When I’m on a hill and starting from a full stop, when I take my foot off the brake, the car will start to roll backwards (even though I’m in Drive) until I push the accelarator pretty aggressively. I thought automatic transmissions are supposed to “hold their place” on a hill. Is this normal or an indicator of coming transmission problems?
It’s normal. Modern automatics don’t have as much drag as older transmissions did. This saves fuel, but it also allows the vehicle to roll backwards while in gear.
Some vehicles are starting to come with “hill holders” to prevent this.
“Some vehicles are starting to come with ‘hill holders’ to prevent this”.
It’s great to see old ideas return. I remember when the Studebaker offered an optional hill holder. However, the hill holder on the Studebaker was for its vehicles equipped with a standard transmission.
Perfectly normal…
transman
Manual transmission Subarus have come with this feature for many years.
In fact, they even use the exact same name for the feature that Studebaker used!