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What to expect with Hill Descent?

taintedsaint

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Owned my Gladdy about 4 months. done some moderate wheeling. Last Jeep was '97 TJ so lots different. What should I expect to feel/hear using hill descent? I ask because this afternoon I went to back of my property with a fairly steep hill to test it. Got into 4Lo, pressed hill descent and start rolling forward. I could hear/feel a kinda grip/grind in front of jeep like brakes were being applied? Is that essentially how it works?

Thanks for explaining things to an old 'newbie'.
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Kevin_D

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The Gladiator does not HAVE a, "Hill Descent," mode.
It has the Selec-Speed Control , which is kind of a low speed cruise control.
And yes, the noises you mentioned are normal.
There's more information in your Owner's Manual, or a search here will find more threads about it.
I'll get you started...
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/anyone-use-this-button.44752

Kevin
 
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CerOf

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It is a hill descent control of sorts, same essential thing.

It will sound like your brakes and axles are grinding and breaking apart.

It is disconcerting the first few times. It is reall cool and works well going up and down.

For me, it shined going down long shelf roads in CO.
 

Kevin_D

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It is a hill descent control of sorts, same essential thing.

It will sound like your brakes and axles are grinding and breaking apart.

It is disconcerting the first few times. It is reall cool and works well going up and down.

For me, it shined going down long shelf roads in CO.
I find that Selec-Speed Control (SSC) is much more useful than a Hill Descent mode.
The one time I used Hill Descent, in a Toyota, it worked for going slowly down a steep grade, but it didn't do squat on the flat or up a grade.

Kevin
 

CerOf

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I find that Selec-Speed Control (SSC) is much more useful than a Hill Descent mode.
The one time I used Hill Descent, in a Toyota, it worked for going slowly down a steep grade, but it didn't do squat on the flat or up a grade.

Kevin
You are totally right. Hill descent doesn’t do squat going up.
 

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ShadowsPapa

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???

Jeep Gladiator What to expect with Hill Descent? hill-descent
 

ShadowsPapa

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OK, remove the suspense...
Where did you find THAT?

Kevin
In this -

Jeep Gladiator What to expect with Hill Descent? owner-manual


I saw what you wrote about the JT not having it - but was sure I'd read something about it in the owner manual. So I did a search and found that bit. However, that's the only place the word "descent" is present in the book!
I thought - I KNOW I'd read about it when reading about what they say about towing and manually shifting - and sure enough, there it was. But that's the only instance.
So - either it was supposed to have it and they ended up not putting it in the truck - or whatever.
 

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this is the best explanation i’ve seen. it’s not in my manual
 

sass JT

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I love pressing the select speed button and slapping it into manual mode on my automatic. Take foot off brake and it’s low speed crawl control… you think it’s too slow go to a higher gear, too fast drop a gear… the thing that pisses me off is that if you take off your seatbelt, it stops working… thank jeep for making me safe … smh… I’ll be buying seatbelt eliminators just for wheeling… cause I like to ghost ride the whip.
 

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Kevin_D

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In this -

Jeep Gladiator What to expect with Hill Descent? owner-manual


I saw what you wrote about the JT not having it - but was sure I'd read something about it in the owner manual. So I did a search and found that bit. However, that's the only place the word "descent" is present in the book!
I thought - I KNOW I'd read about it when reading about what they say about towing and manually shifting - and sure enough, there it was. But that's the only instance.
So - either it was supposed to have it and they ended up not putting it in the truck - or whatever.
Newer versions of the manual don't mention it.
Probably a misprint.

Kevin
 

CerOf

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Definitely a misprint. My gladiator only has selec speed control
 

JoseQ_80

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This is another good explanation of it:



Every time I have been off road so far I have taught people that didn't know what that button did and were very glad they learned about it and used it.

I also tell them to expect lots of noises when it is working and not to worry about it.

It makes you look like a much better wheeler than you are!
 

brianinca

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The Toyota Tacoma TRD with its Crawl Control magic is why we have the Speed Select in the Gladiator. It was described as off-road cruise control at the Jeep Adventure Academy (late 2020), and the instructors emphasized it because it's NOT widely understood. Clearly the marketing and sales people don't really understand it either. My wife was really proud she already knew about it and didn't stress from the weird noises.

Tying it in more to crawl control than cruise control helps understand it better. Keeping a constant speed isn't why it makes all the noise, rather keeping a constant speed OVER ANY and ALL obstacles is the key element. The brains of the truck are using the brakes and traction control sensors in addition to all the mechanical components of the drivetrain in concert to get over or through obstacles off-road.

The 1st / 2nd / 3rd etc speed increments with the transmission in manual mode is where the "cruise control" comes in, .6 MPH for Rubicons because of the 4:1 case and higher for other JT's, but it maintains that going up/down/around any obstacle, finding traction where there isn't any to keep that speed up. You steer and read the trail, that's it.

One of the great things about new Jeeps is how mechanically capable they are, and how much you can do with that as the driver. The Speed Select function is a reminder that jeep can do all that electronic wizardy stuff, too, and get you out of the occasional situation you might not be able to get out of yourself.

Owned my Gladdy about 4 months. done some moderate wheeling. Last Jeep was '97 TJ so lots different. What should I expect to feel/hear using hill descent? I ask because this afternoon I went to back of my property with a fairly steep hill to test it. Got into 4Lo, pressed hill descent and start rolling forward. I could hear/feel a kinda grip/grind in front of jeep like brakes were being applied? Is that essentially how it works?

Thanks for explaining things to an old 'newbie'.
 

ShadowsPapa

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Newer versions of the manual don't mention it.
Probably a misprint.

Kevin
Yes, otherwise there'd be a section on it. Could be they planned on calling the other feature by a different name, could be they at one point considered such a feature. Since it's so very specific, it's not just a typo - makes one wonder what the intent might have been. In the end, what we got is great so it doesn't matter.
That's also not the original version of the 2020 manual so they left it in there through a few revs.
Anyway, just found it interesting that the very specific wording even existed in there.

It sort of proves that one should always go by the latest version that applies to their model year truck. Keep current. Mistakes in books happen.
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