Hill Start Assist Control: Components, Benefits and More

Auto manufacturers have enhanced the safety features in cars. Hill start assist control is one of the safety systems helping the driver to drive up the hill comfortably. It works on a simple principle. When you apply brakes on an inclined surface and then shift your foot from brake to accelerator pedal, the hill assist system stops the vehicle from going downwards.

Here’s all about how the hill start assist system works, its control components and its benefits.

HOW DOES A HILL START ASSIST SYSTEM WORK?

Working of a hill start assist control — Hill start assist control detects the incline, engine torque, clutch and brakes to assist driving uphill

There are several modern safety features in a car, for instance, adaptive cruise control, Electronic brake distribution (EBD), blind spot monitoring and more. Each safety system works on different principles and uses different sensors and components. Here’s how a hill start assist control works:

CLUTCH DETECTION

Hill start assist in manual cars use clutch detection method to function. Since it is necessary to engage clutch and brakes in manuals to disengage the engine from the transmission. So, the sensors detect the clutch engagement and disengagement to operate hill start assist.

INCLINE DETECTION

Hill start control sensors detect the car stop on an inclined surface of a certain angle, for instance three degrees or more. It will send a signal to the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) to operate the hill start assist system.

ENGINE TORQUE DETECTION

This is one of the simplest methods as it detects that the sufficient and necessary engine torque is generated to accelerate the car up the hill. If there is not enough torque then the hill start assist control turns on.

BRAKE DETECTION

Hill start assist comes into operation when it detects that there is less braking power to hold the vehicle from rolling backwards on a hill.

BACKWARD MOTION DETECTION

Although this isn’t necessary in the system, the backward motion detection helps in making hill start assist system functional when it detects the rolling backward motion of the vehicle.

Hill start assist systems in automatic cars mainly use incline sensors to detect that the vehicle is on the hill. Moreover, this system uses brake sensors to detect whether the brakes are applied or not. While in the manual cars, clutch and brake sensors work together to hold the car from rolling backwards by applying brakes.

HILL START ASSIST CONTROL COMPONENTS

different sensors make the hill start in automatic cars work — Different sensors and components installed in a vehicle send signals to the ECU and make this hill start system work

Different safety components and sensors work together to prevent the car from rolling back on a hill. Hill start assist control system may require following components to function properly:

ANGLE SENSORS

These detect the inclination and angle of the hill to which it corresponds accordingly.

PRESSURE SENSORS

These sensors detect the weight of the car, including passengers and luggage. Pressure sensors are a type of piezoelectric sensor that detect and give signals to the car computers.

TORQUE SENSORS

The torque sensor detects the amount of torque transmitted to the wheels. If enough torque is not transmitted then these sensors give signal to the ECU to engage brakes and prevent vehicles from rolling back on an inclined hill.

WHEEL SPEED SENSORS

These sensors can detect the speed and direction of the wheels and send signals to the ECU accordingly.

ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU)

This is the car computer system receiving signals from various sensors and acting upon those signals. ECU can comprehend and calculate the speeds, distance, weight, travelling resistance and slope of the hill. These calculations help the ECU to calculate the acceleration, engine torque or braking that the vehicle may require.

BRAKE ACTUATOR

An actuator acts upon the signals from the sensors. When the sensors detect any change in torque, speed or inclination, they send signals to the ECU. ECU computes and then sends the signals to brake actuators to engage the brakes. This stops the vehicle from rolling down the hill.

Once the driver starts to accelerate the car, the ECU automatically sends signals to the brake actuator to release the brakes. When the hill start assist is not available in the car, it may cause it to roll backwards and result in an accident on a hill.

ADVANTAGE OF HILL START ASSIST CONTROL

Advantages of hill start assist — Hill assist control not only assists in driving uphill but also protects brakes from wearing out

The main benefit of the hill start assist system is that it signals the brake actuator to engage brakes when the person is shifting to the accelerator pedal. Moreover, it is part of active safety systems which helps in preventing accidents.

Hill start assist control also protects other components such as hand brakes from wear and tear as the driver won’t have to use the emergency brakes and do the job manually.

This was all about one of the safety features in cars. Apart from hill start assist, hill descent control is also one of the features in cars to protect passengers from any accident when accelerating down the hill. Therefore, when you buy a used car in the UAE, make sure it has all the safety features intact and you follow all the tips to drive safely uphill.

Stay tuned to the UAE’s top auto blog for more information on safety features and other components in automobiles.

Everything You Need to Know About Hill Start Assist System