Problems with reversing down an incline

Mupwangle

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May 1, 2025
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Apologies if I'm mentioned this before and for the fact that this question will be somewhat vague. (If I have posted this before, please point me in that direction because there might be a solution I've not read!)

I've had a Leon PHEV from new for 6 months and I've never had the issue I'm going to try and describe. My wife and I do roughly the same number of trips but she does more miles. This has apparently happenedto her dozens of times. I've never seen it as it happens, only afterwards.

We have a short driveway which is on a slight incline downwards towards the road. Mibbe 10 degrees or there abouts. We park the car facing the house.

Not every time, but quite frequently my wife will start the engine, put it in reverse and move her foot off the brake. The car will go back mibbe a metre then stop and go out of gear. She will get a message about roll-away protection and it'll tell her to do something like put her foot on the brake, put it in neutral and engage the parking brake do de-activate it. Not sure exactly of the order of this. She does this and whatever it is doesn't disengage so when she puts it in reverse then releases the brakes the car shifts into neutral and she gets the message again. Eventually, after another few attempts to do whatever it's asking, it goes back into normal and she can select reverse and leave. One time she said it came back on again when she then put it into drive, but that wasn't here so I don't know if there's was any incline.

We can't work out what she's doing differently from me because I've never had the issue. This is a bit difficult to analyse because you are usually on autopilot when you get in the car - you're not paying the slightest attention to exactly what you're doing as it's almost muscle memory. Can't find much online or in the manual that explains this behaviour.

Anyone any ideas what is making this happen? If it's not something that she's actually doing, is there a setting that would affect this that's profile specific? She's not incompetent, this is her first DSG but it's not her first automatic and not even her first PHEV.
 

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It doesnt have an automatic parking brake does it ?. Runaway if it's that is when the automatic parking break doesnt hold it. Some people toggle the automatic parking brake off, just leave mine on automatic. Holds it fine and goes on and off as required.

Then if its an automatic parking brake its the art of getting it to release it smoothly.... probably say no automatic parking brake so its not that. Pass otherwise....
 

Mupwangle

Active Member
May 1, 2025
30
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Auto-hold is on, but that's not showing as activated when it happens - but it's also it's on for me too. As I do, she doesn't touch the auto-hold switch or the parking brake switch, other than when she's trying to get out of whatever this mode is.

One behaviour that does happen to me that may or may not be related - sometimes when I reverse out of the driveway going like 2mph and I touch the brake just slightly, for example I see a car about to pass but it's not close enough to trigger the warnings, the car often puts on the brakes and comes to a complete stop, but going onto the accelerator makes it move again. I'd not hit the brakes hard enough to come to a halt, but the car decided to. Part of me thinks that this is the same thing, but for some reason it's not allowing her to move on after.

I'm not a luddite (I work in IT) but I genuinely think that new cars should be more dumber. There's stuff that's pretty cool - matrix headlights, for example. Drove the other night on motorways, a roads and b roads with full beam on all the way and not a single person flashed me. I remember when I first got a Skoda with automatic LED lights and was flashed by everyone as they were awful, but these little things are just annoying.
 

James_R

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Do you both wear your seat belt the second you get in the car or does your wife put it on once she's finished reversing off your drive?
 

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Auto-hold is on, but that's not showing as activated when it happens - but it's also it's on for me too. As I do, she doesn't touch the auto-hold switch or the parking brake switch, other than when she's trying to get out of whatever this mode is.

One behaviour that does happen to me that may or may not be related - sometimes when I reverse out of the driveway going like 2mph and I touch the brake just slightly, for example I see a car about to pass but it's not close enough to trigger the warnings, the car often puts on the brakes and comes to a complete stop, but going onto the accelerator makes it move again. I'd not hit the brakes hard enough to come to a halt, but the car decided to. Part of me thinks that this is the same thing, but for some reason it's not allowing her to move on after.

I'm not a luddite (I work in IT) but I genuinely think that new cars should be more dumber. There's stuff that's pretty cool - matrix headlights, for example. Drove the other night on motorways, a roads and b roads with full beam on all the way and not a single person flashed me. I remember when I first got a Skoda with automatic LED lights and was flashed by everyone as they were awful, but these little things are just annoying.
I'm sleeping on that reply. Autohold doesnt come on if you are still gently moving (creep). You might creep, whilst the wife stops it then it messes about getting it off hold or something like that. Creep v complete stop ?.
 

