We Buy All Cars, Running or Not!

Hill Start Assist Not Available for Ford: 5 Causes and Solutions

Ford Hill Start Assist Fix

If you're dealing with a Hill Start Assist not available for Ford, then you have one of the following problems:

⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️


  1. A random vehicle errors
  2. A problem with the ABS sensor
  3. An issue with the ESC and TC
  4. Trouble with software
  5. A problem with the brake light

With advanced technologies, manufacturers added great features to help make your drive as convenient as possible. Over the years, Ford has been at the top of the list for convenient cars with great features.

When these features are disabled, the car will complain and show you a warning light on the dashboard indicating that something happened, and a specific feature was deactivated. So, your car needs to confirm whether you've done this purposely or you have an internal problem.

The Hill Start Assist is one of the most common features in many vehicles, including Ford. However, there were a couple of reported complaints from several customers about issues related to the Hill Start Assist not available for Ford.

This article provides you with five common potential causes for the Hill Start Assist not available for Ford. We highly encourage you to review the entire list and confirm that you've resolved all the issues before driving your car without this feature, especially if you need it.


2014 Ford Focus Transmission Problems:

What does the Hill Start Assist mean in Ford?

Before we dive into the details about the issues with Hill Start Assist not available for Ford, we would like to provide you with a general overview of this feature and what it does.

This feature is not only available for Ford. It's available for any other advanced vehicle with certain characteristics to help you drive safely on inclined surfaces.

This feature aims to help you drive on inclined surfaces and go up the hill without any problem. It works with certain sensors and other components inside your vehicle to measure and sense the inclination of any possible service you're driving over. Once your vehicle understands the declination, it will adjust its power and drivability in a way that suits the driving condition, so you don't feel any problems or issues while driving over the hill.

Typically, this Hill Start Assist is enabled unless something happens and disconnects or deactivates it. The good thing is that when the Hill Start Assist is deactivated, your vehicle will show a warning light on the dashboard, letting you know that you're driving without this feature.

You, as a driver, must understand that it's never a good idea to ignore any warning lights on the dashboard. Sometimes these warning lights would be related to optional issues, but in many cases, they can indicate an internal problem that you must take care of immediately.

2017 Ford 1.5 EcoBoost Engine Problems

Hill Start Assist is not available for Ford

Whenever you notice a warning light on the dashboard saying: “Hill Start Assist not available for Ford,” you need to figure out what exactly happened in your car that deactivated this feature. The issue could happen in forward and in any other vehicles equipped with this feature.

Automotive experts did intensive research to figure out what are the main causes for deactivating the Hill Start Assist feature in any vehicle, and they provided us with the following list of five causes:

1-      A random vehicle errors

Many people reported that they see the Hill Start Assist not available for Ford whenever there is a random problem in the car. For example, some of them mentioned that this general message showed up on the dashboard as they left the garage with the hood opened.

In other words, it could be another problem and error in your vehicle. Because of whatever glitch, the car displayed the issue related to the Hill Start Assist not available versus that other error.

Therefore, we highly encourage you to consult your mechanic and help him figure out the cause of the feature is disabled, especially if you have something else in the car.

In that case, you shouldn't be too worried, and you shouldn't be very concerned about any potential major repair costs because you can easily get out of the problem by just addressing the other error in your vehicle.

2-      A problem with the ABS sensor

The other potential reason for deactivating the Hill Start Assist in your Ford is when there is a problem with the ABS sensor or the antilock braking system sensor. Unfortunately, if this sensor is damaged or has a problem, you'll need to install a new one to resolve the issue and activate your Hill Start Assist again.

Check with your mechanic; depending on your vehicle's brand and model year, repair costs can differ. Also, you must consider that labor cost could be a big component, especially if you're going to a dealership, versus having a small mechanic shop fix your vehicle.

3-      An issue with the ESC and TC

Did you know that another common cause for deactivating the Hill Start Assist is when you have important systems turned off? Yes! If Your Electronic Stability Control or ESC and the Traction Control or TC are turned off completely, your vehicle will not behave, and some of the features will be turned off.

One of the common features that a turned-off ESC and TC could impact is your Hill Start Assist. Therefore, you will immediately complain about a Hill Start Assist not being available for Ford.

4-      Trouble with the software

Some more complex problems could deactivate your Hill Start Assist in your Ford. For example, if a problem with the software needs an update, that teacher will not be available.

