[turbodude]

Originally Posted by VPJ74

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

We have a Celerio VXi AMT in our family since 6 years. Earlier I used to drive a Nano. I have driven on Mumbai Pune Expressway and Nashik expressway and never felt a need for Hill Hold. You can just use the brake and if incline is high then quickly provide some accelerator input to get it going, once you release the brake.

You can park in D or R, with handbrake. AMT module is operated by battery alone hence without starting engine, you can come back in N by just pressing brake in case you need to move the car without turning on the engine.

I can't say about others but always felt safe while driving in ghats, enjoyed each moment, specially while climbing.

[VPJ74]

Originally Posted by furyrider

...


If you are planning to purchase an AMT, please try to test drive the shortlisted vehicle before you put your money on it. An AMT might not suit everyone. There will be a learning curve if you are using an AMT for the first time. For a jerk-free ride, one has to spend some time with the vehicle in the initial days to understand it's behaviour. Once you are through the learning curve, one will start to appreciate the convenience they offer while getting more or less the same FE as a manual.



Unlike a MT where the gear lever is directly connected to the gear box through a gear rod (a mechanical link), gear shifts in an AMT are taken care of by the ECU which only works when the engine is running. As soon as you turn off an AMT with the gear engaged (in either D, N, R or M modes), the gearbox is locked in the last state it was engaged in - that is to day, if you engage D mode, the ECU slots the vehicle into first gear. As soon as you turnoff the vehicle, the vehicle turns off with the first gear engaged.

Thank you for an excellent explanation.

Even though I have driven stick shifts and automatics extensively on slopes, this nuanced feature of AMT's has been a learning for me.

On a general note, after reading some of the experiences on this thread I feel that one does have be aware of the proper method and careful on slopes when driving AMT. Unfortunately, it seems that the OEM's and dealers do a poor job of sharing and imparting this knowledge to customers before they buy an AMT.

On a personal note, I am know a wee bit wary of AMT's. The car will be shared between the driver(s), wife and myself and I am not sure how much they know about AMT on slopes. Or I might strictly restrict it's usage within flat city limits.

While TD'ing the Glanza AMT, I shifted to the 'Manual" mode and the response was a bit delayed. There is definitely some lag/hesitation in the Maruti AMT in "manual" mode.

[KryptonMonkey]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

According to me, AMT's are just pain, when driving in hills\Inclines.

First time i took it to Kodaikanal, place was full of traffic jams, as another member mentioned had to use brakes and accelerator, Clutch got fried... From that time on, I don't even take it to even Shopping malls due to fear of getting stuck in Ramp and clutch burning out.

I am not comfortable switching legs, left leg for brake and right for the accelerator due to a bad instance, were my brother crashed the car doing this.

If you have the parking brake engaged, you need not fear steep slopes/ramps.
Try the following:

1. When fully stopped, engage the hand-brake. It goes without saying that you should keep a safe distance from the car ahead of you.
2. When you want to move from a standstill, shift the gear lever to D mode and gently press the accelerator to give the engine some gas and increase the revs. To feel more confident, place your hand on the hand-brake but don't engage it until the next step.
3. You'll feel a "tug" with the car indicating that it wants to move forward. At this point gently release the hand-brake, while keeping the foot on the accelerator.
4. Depending on the weight of the car and its occupants, you may modulate the accelerator pedal accordingly. Your car should start to creep up by this time.
5. If you feel like you've accelerated too much, dab the brakes and slow down or stop. The safe distance you maintain to the vehicle ahead of you should leave you with sufficient space for this.

If you don't trust the hand-brake alone, then by all means keep a light foot on the brakes as well when stopped to make you feel comfortable. I have not found this to be necessary while driving my friend's Ignis AMT on inclines though. With time, you'll get comfortable with this maneuver and then you will simply get into auto-pilot mode on ramps with confidence.

Never do the "left leg for brake and right for the accelerator" action. The above steps should have you reasonably well covered in all situations.

[aditya79india]

Originally Posted by Sudipt Dutta

And how do you do steep, long descents. Ride the brakes?!

Just the way you would do in a manual. Shift to M. Downs it to 2 and hold. Use brakes selectively. No difference.

