...Holding down open on the fob does nothing...

Setting off from Brake Hold on mine is really smooth, and a few other Lexus/Toyotas I've been lent which have Brake Hold have been equally smooth.  I'm always in ECO Mode, but wouldn't have thought that makes a difference.  I'll experiment tomorrow.

BTW there's no need to press the Brake pedal hard to activate the Hold feature once it's switched on - about ½ sec after you come to a stop the Amber "Hold"  indicator lights up and you can take your foot off the pedal.  Hill Start Assist on earlier models was engaged by a firm press of the pedal, but on more recent cars it just works without any special action if the brake pedal is released on an incline too steep for creep to overcome it.   Brake Hold, if active, removes the need for Hill Start Assist.

 

Having the open/close windows feature on the fob disabled by default is one thing, making it so only the dealer can enable it is odd, especially given all the options drivers can change for themselves.  Something to ask for when you next visit the dealer if it's something you want.

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12 hours ago, philip42h said:

As ever, RTFM ... 🙂

Agreed, 100 %!  That manual contains tens of other of these little functions that you did pay for, but would not easily detect.

Mine was delivered with the Hold function set to Manual and (having read the manual...) I found that very strange. That would mean that if you put the car in Park on an incline, the whole 1.7 metric tons would "hang" on the little parking pawl that locks the transmission 😲.  Set "Hold" to Auto, please, in the name of that poor little parking pawl! 😉

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2 hours ago, PeteB said:

Setting off from Brake Hold on mine is really smooth, and a few other Lexus/Toyotas I've been lent which have Brake Hold have been equally smooth.  I'm always in ECO Mode, but wouldn't have thought that makes a difference.  I'll experiment tomorrow.

BTW there's no need to press the Brake pedal hard to activate the Hold feature once it's switched on - about ½ sec after you come to a stop the Amber "Hold"  indicator lights up and you can take your foot off the pedal.  Hill Start Assist on earlier models was engaged by a firm press of the pedal, but on more recent cars it just works without any special action if the brake pedal is released on an incline too steep for creep to overcome it.   Brake Hold, if active, removes the need for Hill Start Assist.

 

Having the open/close windows feature on the fob disabled by default is one thing, making it so only the dealer can enable it is odd, especially given all the options drivers can change for themselves.  Something to ask for when you next visit the dealer if it's something you want.

Cheers Pete. I think I correlated it with me pressing the brake hard like on my Merc. Mine does leap a little when I set off but maybe I'm giving it too much gas! I'll try a more gentle foot.

Seems like I got an odd default set up. No auto EPB set up and no close it all up on long press of the fob. Former fixed but looks like a dealer visit for the latter. But nowt summer is ovfer int North I don't think I'll be openin twindows till May. So I may leave it till then or just try that Carista thingy out and DIY.

 

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