PWR HOLD usage

[jessef]

I drove with HOLD on permanently for a month and it's very smooth. I didn't notice any change in fuel economy. Just smooth starting and lowers unnecessary upshifting.

I did notice a difference in heat (trans temp gauge) with starting from a dead stop up a steep hill compared to the normal trans mode.

Because I live and drive in an area with hills, I chose to use the normal trans mode instead of HOLD mode. If I lived in Richmond or a relatively flat area where I would be driving for the most part, I would leave it in HOLD mode.

[tonydca]

The UK link suggests that the ONLY thing it does it make you start off in 2nd gear (which could be achieved equally well by simply selecting 2nd on the shifter).

Only with a manual transmission. By selecting 2 on an auto you still pull out in 1st.

I have to disagree; this feature is on my Auto tranny L400; HOLD definitely seems to pull away in 2nd gear.

From what I can tell it also seems to lower the shift points, rather than just selecting 2 on the column.

And for the record, the column shifter overrides the HOLD button for 1st gear (i.e. with the switch in HOLD and you select 1st on the column shifter, it will pull away in 1st instead)