So you’ve just bought your new car and you wonder why it doesn’t have the conventional hand brake lever beside the driver seat? Okay don’t panic, because you have just bought a new innovation from the automobile industry – auto hold function.
Yes, almost all the latest vehicles today are equipped with this tech to help drivers enjoy a convenient and fun driving experience. So in this post, I will discuss what is auto hold and how does it work.
What is Auto Hold Function?
Auto hold (or automatic brake hold function) is an additional braking feature found on most modern vehicles and is more likely as an alternate function of the traditional hand brake (emergency brake) lever found on older vehicles or SUVs and trucks (which is also called electric parking brake). However, this function does more than just stopping your car.
Conventionally, you use the hand brake lever to maintain your vehicle in a stopped state, and this gives you the comfort of releasing your foot on the brake pedal. With auto hold function, you’ll get the same benefit by just pressing the button located on your central panel.
Plus, you can drive your car forward even if the auto hold function is still engaged. This is beneficial if you are driving in a traffic road where you can rest your foot from always stepping on the brake pedal. This helps reduce foot fatigue while on traffic.
Activating the auto hold gives your vehicle the same braking force as the conventional hand brake lever, the brakes are automatically maintained. Moving your car (foot on the accelerator) will release the auto hold function.
How does Auto Hold Brake Work?
When you press the brake pedal, the brake system (also known as Vehicle Dynamics control by most car manufacturers) maintains the brake fluid pressure which keeps your vehicle in stopped state. Once the accelerator is pressed, the brake system gently reduces the brake fluid pressure which releases the brake force and enables your car to go in motion.
The locking mechanism include all four brake hardware of your car which is either disc brakes or drum brakes, or both. Plus, auto hold function triggers an electronic parking brake which works similar to hand brake lever. This means that this new tech in your car can keep your car in stopped state even in slope areas.
How to Use Auto Hold Function?
While you drive and you need to stop the vehicle, depressing the brake pedal will stop your vehicle completely. Pressing the auto hold switch will activate this function and the driver can now remove his foot on the brake pedal. Auto hold will retain the braking force needed to help maintain the car’s stopped state.
Again, when the driver needs to move forward by pressing the accelerator pedal, the auto hold system will gently release the braking force which enables the car to move without much resistance.
You can check the status of your auto hold thru the indicators on your gauge cluster. If the indicator is green, then your car is automatically hold. If the indicator is white, then your auto hold isn’t giving much braking force which enables your car to go in motion.
This negates the need for the driver to keep his foot on the brake pedal. To deactivate the auto hold function, just press the button on your central panel.
A bit of a reminder:
- Electric parking brake will engage if the vehicle is stopped for more than three minutes (some cars are 10 minutes).
- If the driver’s seat belt is released, the electric parking brake is automatically engaged.
- If the driver’s door is opened, the electric parking brake is automatically engaged.
Summary
So that’s it! If you are still confused and hesitant on using the auto hold function, then I suggest that you watch my Youtube video about this topic below. Enjoy watching!