There were a couple of reported technical service bulletins about similar issues where a software update was needed to enable multiple features, including the Hill Start Assist in Ford.

Therefore, you might want to talk to your mechanic or at least look at some of the published documentation about vehicles like your car in terms of model year and model to figure out whether there is an issue related to the software that needs an update.

Once you confirm that, you can then consult your mechanic and check with them if they have the most up-to-date software so they can look at your vehicle's computer and resolve the issue.

5-      A problem with the brake light

Finally, if your Hill Start Assist is unavailable for your Ford, you might want to check if the breaking lights are working properly. Interestingly, the brake light condition is linked somehow to this feature in your Ford, but that could be the case in many scenarios.

For example, if there is any circuit malfunction around your break lights, you will need to fix them so your Hill Start Assist feature is activated.

2010 Ford F-150 And 5.4L Engine

What to do to reactivate the Hill Start Assist in Ford?

If you're dealing with a situation where you were Hill Start Assist is not available for Ford, you got to figure out what needs to be done so you can activate it back. Let's look at what automotive experts recommend on what you would need to do so this feature is activated back:

1-      Restart the vehicle

Believe it or not, restarting your vehicle can be a simple solution to many problems, especially those related to the vehicle's computer and electronic connections. First, try turning off the car and give it a couple of minutes to cool down and then try restarting it.

Look at the vehicle dashboard and see if the Hill Start Assist not available message is still there. If not, you're done, and that's it! However, if you did it go away, you will need to consult a mechanic or at least go through the list we mentioned earlier to detect the potential Culprit.

2-      Consider rebooting the system

Think about your vehicle computer like your personal computer. A lot of times, you need. It's a very similar case in your vehicle; if you know how it's done, go ahead and reboot the system to help resolve the issue.

However, if you've never done it before, it's better to leave it to professionals so you don't mess up the entire system and cause other troubles in other more important features that could impact your safety.

Yes, it will be more expensive to have a professional do the job for you, but you'll be on the safe side and prevent paying extra money for things that mistakes will introduce.

3-      Turn the feature off and then on

There could be a glitch in the system itself. In other words, have you ever tried turning off the Hill Start Assist feature and then turning it back on? This could help because if something is going on crazy with how the feature communicates with your computer, it might be deactivated, and this could happen at any time.

These solutions are simple ways to figure out whether the problem is related to an internal glitch that you can resolve on your own. However, in many situations, your problem will need a software update or a potential other action from a professional.

Common 2019 Ford F150 Transmission Problems! 

Can I drive with the Hill Start Assist not available for Ford?

In theory, the Hill Start Assist is not needed by every driver. In other words, you can drive your car without this feature turned on. However, because it provides extra safety at the hill start, it's always recommended to keep it activated.

The value of this feature becomes more critical if you continuously drive on certain trains that require specific vehicle behavior, especially if you keep going up hills. However, if you're driving on flat surfaces and the train does not change, you can continue driving when Hill Start Assist is unavailable for Ford.

Remember that most automotive experts recommend immediately taking care of any error codes triggered on the dashboard. So even if you're not using this feature, you must understand why it got deactivated. This becomes critical if it was deactivated because of another error in your car that needs immediate action.

Ford Engine Repair Cost

Final thoughts

The Hill Start Assist is a great feature in any Ford car that has it. It helps you drive over hills without any problems at all.

There were many situations where customers complained about the Hill Start Assist not available for Ford. Luckily, automotive experts could put together a list of five potential culprits for deactivating this feature.

This article walks you through all potential culprits and helps you understand what needs to be done to activate your Hill Start Assist back in case of any internal problems.

Of course, if you're a Ford with many other problems, you can evaluate the repair costs and see if it's worth investing in your car. In other words, if repair costs are piling up and getting to a point where you can't afford it, you better sell this vehicle to another.

Are you looking for someone to buy your Ford? Why don't you reach out to Cash Cars Buyer?!

Cash Cars Buyer is one of the top-rated car removal companies in the nation that guarantees to pay you the top dollars and provide you with free towing despite your living location around the United States.

Our process is very straightforward and doesn't take more than a couple of days to get your car removed safely and for the most money.

All it takes you is to:

  • Describe your car's type and condition
  • Receive our instant free quote
  • Accept the quote
  • Get your car removed and receive your cash payment on the spot!

To learn more about our process and our team, you can reach out to us by calling us at (866) 924-4608 or by visiting our home page click on the free instant online offer.

© 2022 Cash Cars Buyer. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Sitemap