Every automatic transmission vehicle I have ever owned had a "hill holder" which kept the vehicle from rolling back when stopped on an incline. My Element apparently does not have this or it is not working well. It seems to hold ok on a slight incline but the vehicle drifts back on anything more than a slight incline. Would some of you who stop on inclines please let me know if your vehicle holds ok. If so, I guess I am in for a trip to my dealer to have it checked.

Ya I totally started rolling back on a hill today. and I was like "what the?!" I think its just cause the E is so heavy and it idles pretty low.

Hrm, I usually hold the brake down when I'm stopped on an incline. Going backwards down a hill is pretty scary. Come to think of it, I remember that during that slight period of time between applying the brake and then the gas on an incline, my Element feels like a stick and starts to roll backwards. But I think just about any four cylinder car does this.

This reminds me of my parents car when I was a kid. But it is just the opposite of the Element. They had a Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and that thing would do 20mph without the gas pedal even pressed. I would back out of the driveway and the darn thing would spin tires, and I didn't try to do it on purpose.

The automatic transmissions in Honda these days have very "loose" transmission clutching at idle. This saves gas, and heat buildup in the transmission. It also makes it less jumpy when you put it into gear. Plus if your foot falls off the brake you are less likely to bump into the person in front of you at a red light.

Having a feature called "hill-holding" is probably a legal nightmare. What if it fails and you hit the car behind you?

I have no problem using the left-foot braking and/or hand brake to accomplish hill holding. Driving stick-shift cars, I find this second nature.

I prefer the way the car is currently made, for gas mileage and durability.

My dad talks about "hill holders", something about his 60's or 70's standard having the ability to press the brake and clutch, then release the brake while having the clutch still in and the brake "holds" while you step on the gas and then release the clutch which releases th brake also... suspect that in our sue happy world a feature like this wouldn't make it although I think a Subaru can do a similar thing... not sure how.

In the absense of the hill holder on my E I use a combination of the hand brake, foot brake and gas, helpful when i'm pulling the boat out of the lake as the pressure is on the hand brake not the transmission... also works well on those awkward "T" intersections (like at the end of my road) where you are dodging cars as you try to make a left turn, again, takes the pressure off using the gas to keep you motionless at the expense I assume of heating up the tranny.

I believe the last hill holder brake system I had was in an old studebaker goldenhawk.

As for your car, it is normal for it to roll back on steep inclines when you remove your foot from the brake, you just need to keep this in mind and possibly use a two foot aproach to driving when your on really really severe inclines and have some fool inched up on your cars backside.

The E was developed with a low bottom so that it would flatten the hills as it hopped and bopped bye!

Seriously though all (majority) owners manuals state that one should use brakes to stay in place rather than the gas pedal.

Sounds like you A/T folks are getting a bit of the manual 'experience'.

Believe it or not I really enjoy the art of holding position on a hill with a manual transmission. For real fun try a steep hill on a 700+ lb motorcycle.

My girlfriend's Lexus RX 300 rolls back on a hill too. I think it's a case of "they don't make 'em like they used to".

I don't see what the big deal is. Once you drive a manual, you don't even think about it anymore.

Lemme rephrase that.

Once you drive a real car, you don't even think about it anymore. ;) :)

Yes I agree. Automatics are not nearly as exciting as standards. Especialy when I was trying to teach my girlfriend how to drive a standard in my Element...there was never a dull moment in the ride :shock:

I just noticed the name of the poster asking the question about the hill-holder is "HEMan". :shock:

That's funny as :twisted: !

I think "Einstein" is funnier but then what the heck would I know. I'm an old fuddy duddy who likes hill holders.

Seriously, my wife's Acura does not roll back when stopped on a hill. My Chrysler Van did not roll back when stopped on a hill. All my other experience is with manual tranny so I do have limited experience.

I roll too, my civic did the same thing... I thought something was up but it seems to be normal, it's actually fun to roll back especiall when no one is behind you, you scare the &^@# out of the passenger

i live in san francisco and have NOT noticed my e rolling back on hills