Auto hold Feature - like it or no?

[KingDavid]

I have no disrespect for those who use it, but I don't. That's mostly because I'm one of those unusual people that likes auto start-stop. (No disrespect, please.) The reason I don't like auto-hold is because I've learned that ASS is cancelled when you take your foot off the brake.

I don't like the jerky start from ASS if you're the first in line at a red light and your engine has to start before you move. It's much smoother, and natural, to just take your foot off the brake a second before you want to move, without stepping on the gas.

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, that might not be accurate. When I flashed the factory tune, ASS works with auto-hold activated. I used it plenty driving from fort Lauderdale to Houston last month.

I come to a stop, Auto-Hold is activated, my foot is off the brake, truck cuts off. If I turn the wheel or press the gas, it cuts back on or cuts on by itself if the cabin starts getting warm.

Try turning the wheel before pressing the gas to turn it on. It'll be locked so it won't actually turn, but it should start your truck.

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[KingDavid]

Can you put the parking brake on, leave the vehicle in drive, and lift your foot off the brake without having the engine working against the mechanical braking system?

No, it's in drive whether on the parking brake lever or not. I do wonder if the torque applied at drive idle in that instance is less than applying the parking brake on a decline, nose-forward ?

 

[KingDavid]

Nope.

Do you find cruise control usage to be lazy as well?

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

I have no disrespect for those who use it, but I don't. That's mostly because I'm one of those unusual people that likes auto start-stop. (No disrespect, please.) The reason I don't like auto-hold is because I've learned that ASS is cancelled when you take your foot off the brake.

I don't like the jerky start from ASS if you're the first in line at a red light and your engine has to start before you move. It's much smoother, and natural, to just take your foot off the brake a second before you want to move, without stepping on the gas.

I also like auto stop/start, quite a bit actually. I’ve only found the combo to be lurchy in the mornings when the engine is cold (below 165 degrees coolant temp) for some reason. It tries to ram me into cars in front of my using my usual gas tap, or the truck even realizes something is wrong and it starts up, lurches, and then sets the park brake, and then I’m pushing the gas, causing the park brake to release. Super jarring.

Anyways I’ve learned whenever the truck is cold to just pull on the steering wheel to crank it back up right before I tap the gas to release autohold and it’s smooth as ever

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

I have mine turned off. However, when I feel I need that feature, I used the parking brake.

My only thing with this vs auto hold is the parking brake doesn’t apply your brake lights. Auto hold does

 

[HammaMan]

Can you put the parking brake on, leave the vehicle in drive, and lift your foot off the brake without having the engine working against the mechanical braking system?

Yes, in the powerboost it does this natively. With the ICE off and sitting on the brakes, you will hear the electric motor spin down after a few seconds of sitting. If the ICE is cold it behaves like a traditional automatic unless you go to neutral.

 

[DBL R]

Yes, in the powerboost it does this natively. With the ICE off and sitting on the brakes, you will hear the electric motor spin down after a few seconds of sitting. If the ICE is cold it behaves like a traditional automatic unless you go to neutral.

Does the torque converter continue to spin when idling in drive with parking brake on? Any concern for additional wear and tear on the drivetrain vs the auto hold system? Genuinely curious and not entirely sure how the torque converter handles the handoff between ice and EV in these situations.

 

[HammaMan]

Does the torque converter continue to spin when idling in drive with parking brake on? Any concern for additional wear and tear on the drivetrain vs the auto hold system? Genuinely curious and not entirely sure how the torque converter handles the handoff between ice and EV in these situations.

The electric motor is coupled to the torque converter. In electric mode which is most of the time while stopped, you can hear the electric motor spin down after a few seconds of sitting still. When the engine is warming up it's best to neutral it (or remote start to pre-heat).

Some vehicles will neutral the trans if sitting on it long enough. This is one of the causes of people losing their vehicles into the water when loading a boat because the trans will neutral vs just sitting on the torque converter in drive not moving.

 

[DBL R]

The electric motor is coupled to the torque converter. In electric mode which is most of the time while stopped, you can hear the electric motor spin down after a few seconds of sitting still. When the engine is warming up it's best to neutral it (or remote start to pre-heat).

Some vehicles will neutral the trans if sitting on it long enough. This is one of the causes of people losing their vehicles into the water when loading a boat because the trans will neutral vs just sitting on the torque converter in drive not moving.

welp. I’ll probably start using the parking brake and drive then. Auto hold is nice after a long day of work and not wanting to put effort into the brake pedal at long lights. Auto hold off is a must for any parking lot maneuvering or hooking up a trailer. Just annoying you have to jump through a couple menus to toggle auto hold off and on.

 

[SomebodyInGNV]

Unless I'm misunderstanding you, that might not be accurate. When I flashed the factory tune, ASS works with auto-hold activated. I used it plenty driving from fort Lauderdale to Houston last month.