Yern

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Apr 25, 2019
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I'm sure the roll away protection feature can be switched off in the infotainment system? I think I turned mine off due to manoeuvring issues and the parking brake engaging. I'll check tomorrow.
 

Mupwangle

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May 1, 2025
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I don't know? It's really weird.

I've asked her to really make an effort to note every single action rather than go on autopilot - check every button pushed, every pedal moved - to try it using my profile rather than hers.

I thought the auto-roll protection was something to stop the car rolling away that you needed to disable to get towed, but I may be wrong.
 

Mupwangle

Active Member
May 1, 2025
30
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@Yern - check if it's a profile setting or a global car setting.

It also might be one of those ones that switches itself back on, like lane departure warning.
 
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Otherwise called hill start ?. Ive got that.

Musing on how autohold comes on and DSG creep. It is possible to lightly press the break peddle to bring it to a stop least on the Ateca, without putting the auto parking break on. Suspect its how the brake is being jabbed. A good press and the auto hold comes on, then you will be into getting it off auto hold and that is when the roll back will come in, the old biting point in manual car terms.

Thus I reckon you are reversing out keeping it in automatic creep mode so you arent having to defeat the automatic handbrake and any roll back which it clamps up on, the wife is getting the auto hand brake applied then the run back whilst its taking it off. The Ateca hill start works fine, might be how the cars set up... or not.
 

Yern

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Apr 25, 2019
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I thought I had turned it off...which worked for me (manual gearbox). Go to Vehicle/Exterior/Brakes. Worth a try?

20251007_103507.jpg
 

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Probably those with trailers have it off if hooking up. On a hill you want it to roll back till you hitch up. It fixes the biting point issue when using auto hold if you want to roll back. Anyhow I have everything on auto on the Ateca.

Had a dreadful French hire car once which would roll back. Manual gear box and auto hold dont go together. That one autohold off and it charged back towards the nearest wall. I ended up blocking it up when we turned to get out of the hotel each day. Like caravaning 🚐.
The blocking up trick 😂.
 

Mupwangle

Active Member
May 1, 2025
30
6
Otherwise called hill start ?. Ive got that.

Musing on how autohold comes on and DSG creep. It is possible to lightly press the break peddle to bring it to a stop least on the Ateca, without putting the auto parking break on. Suspect its how the brake is being jabbed. A good press and the auto hold comes on, then you will be into getting it off auto hold and that is when the roll back will come in, the old biting point in manual car terms.

Thus I reckon you are reversing out keeping it in automatic creep mode so you arent having to defeat the automatic handbrake and any roll back which it clamps up on, the wife is getting the auto hand brake applied then the run back whilst its taking it off. The Ateca hill start works fine, might be how the cars set up... or not.
That might be what's making it stop for me, but the other issue isn't that as it's taking it out of gear.
 

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That might be what's making it stop for me, but the other issue isn't that as it's taking it out of gear.
Taking it out of gear I was putting down to weird behaviour. If its doing that its a fault unless other people say yes mine does that. Mind you taking it out of gear on a DSG is dropping gears which youd expect if stopped. Could be pesky MQB Evo stuff which I dont get.
 

Mupwangle

Active Member
May 1, 2025
30
6
Ta - I'll give that a try.
So on mine you don't get an on/off for that one. You get an option for it to ask every time you go into N, which is off for both of us, and a deactivate now option which brings up the message she was getting which is to press the brake, go into neutral and release the handbrake. When you do that it allows you to switch it off but then warns that it's only valid until you next start the car.

I've just moved up and down the drive about 20 times under both profiles trying various things and I can't get it to do it.
 
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So on mine you don't get an on/off for that one. You get an option for it to ask every time you go into N, which is off for both of us, and a deactivate now option which brings up the message she was getting which is to press the brake, go into neutral and release the handbrake. When you do that it allows you to switch it off but then warns that it's only valid until you next start the car.

I've just moved up and down the drive about 20 times under both profiles trying various things and I can't get it to do it.
Thats your NCAP MQB Evo stuff where they make it difficult to switch off safety features. Not being able to reverse easily must be a new safety feature. Frustrating drivers before they start may not be.

Might still come down to being light footed on the brake to avoid the autohold if it's a like for like comparison but with different drivers.