You and me both, seems that 'polite' driving is being replaced by selfish driving...
Hold Assist and brake lights
- Thread starter h5djr
- Start date
I slowly start to think that h5djr is working on a guide to all Audi dealers in England, and 1001 questions you can ask them.
Haha. This thread is funny. I think, if people are 'offended' by my use of my brake lights when stationary, then they shouldn't stop so close to me, and they shouldn't look into my brake lights. In fact, maybe it will stop people sitting right up my ar5e.
I might complain to the Highways Agency/council or whoever it is and tell them to turn the red traffic light off when I'm stationary behind it. How dare they shine a red light at me. I am deeply offended.
Oh and I probably shouldn't say this, but I even turn my all-weather lights on, in the dark, when the weather conditions are fine. And I've now found a way to disable my headlight washers. Oooohhhh what a selfish and offensive driver I am.
I might complain to the Highways Agency/council or whoever it is and tell them to turn the red traffic light off when I'm stationary behind it. How dare they shine a red light at me. I am deeply offended.
Oh and I probably shouldn't say this, but I even turn my all-weather lights on, in the dark, when the weather conditions are fine. And I've now found a way to disable my headlight washers. Oooohhhh what a selfish and offensive driver I am.
Haha. This thread is funny. I think, if people are 'offended' by my use of my brake lights when stationary, then they shouldn't stop so close to me, and they shouldn't look into my brake lights. In fact, maybe it will stop people sitting right up my ar5e.
I might complain to the Highways Agency/council or whoever it is and tell them to turn the red traffic light off when I'm stationary behind it. How dare they shine a red light at me. I am deeply offended.
Oh and I probably shouldn't say this, but I even turn my all-weather lights on, in the dark, when the weather conditions are fine. And I've now found a way to disable my headlight washers. Oooohhhh what a selfish and offensive driver I am.
You didn't used to drive a BMW by any chance!
I think being 'right up Scott's ar5e' is the last place I'd want to be...
Haha! No, I didn't. I had a Golf GTI, and before that, a 8P3.
Have you ever thought about a Skoda? :icon_thumright:
That's a shame, I thought we were getting on really well
I don't find brake lights a big problem if you're in a street lit area but if stopped at lights without street lighting they are very bright compared to everything else. As for not looking at them, you can hardly not when stopped in traffic as they fill the whole forward view.
I agree it's more of a problem when you're in an area with no street lights. High level brake lights are often more of a problem than the normal brake lights. Traffic lights are specificly design not to produce glare.
Really? I find some of the latest LED traffic lights are awful. But then I just look away from them. Problem solved.
In town latest street lights really dazzle... just try driving west on the M4 near Swindon and the street lights to your right (North) are terrible.
I have no problems with cars in front of me braking.. it actually means something to realise someone is stopped or stopping. BUT as this is about hold assist all I would recommend is .. if you haven't had it any comments are presumably based on prejudice or pre-conceptions.. I remember when my old Dad first had a car with a heater people saying they would never catch on.... move on or stay in is my motto ;-)
I have no problems with cars in front of me braking.. it actually means something to realise someone is stopped or stopping. BUT as this is about hold assist all I would recommend is .. if you haven't had it any comments are presumably based on prejudice or pre-conceptions.. I remember when my old Dad first had a car with a heater people saying they would never catch on.... move on or stay in is my motto ;-)
The thread is actually about the 'Hold Assist and brake lights'. I've no doubt that many people find Hold Assist is very useful but it's the fact that it keeps the brake lights on that slightly bothers me. I will almost certainly add it to my options list and then I can choose if I want to use it on a regular basis or just continue to use the parking brake.
Hold assist on A7 and A5 did not involve brake lights which as posted tend to come on when you press the pedal on the left (or middle on M6 versions)
To be candid I am neither worried nor concerned either way!
To be candid I am neither worried nor concerned either way!
Not me Scott, I've looked at the opposition but have never owned one. Logically there will be many ex BMW drivers with Audis as they are now IMHO a better product .
My comment about not caring is solely about the relationship between hold assist and brake lights which seems to be of great concern to some on here.
My comment about not caring is solely about the relationship between hold assist and brake lights which seems to be of great concern to some on here.
Itguy
Registered User
How did we get to a 56 post thread on this subject!?!
Yes be brake lights are bright, yes it looks as though they stay on with hold assist, however I'd prefer it to do this having been rear ended by someone before when I was stationary and they hit us at 30mph writing our car off, who said "I didn't realise you were stopped".
