From the MBUSA website...

Does the GL have this 'hold' feature? I thought they were available only in sedans.

I tried this 'feature' today, but couldn't make it work...

 

It has Hill Start Assist, but HOLD feature is different and GL does not have it.

 

They do. At last mine does (320). Stop at a steep incline. Hold the brake while in drive. Let go off the brake. The truck stays put then in few seconds you hear the clunk of the brakes releasing and the truck starts to roll back. The hold is not as long as it is on some other vehicles, but it is there. Next time I have to pay more attention to see how long it actually is.

 

This is not HOLD, this is Hill Start Assist. HOLD is NOT AVAILABLE on the X164, but will be on the new GL, the X166 coming soon.
HOLD is when if you're at a red light, even not on an incline, you press in the brake pedal all the way until "HOLD" appears in the instrument cluster. Then, you can take your foot of the brake for as long as you want, while the brakes are on and the brakes are illuminated. When the light turns green, simply step on the accelerator. Hill Start Assist just retains the brake pressure in the wheels for inclines so you don't roll back.

 

Ah. I see. Did not know that. I thought hold was when th vehicle does not roll back.

Thank you for the clarification. I did not even know that such thing existed

 

Too bad.. this feature would have been a killer on the X164.....

 

Wouldn't this increase the opportunity for human error? I can see people letting the car run and stepping out when in gear. Even with audible signals on the door, the likelihood for accident increases. Of course, the gas would have to be depressed for the car to move but still. Especially as the car ages... I can see this becoming an issue. And for what? To have the ability to remove your foot from the brake pedal when on a two minute red light?
I don't see the need.

 

There is no any issues with that. As soon as you open the driver's door - a car shifts to parking.

 

The "hill start assist" feature even works in reverese. It's great when backing a trailer up a hill.
I'm not sure I understand why you would want a feature to hold the brakes indefinetly. Is it really so hard to hold the brake pedal at a stop light for a minute? If not put it in park.

 

That sounds better. I still think that it is a BS feature. Too much pain for very little gain. It's not the same as with the gas pedal for example where you are forced to keep your foot on it for hours if cruise control is not available. I can definately see the need for cruise control.

 

Much more useful with a manual transmission, try driving a low torque Porsche in San Francisco.

 

Brake HOLD is actually a great help for me. The stoplight on my always crowded freeway exit is reaalllyyy long and I'm afraid that if I put my car in Park, its going to take FOREVER for me to put the car in drive and step on the accelerator before the guy behind me honks. If you don't understand why someone would want Brake HOLD, let me explain. It gives the driver a break at stoplights by allowing them to relax their feet and keeps the brake lights illuminated so the people behind you don't creep up on you thinking that you're driving forward. Oh, and you can take off quicker. Rather than taking your foot slowly off the brake and onto the accelerator, I keep my feet ready on the accelerator pedal since the brakes are engaged. It's a VERY USEFUL feature for me and thats just on my E. I wish my GL and S had this feature, but oh well.