I come to a stop, Auto-Hold is activated, my foot is off the brake, truck cuts off. If I turn the wheel or press the gas, it cuts back on or cuts on by itself if the cabin starts getting warm.

Try turning the wheel before pressing the gas to turn it on. It'll be locked so it won't actually turn, but it should start your truck.

I didn't mean to suggest that ASS didn't work with Auto-Hold, but that I found it jerky at stop lights.

I haven't tried restarting the engine by shaking the wheel. I'll play with it and, if it works to my satisfaction, may adopt Auto-Hold. I still find holding the brake to be a natural behavior because I've been doing it since I was 15 (a very long time). There may be circumstances where it's advantageous, though, and I'm willing to adopt new ways to do things if they're worthwhile.

 

[Tomatoboy]

I love it. It’s a major fatigue remover in lengthy traffic. However, I wish Ford had made it a button to activate and deactivate, because sometimes when parking it can be difficult to creep forward just a tad, and I wish they were completely consistent with when it activates on all vehicles as my F-150 kicks it on the second the vehicle stops rolling no matter how gentle you are on the brake, while my wife’s Mach-E needs a more firm brake press.

 

[NoSnow]

Absolutely love it. On all the time and have never turned it off.
Love the cruise control as well. Not a fan of lan departure. That’s me.

 

[Chappy133]

Haven't had the auto start stop feature work for a while. I haven't turned it off. This might be due to the fact most of my trips, until next week with the camper, are local around town and my battery may not be topped off.

 

[fatBatman]

I like it and use it. I also like the auto start/stop and driving a PowerBoost, I like burning electrons instead of octane so the more I stay in electric mode, at traffic lights or roadways, the better in my mind.
There's actually a lot of nuances about the PowerBoost are often overlooked by the other engine platforms. These little items seem to be better suited for the hybrid. What I mean is, in a 5.0 for example, when the start/stop engages at a red light and you have the auto-hold on it's great. Then when the person in front of you moves forward a bit and you want to close that gap, you have to touch the gas peddle to disengage the auto-hold and this immediately restarts the engine so you can move. When you stop again, the auto-hold will reengage but the engine will remain running and will not go back into start/stop. In the PowerBoost, I can move forward and the reengage the auto-hold a few times and never restart the engine. In this way, the auto-hold combined with the auto start/stop is more optimized with the PowerBoost over other engine variants.
Don't get me wrong. No hate intended. I actually love the 5.0 and hold it dear in my heart even though I currently own a PowerBoost.

 

[fatBatman]

I use it. I like it. Yes, I too wish it had a physical button. I set "Driver's Assistance" as the on screen hot button. Two presses to turn it off. You MUST TURN IT OFF before going through automated car washes (the kind that pushes the truck along a track).

EDIT: I have since learned the above isn't completely right, nor completely wrong. You do not have to turn Auto Hold off to go through an automated car wash, though you might find it a good idea to do so. Upon entering the car wash, auto hold will deactivate itself if you physically apply the brake while shifting to neutral. Auto Hold will not deactivate if you shift to neutral without physically applying the brake.

I leave it on constantly. The only time I shut it off is when I go through the car wash. I keep the Driver's Assistance screen set as a hot button at the bottom of the screen for easy access. Just one tap for the screen, then one tap to shut it off.

More handy than not. For scratch and swirls (car wash) going to neutral before it fully stops prevents it from engaging. Can be a little annoying if you're austin powers maneuvering. A quick little slap of the pedal will unlock the brakes without imparting throttle.

The latter is what I did at the car wash. I stayed still while the car wash mechanism kept hitting my tire, retracting, and going under my tire. At the time auto hold was new to me. The car wash attendant told me to turn off auto hold. Problem solved. This experience trained me to turn off auto hold.

You do not have to slapshift, disable auto hold, burn sage leaves, or any other voodoo to go through an automatic carwash. All you have to do is place your truck in neutral from a complete stop with your foot on the brake (while running as if you just approached an automatic carwash), and hit the "M" button located right next to the shifter. This will allow your truck to "free wheel" for 30 minutes before it automatically shifts itself into "Park". This is what I do every time I go to a scratch-o-matic carwash and I never have the carwash shuttle skip under my tires.

This is mentioned/discussed on page 269 and 270 of your 2024 Owners Manual (not sure what page for other years) but the paragraph is titled "Temporary Neutral Mode":

Entering Temporary Neutral Mode
1. Bring your vehicle to a complete stop.
2. Press and hold the brake pedal.
3. Power your vehicle on.
4. Shift into neutral (N).
Note: An instructional message appears.
5. Press the manual (M) button.
Note: A confirmation message appears
when your vehicle enters the mode.
6. Release the brake pedal.
Note: Your vehicle is free to roll.

When the shuttle kicks me out of the carwash, I simple shift back into Drive to drive on and all is right in the world. No witchcraft or tricks required.

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