I now always keep my foot on the brake when stopped anyway, plus having had lots of autos I tend not to use the handbrake and just hold it on the brake before going.
Yes be brake lights are bright, yes it looks as though they stay on with hold assist, however I'd prefer it to do this having been rear ended by someone before when I was stationary and they hit us at 30mph writing our car off, who said "I didn't realise you were stopped".
I now always keep my foot on the brake when stopped anyway, plus having had lots of autos I tend not to use the handbrake and just hold it on the brake before going.
The lights will come on because you've applied the brake to instigate it. How long they stay on is down to Audi's timer setting and whatever they deemed as acceptable during testing/design. I had Hill Hold Assist on a Passat and I think it takes a couple of minutes to switch to handbrake. Something you knew was happening, as the brake pedal would go soft and depress if your foot was still on it.
I think historically the reason for applying the handbrake was to stop the car shunting forward in the event of being hit from behind, as your foot will come off the pedal (or rather the car and pedal will come forward and out from under your foot).
I think historically the reason for applying the handbrake was to stop the car shunting forward in the event of being hit from behind, as your foot will come off the pedal (or rather the car and pedal will come forward and out from under your foot).
Well we all seemed to be able to cope fine without the brake lights coming on with hold assist. To suggest that without it you are more likely to be at risk of being 'rear ended' is pure tosh and theatrical. I have been driving since I was 17, without hold assist, and never once has a car been driven into the rear of mine and never once have I driven into the rear of one. To suggest that the hold assist is some safety feature is pure fantasy...
Well Audi clearly see it as a safety feature... Listed under A3 -AUDI Safety
Hill hold assist â Audi A3 - Audi UK
Hold assist on steep upward and downward slopes
The Audi Hill hold assist system provides hill start assistance and the ability to drive off both upward and downward slopes without rolling.
How Audi hill hold assist works
Activated via a button next to the electromechanical parking brake, Audi Hill hold assist takes over when the vehicle is below crawling speed, or when it detects your vehicle is at a standstill.
The system then stops your vehicle and holds it in a stationary position until you drive away.
If the vehicle stays stationary, the electromechanical parking brake is automatically activated. However, when the system is in operation you can still drive away without releasing the parking brake.
Youâll be able to see that hill hold assist has been activated via your instrument display.
The Audi Hill hold assist is particularly useful for those using a trailer towing hitch.
Hill hold assist â Audi A3 - Audi UK
Hold assist on steep upward and downward slopes
The Audi Hill hold assist system provides hill start assistance and the ability to drive off both upward and downward slopes without rolling.
How Audi hill hold assist works
Activated via a button next to the electromechanical parking brake, Audi Hill hold assist takes over when the vehicle is below crawling speed, or when it detects your vehicle is at a standstill.
The system then stops your vehicle and holds it in a stationary position until you drive away.
If the vehicle stays stationary, the electromechanical parking brake is automatically activated. However, when the system is in operation you can still drive away without releasing the parking brake.
Youâll be able to see that hill hold assist has been activated via your instrument display.
The Audi Hill hold assist is particularly useful for those using a trailer towing hitch.
If you read my post you would have seen that I am referring to the brake lights coming on with hold assist and not hold assist itself. Having said that we all managed quite well without it using the 'analogue' method of keeping the car stationary,, ie. the handbrake...
This is what you posted hence my comment !! I for one am very happy for my brake lights to be on when I am stationary and it has zilch (polite word) all to do with being selfish.
I agree that it is a good idea to keep your brake lights on when you are the last car in a queue. As soon as another car becomes the last car in the queue I do whatever is necessary to make my brake lights go out. If I'm stopped for some reason on a fast road or motorway I tend to 'flash' my brake lights to indicate that I'm stopped in a place where you would not usually stop, until the next car stops behind me.
I have been parked at a set of traffic lights in Germany and been rear-ended by a car hitting me a over 40mph. I was even 'flashing' my brake lights at the time but I could see in my rear-view mirror that the young lady driving the car was too busy looking sideways at her passenger to notice. Because I had my handbrake on the damage to the car in front was minimal. My 2 year old Audi 80 was a write-off. That was an unlucky car as it had already been rear-ended when it was parked. IT was badly damaged by an American serviceman who had only just arrived in this country and forgot that, to avoid a car that he spotted at the last minute, he needed to move to the Right rather than his normal Left! The car had to be taken to the dealers on a trailer.