[visakhmv]

Attached is a snip from the new Baleno AMT owners manual. Here the recommended method is to engage in either D, R or M gear while parking and also make sure that the selected gear is shown on the instrument cluster.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

For a normal automatic transmission i.e: torque converter, DCT, CVT etc ; yes, that is as you described. However, OP is asking about AMT specifically which is very different and honestly an inferior type of automatic. It is possible to stall a car with AMT and it is possible to roll backwards in D too, both of which are basically impossible with other types of automatic transmissions. From my experience, a test drive XUV300 with the AMT stalled just trying to get over a speedbump.
.

All ATs will roll back on inclines, some have hill hold but that has its own conditions where it would work and that too for a few seconds before it let's go.

Remember, brakes aren't as effective in reverse , so by the time you realise that the electronic bits have failed you, it could be too late. Always, use hand brake, foot brake etc to 'Hold' the vehicle in place.

[RaviCar]

If you are buying any new vehicle, I believe Hill Hold/Assist is an important feature and you should always go for it. Hill Hold gives to just a second to move your legs from break to accelerator. And that's all you need, it makes you feel a lot more confident and a lot better driver than you really are.

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

I drive an old Suzuki Grand Vitara AT and drive it extensively in the hills.

The Vitara AT has a Hill Hold function, so it should be a breeze.

https://www.carwale.com/maruti-suzuk...%2010.4%20kmpl.

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Maruti's have started offering Hill Hold and ESP in their AMT, which is one the primary reason why I bought Swift after canceling Nios. The latter has smoother AMT but was a bit of struggle for in-experienced drivers in inclines. When I bought, Swift was the cheapest car on sale with ESP, now I believe Wagon R and Celerio get too.

I agree that MSIL has come a long way, new AGS have Hill hold as standard and they felt better than say tata's AMT in general transmission.

[rajivrt]

Originally Posted by KryptonMonkey

[*]You'll feel a "tug" with the car indicating that it wants to move forward. At this point gently release the hand-brake, while keeping the foot on the accelerator.

This is very well written. This thread intrigued me along with the paddle shifters thread before this and got me thinking. I have driven my Crysta 2.8 extensively on hills and steep slopes engaging both the hand brake and paddle shifters, but am wondering how would the hand brake in my new Civic AT behave. The small button to engage and disengage the hand brake is quite different to the manual hand brake lever which gives one a sense of control.

Will try this one and report but the Civic is generally used in city driving (Noida) so it might be a while before I post the experience.

This is indeed a very useful thread for people moving to AMT particularly with almost every brand offering AMT extensively.

[Crankshaft]

I have a 2018 Nexon XMA diesel, while returning back from office in Bangalore rush hour traffic I was on an incline in eco mode. Had to press the break quite a few time to stop as it was crawling speed for about 50 meters and I saw the gearbox warning light turned on. Since the car was moving in the first gear i continue to take it to the left and park. I tries to go to manual and put it back in gear to see if the warning would turn off but as soon as I put it in first gearbox warning came back but the car was moving then I changed to city mode and once the car started moving to 10kms the warning light turned off. Since the warning light turned off I drove back home which was about 3kms far from that spot and dint have any problems.

1. I wanted to know if anyone has faced this issue, I have seen a few videos where the warning light come and the car doesn't move or the is in neutral.
2. Should I go get it checked with Tata?

Thanks

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by Crankshaft

I have a 2018 Nexon XMA diesel, while returning back from office in Bangalore rush hour traffic I was on an incline in eco mode. Had to press the break quite a few time to stop as it was crawling speed for about 50 meters and I saw the gearbox warning light turned on. Since the car was moving in the first gear i continue to take it to the left and park. I tries to go to manual and put it back in gear to see if the warning would turn off but as soon as I put it in first gearbox warning came back but the car was moving then I changed to city mode and once the car started moving to 10kms the warning light turned off. Since the warning light turned off I drove back home which was about 3kms far from that spot and dint have any problems.

1. I wanted to know if anyone has faced this issue, I have seen a few videos where the warning light come and the car doesn't move or the is in neutral.
2. Should I go get it checked with Tata?

