A blue Ford truck using Hill Descent Control on a white hill

How to use Hill Descent Control ™ in your Ford

Text and video guide for how to use the Hill Descent Control feature in your Ford truck 

Your Ford truck comes with many fun and useful features to give you a whole new driving experience. With new experience comes new things to learn. Below, we offer two guides for how to use Hill Descent Control in your Ford pickup.  



What is Hill Descent Control in Ford vehicles? 

First of all, you need to know when to use this feature, which means you need to know what it can do for you. Hill Descent Control helps your vehicle maintain a set speed as you drive downhill on an incline. So, you can use this feature when driving downhill. 

This is especially useful for off-road driving, where the ground can be uneven, and gaining speed on a slope can be dangerous. Hill Descent Control helps you maintain control in tricky situations. If that sounds like something you would use, continue reading for a quick guide. 

How to start using the Hill Descent Control in your Ford vehicle 

If your Ford vehicle is equipped with Hill Descent Control, then using it will be easy. The first thing you need to do is press the hill descent control button in your Ford vehicle. This is located above the display screen on your center console.  

Once you press the button, you’ll see a light appear and a chime will sound. These let you know that the feature successfully activated. At this point, you can accelerate or decelerate to your desired speed as you normally would when driving. Removing your foot from the peddle tells the system to maintain the speed that you are at.  

How does Hill Descent Control work in a Ford vehicle? 

Once you have activated Hill Descent Control, it will use your vehicle’s brake control system to monitor your speed. You get to choose the speed that it will not exceed, sort of like cruise control. It allows you to focus on steering as it handles the difficult stuff. 

How fast can the Hill Descent Control go? 

Your Ford vehicle will travel between two and twenty mph when using Hill Descent Control. This helps you descend slowly. If you exceed this speed when setting a speed for Hill Descent Control, the system will no longer be able to maintain your set speed. However, the system will remain active up to forty mph. You can change the speed whenever you wish, using the normal methods.  


Hill Descent Control ™ | Ford How-To| Ford video by Ford Motor Company 

If you prefer a visual guide over a text guide, then you are in luck. Ford Motor Company created this how-to video to teach you how to use Hill Descent Control in your Ford vehicle. This two minutes video is easy to follow along with and holds the same information that we provide above.