Video: Chevy Silverado’s Hill Descent Control System at Work
General Motors has offered a neat little feature called “Hill Descent Control System” in various vehicles for a couple of years now. But what exactly does it do?
Show this feature to your grandpa, or even your dad, and immediately they’ll tell you how we have it so easy nowadays with these electronic driving aids, followed by a, “back in my day we used to throw it into low gear and cook up the brakes.” And they’d most likely be right. Still, it’s the year 2016 and vehicles’s electronics are intended to keep us from doing dumb things. Including overspending down a rocky hill and crashing into a tree.
The Hill Descent Control System available in the Chevy Silverado equipped with the Z-71 off road package, (also available in the Tahoe, Suburban, etc.) is what’s being featured in this video by @DrivesWGirls.
I won’t spoil the short video for you, but overall, the system works by employing the use of ABS and wheel speed sensors found in each wheel. Once the computer analyzes what the truck’s incline and pitch angles are, it’ll manage each wheel’s slip control separate from the rest. The driver is able to set the descend speed via the steering wheel-mounted buttons up to a maximum of 3 mph or so. This features comes in extra handy when dealing with slippery or rocky hills.
It may take a little longer to get down the hill, but at least you and your truck will arrive in one piece!