This function is very useful for reducing fatigue while driving, but too few motorists use it.
Those who are used to taking their car every day to travel between home and work know it well: driving is not always a pleasure, particularly in and around large cities where traffic is particularly dense at busy hours. point. Modern cars are much more comfortable to drive than their predecessors with new driving assistance technologies (radar, reversing camera, cruise control/speed limiter, emergency braking assistance, etc.) but there are still none unless driving a car remains nervously tiring.
And for good reason: many drivers do not use, or even do not know, half of the options offered to them by their vehicle. It’s a shame because some of them can greatly improve our driving experience. This is the case of a feature, present on most recent models, which helps the driver to make less effort. Very often located at the center console, next to the electronic handbrake control, a button allows you to brake for us.
This button is identified by the inscription “Auto Hold” (or “Break Hold” on certain models), understand “Automatic brake hold”. This is an intelligent system that automatically keeps the vehicle braking while stationary until the accelerator is pressed to resume driving. The driver can activate and deactivate it as desired.
When activated, with a simple press of the control, the system automatically applies the brakes as soon as the car stops, even if the driver releases the brake pedal. This is particularly useful when traffic is heavy or even congested, which requires you to constantly press the brake. Rather than keeping one foot pressed on the pedal, the system does it for us.
This function can also be very useful in town, where multiple stops at lights are required, but also on slopes. A red light, a STOP or simply slowing down sometimes requires you to pause at the top or bottom of a hill, which can also be the case when exiting an underground car park. By activating “Auto Hold”, there is no need to press the brake or use the handbrake, the system takes care of it for you to keep the car stationary whatever the terrain.
Real driving comfort which, in addition, allows you to save money. By automatically holding the brakes on, the “Auto Hold” feature can help reduce wear on brake system components, resulting in less maintenance and greater system reliability and life.