As far as the number of posts in this thread is concerned, I always thought that was what a forum was all about - talking to other people. If anyone is no longer interested in a particular thread no one is forcing them to read it.
As for me preparing a book "100 things to ask a dealer". If I was to write one it will probably be called "100 things to TELL your dealer" as I find with all the research I do I know a lot more about the cars than some dealers sales staff as I'm sure do a lot of the members of ASN. To some of the sales staff the cars are just part of a job, to others and members of ASN they are an interest and a hobby. The comment has be made to me by sales staff a number of times "You certainly know your A3s".
This thread has a clear title "Hold Assist and brake lights". Personally I am not disputing the merits of Hold Assist or even Hill hold for that matter but the relationship between Hold Assist and the A3s brake lights. If you find that boring don't look in to this thread.
This is a general post and not aimed at 'Itguy' in any way and who's opinion I respect.
And yet if you look just 3 posts above, you'll see someone who has experienced exactly this! So not fantasy at all.
Not that statistically accurate is it. Surely having brake lights on isn't that big a deal if you are braking or stationary ... or maybe it is to some...
I just want to be able to turn mine off when hold assist is on, shouldn't be too much to ask should it as it isn't a legal requirement at all. I think that is fair enough...
If you have one of the new BMW with the auto boxes you have to put your brake on to get the stop start to work in traffic. Also to keep putting it in "N" and then back to drive is a fiddly job with the BMW gear stick. So not surprised the Audi system is similar.
So if you are very stuck behind me in my company BMW I will blind you with my rear LED lights. Sorry.
So if you are very stuck behind me in my company BMW I will blind you with my rear LED lights. Sorry.
The only way I have found to turn off the brake lights with Hold Assist on is to manually flick on the handbrake button. This does not disable Hold Assist as it will activate again automatically when you next stop the car (albeit with brake lights on again).
John.
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As far as understand if you stop and Start/Stop cuts in and Hold Assist is holding the car the brake lights will be on as well BUT according to the Owner's Manual (p95) "In certain circumstances, the hold assist transfers the job of holding the vehicle to the parking brake. As soon as the parking brake is holding the vehicle still, the 'P' symbol appears in the instrument cluster" as it would if you had applied the parking brake. There is no indication of what the 'circumstances' might be but personally I think it may be if you are stopped for quite a long period, for example at a level crossing when there are several trains passing. I will keep an eye on mine and see if this is the case.
It is nice with my new 8V s-tronic that the hold assist means I no longer have to keep my foot on the brake to stop the engine starting again. As soon as I can move again I just need to press the throttle and away.
I've never had the parking brake get applied after hold assist has been on for a while, even after waiting a long time.
Never seen mine do this in the 7 months I have had it. It's either handbrake symbol in green (Hold Assist engaged) or same symbol in red (handbrake engaged). The only time I see the symbol in red is:
Engine ignition turned on ie initial start
When I have applied it manually
Ignition turned off.
Agreed!
John.
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no one ever found the answer or replied back with how many seconds or minutes after the parking break applies itself thus brake light going off.
I don't think anyone has waited that long. We're not talking seconds here....
Feel free to try it and post back on the forum.
John.
Feel free to try it and post back on the forum.
John.
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I have actually been through VCDS looking for a way to switch off the brake lights that activate when HHA is holding the brakes on.
In my last Audi, I was bashed in the backend when I was stationary in a queue of traffic.
While the lady that drove into me admitted full liability and there was no question of blame, she said that my brake lights were so bright she was dazzled and could not see me properly!
Seems like a lose lose situation!!!
In my last Audi, I was bashed in the backend when I was stationary in a queue of traffic.
While the lady that drove into me admitted full liability and there was no question of blame, she said that my brake lights were so bright she was dazzled and could not see me properly!
Seems like a lose lose situation!!!
I don't think you should do that. Hold assist is to replace the foot brake, not the parking brake.
It's safest to have the brake lights lit so drivers behind (idiots excepted) can see you have/are stopped.
To avoid blinding stationary cars behind you, flick the parking brake which should switch off the brake lights.
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@leosayer1 agreed.
However, I am the first to moan about auto drivers that sit at traffic lights with their foot on the brake blinding the poor guy behind.
Now, with HHA I am doing the same as they are, admittedly its laziness on my part.
However, I am the first to moan about auto drivers that sit at traffic lights with their foot on the brake blinding the poor guy behind.
Now, with HHA I am doing the same as they are, admittedly its laziness on my part.
Looks like either the driver or the car weren't in a fit shape to be on the road.
The lady driver I mean
