Hill Descent Assist--going uphill

[wuykats]

Just thought I would post about how the HDA works pretty well at speed control. We spent a month in Silverton Colorado this last summer, leading groups, hanging out and enjoying the 50 degree cooler temps than what we would have had back home. So my wife and I were out scouting about for new trails and found an uphill section near Red Mountain Pass, pretty steep, made up of softball to melon sized rock. I was in no hurry so engaged HDA in low gear, low range, I think Jeep has programmed this for .5 mph. The rig just crawled up the climb, very smooth, as one tire would lose traction it would gently apply the brake on that wheel. I was pretty impressed with how smooth the climb was on a pretty rough trail. If you shift up a gear, the speed increases by about 1/2 mph per gear. Normally I would use a bit of left foot braking to smooth out a climb like this, but I have to admit, the electronics work pretty well in this case. Now if they would just get the HVAC controls out of the radio and put control knobs for it back on the dash I would be much happier.

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[ALT2870]

You must have a bare bones vehicle as most do have the physical knobs. I believe you can purchase the panel though and activate it through jscan or similar.

Agree it is nice to use in those situations where you need to be locked in navigating . It's definitely meant to be used in both up or down.