How to drive & park AMT cars on hilly roads & inclines

Some cars with AMT transmission come with hill hold assist. But what about vehicles that don't?

BHPian VPJ74 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A lot of cars with AMT transmission do NOT have Hill Hold. As the AMTs just have a D-N-R shift and don't have "P", how safe is it to drive them or park them on inclines?

Some AMTs have Hill Hold but what about driving AMT cars without this feature on hills? How safe/unsafe is it to rely on the handbrake only?

How reliable would this be after say 3,5 or 7 years of use to rely only on handbrakes for incline parking?

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

In stop-and-go, remember to use the handbrake judiciously (as you would in an MT too), else it will lead to overheating.

Here's what BHPian furyrider had to say about the matter:

An AMT is essentially an MT car with the clutch actuated by an electric/hydraulic actuator instead. While parking on inclines, slot the vehicle into D mode or Reverse (depending on which side of the car is facing the incline), engage the parking brake and switch off the vehicle. The procedure is more or less similar to how we park manuals.

Solely relying on handbrakes while parking on inclines is not recommended for any vehicle - be it an MT or an AMT. We never know when the parking brake might give away on inclines.

Here's what BHPian Kosfactor had to say about the matter:

In general, they are not that kind to your clutch plate. As you pull away from a dead stop, being as gentle as possible with A pedal will help preserve the clutch.

However, remember clutch plate is just that, it can be replaced for not much money and generally won't fail without giving you an adequate warning, rolling back is certainly not a good idea.

I do have to tell you that AMT is far better at this than a newbie driver or someone who has not driven on the hills much. There are places like mall parking exits, for instance, that can give AMT a real workout!

Here's what BHPian wanderernomad had to say about the matter:

I have an old Suzuki Grand Vitara AT and I drive it extensively in the hills. I can count the number of times I had to use the handbrake while going up a slope, on my fingertips. Slot into D and simply keep the brake pedal pressed, lift and the car doesn't roll backwards but moves up as you input the accelerator. No issues ever. The only problem I have faced driving an AT on steep, off-road slopes is that at times the car will come to a complete stop while going up and will take a few seconds before deciding to keep moving up.

Here's what BHPian Gypsian had to say about the matter:

Usually, budget cars are equipped with AMTs. Hence, they may not feature hill hold control and hill descent control systems. Because of this, the car could roll back or forward on hill starts. So, when you start the car after stopping on an incline or a descent, use the hand brake to stop rolling back or forward. Of late, several new generation AMT cars come with technologies like hill hold control and hill descent control.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.