Parking brake vs hill hold

[Lizard_Of_Bodom]

Hi
Does anybody know the technical differences between parking brake and hill hold system? Im guessing parking brake works by locking the rear wheels using rear pads that are electrically winded towards rear disc? But then hill hold system feels like its using hydraulic system from main brake so it probably works on both axles using hydraulic pressure, would that be correct?
Im asking more out of own curiosity rather than actual need, its wife's car and I rarely drive it but my own car doenst have any of that features hence im curious. Also was wondering if constantly driving off with e-parking brake engaged (using auto-release) doesnt really put more strain to system and components? Cant figure if its a "prevent damage" feature or was designed that way so users dont need to bother releasing brake manually. It somehow feel "right" to me to release it myself when moving on.
any thoughts?
cheers

2016, J11a, 1.5D, manual gearbox

[MikeGC]

If you sit with auto hold brakes on for long enough you can see the system change to apply the handbrake. It seems quite clear that the auto hold is using the hydraulic brake system and that switches to the electronic handbrake after a fixed time.
I was under the impression that hill assist only lasted for a finite number of seconds (10 ?) and there’s a chance of rolling back on a decent hill.

Your overall point raises some interesting discussion points

[Lizard_Of_Bodom]

....
I was under the impression that hill assist only lasted for a finite number of seconds (10 ?) and there’s a chance of rolling back on a decent hill.
...

Uh, interesting, gonna test it today - never noticed that before but with my way of driving i wouldnt stay mid-hill with 1st gear and clutch, only use autohold for like 1 second when moving.
Did some unsciuentific research and seem that lots of my work colleagues with more modern cars (read: with electric parking brake) dont bother disengaging it aswell as "car will does it automatically". It still doesnt answer my question though is it "by design" or its just programmed protection from driving away with it so car disengage it to prevent damage. Im probably the only one around here to even think about it but thats just my nature

[Nickcc]

My previous car had the electronic handbrake with the dreadful electronic gearbox. Unfortunately it didn’t have hill start so without using the electronic handbrake it would happily roll back unlike traditional automatics with torque converter. I’m hoping my new second hand Qashqai with CVT transmission will have hill start, I’ll find out tomorrow when I pick it up.

[Qashowner]

My previous car had the electronic handbrake with the dreadful electronic gearbox. Unfortunately it didn’t have hill start so without using the electronic handbrake it would happily roll back unlike traditional automatics with torque converter. I’m hoping my new second hand Qashqai with CVT transmission will have hill start, I’ll find out tomorrow when I pick it up.

I have had several auto cars with traditional auto box, and more than a few of them would roll back depending on the hill steepness. One which was the worst for it was my G Wagon very heavy car.

The auto release works well as long as you don't try a racing start, that may well cause damage The hill assist is designed to hold the car while your foot moves from foot brake to throttle to pull away, it is not designed to hold the car for long periods and works well with my CVT box.

[Jims Qashqai]

The hill start assist system will operate automatically
under the following conditions:
• The shift lever is shifted into a forward (vehicle
facing uphill) or reverse gear (vehicle facing
downhill).
• The vehicle is stopped completely on a hill by
applying the foot brake.
• The slope is greater than 3 degrees.
The maximum holding time is 2 seconds. After 2
seconds the vehicle will begin to roll back and the
hill start assist system will stop operating completely.
If the slope is steep enough to activate the HSA system, the green HSA indicator light in the combination meter will illuminate.
If the chassis control screen is selected, the vehicle
is displayed on a slope. The wheels flash to show
that the car is being held.
The hill start assist system will not operate when the
shift lever is shifted to the N (Neutral) or P (Park)
position or on a flat and level road.
When the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)
warning light illuminates in the meter, the hill start
assist system will not operate. (See “Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) OFF indicator light (where
fitted)” in the “2. Instruments and controls” section.) This is from the owners manual, i copied and pasted here for you !