Thanks

Let me explain what you did wrong, whenever on an incline, use the handbrake, and put the gear in N neutral, even if you stop for a few seconds, what you did was your action made the clutch heat up (it's called frying the clutch). This holds true for both MT or AT transmission. That's why the warning light up. Once the clutch cooled down, it became normal.

PS: I've the same model and year Nexon, and a AMT Nano.

[Crankshaft]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Let me explain what you did wrong, whenever on an incline, use the handbrake, and put the gear in N neutral, even if you stop for a few seconds, what you did was your action made the clutch heat up (it's called frying the clutch). This holds true for both MT or AT transmission. That's why the warning light up. Once the clutch cooled down, it became normal.

PS: I've the same model and year Nexon, and a AMT Nano.

@Vinod_nair thanks for that insight, and I think if I use the break often after some time, when the car moves it's not as smooth as it usually is and it's jerky in the first gear. I disengage the gear if I have to stop for more than 10-30 secs and use the break.
I think you are bang on with clutch frying as the cause and I should try to avoid it by going back to neutral as soon as I stop.

[VPJ74]

I test drove the Tata Punch AMT this weekend on the steep incline roads at Mt Mary hill and Zig Zag road primarily to test the Punch’s incline handling. AC was on and 2 people in the car.

1. The Punch AMT climbed effortlessly. It’s sluggish but the drive was much smoother than the i10 AMT but obviously not as great at the i20 CVT.

2. The climb was slow but smooth and confident without drama or jerks.

3. I performed some additional tests while on the incline. Firstly I stopped the car, rolled back on reverse and then drove forward again. I parked the car on incline and started again. Finally, did a 3 point turn on the hill.

4. The AMT actually surprised me on its handling and predictability. There is a slight roll when parked on the hill after release of the brake in D. The car did not arrest the down roll on it’s own in D. However, after a little press of the accelerator the car started moving forward and on its way. I also tried engaging half handbrake or rather “one click” like in some German cars to prevent back roll but the Tata guy said that feature is absent. However, a small press of the accelerator got the car moving up followed by the “release handbrake” chime.

5. I ended up doing quite a few manoeuvres and the Punch handled incline quite well for an AMT. Yes there is a learning curve and I’m a bit experienced too but the AMT did not feel confused or jerky. I was quite happy with it.

I feel the key to drive an AMT properly is to imagine it to perform like a Manual not an Automatic, with the advantage of no clutch n hand shifts.
I wish I had shot a video like the Tik-Toc “experts” :-)

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by VPJ74

3. I performed some additional tests while on the incline. Firstly I stopped the car, rolled back on reverse and then drove forward again. I parked the car on incline and started again. Finally, did a 3 point turn on the hill.

Allow me to introduce you to a older topic in our forum.

Mechanical Empathy.

Team BHP Link. (ARTICLE: Mechanical Empathy | Preserving the Car While Driving)

While I have certainly met humans with little to no mechanical empathy, none would torture a clutch plate like an AMT actuator mechanism.

[lokesharo]

I've driven to Mussorie and Kasauli in my 10-month-old Baleno AGS, and on both occasions, the transmission warning light illuminated within 10 minutes of waiting on an incline. To mitigate this issue, I switched to the N mode whenever the car was stationary.

I'm now feeling apprehensive about taking my Baleno to hill stations. Is there any solution to prevent this issue from recurring?

[Vinod_nair]

Originally Posted by lokesharo

I've driven to Mussorie and Kasauli in my 10-month-old Baleno AGS, and on both occasions, the transmission warning light illuminated within 10 minutes of waiting on an incline. To mitigate this issue, I switched to the N mode whenever the car was stationary.

I'm now feeling apprehensive about taking my Baleno to hill stations. Is there any solution to prevent this issue from recurring?

What you were doing was wrong, 10 minutes waiting on an incline, I don't allow my driver's to let my Nexon and Nano AMT to be in gear for more than 5 seconds, whether on a Mall incline or Red light.

You were burning the clutch, make it a habit to put your car on N, I taught my BIL who has the same car as you, and with the stupid start stop function.

With this technique you will never have the CEL issue.