Ask Honest John

Honest John Ask Honest John » Auto 'box 'HOLD' switch - does it save fuel?
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Auto 'box 'HOLD' switch - does it save fuel?

Does using the 'HOLD' switch on the Subaru Forester's auto gearbox reduce fuel consumption? And is there any downside to using it other than reduced acceleration?

Asked on 6 January 2014 by Anton2

Answered by Honest John
That should lock it in top gear, but obviously this will cause problems on an undulating road. Best only used on relatively flat motorways and dual carriageways.

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide

Real MPG enables you to register the fuel economy you are actually getting against your make and model of car, its engine and type of transmission.

Every time you enter an average consumption figure against your car, the overall average automatically adjusts to reflect it.

Real MPG
Similar questions
I'm looking at possibly getting a new(er) car to replace my Mk2 Volkswagen Golf that averages at about 25mpg. I'm looking for an automatic that gets better mpg (at least 40+) for £2500 or less. Any suggestions?...
Why is fuel consumptions so bad in automatics, compared to the manual versions? It appears to be worse with Kia/Hyundai/Ford, most with dual clutch boxes. VAG group cars and BMWs seem to roughly match...
We are a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers searching for a compact MPV. Prefer petrol automatic as we only do around 8000 miles a year. Thought about Peugeot 5008 but prefer Japanese reliability, but...
Related models
Good compromise between a station wagon and an SUV. Now available with 2.0 litre chain cam 'boxer' diesel engine.