Weird button on my 2029 Ford Escape

You press it at red light for example it Will hold the vehicle while you're at D position, it won't move till you press it off.

I think it would be called the hill assist button. It allows the driver to hold the vehicle on an incline. Ford uses generic owners owner's manual now which does not specifically address this control button. My 2020 Escape manual says; on a vehicle with automatic transmission hill assist cannot be cancelled. Yet the button exists and the circle with the two curved lines is an international symbol for brakes. Maybe somebody from Ford Motor Co. will read this post and explain the button and markings.

The button when lit up holds the car in place at traffic lights or going thru a drive up like an ATM, or McDonald's etc. When it's off the car will roll!

Meaning you can take foot off brake? I searched for this in the owners manual on my new 2020. Was driving me crazy. I seem to recall that the dealer sales person indicated that if you’re stuck in a lengthy traffic jam you can use that button to give your foot a rest.

makes sense like on older cars you have to put your car on P .. you don't have to now just press that button

Some people should read their owners manual.

BTW. Spent considerable time with the Escape Owners Manual and found no reference to the center console in general or to the referenced button in particular. It may be there somewhere. But one would expect Ford to address the center console at the same time that they discuss the instrument cluster. Finally, they do not address the symbol on the button among their list of symbols. It is not Yungy19’s problem. It is a Ford manual problem!

It has nothing to do with reading the owner's manual. I just got my 2020 Escape 2 days ago and had the same question. I spent a couple hours looking through the manual and the hand icon is nowhere in it. To all of you that answered the question that many if us had, thank you!

How do you get the little downhill car symbol to go away? Mine is still there

It is a brake assistant. If you are in line at a drive through you don’t have to keep your foot on the brake. The car will stay stopped until you press on the gas. (Try it in an empty parking lot.) I’m not sold on trying it with another car in-front of me yet.

So I know this question has been answered but I didn't see that anyone answered it fully. It is called a brake hold. Everyone is correct in saying it will hold you at say a stop light. What I did t see, is you don't actually have to turn it off, it will disengage once you step on the gas and re-engage at your next stop. It's great for being stuck in stop and go traffic. WARNING It will NOT brake for you, it will re-engage once you come to a complete stop without having to push the button on and off. Hope this helps.

Here it is. VERY hard to find. Pages 218-220.

Michael-2 Thanks for clearing it up...spent way to much time trying to figure it out, almost gave -up thanks again to all..

Finally had to ask the dealer what the button was for. The manual does not show this icon at all.

I think Ford has put too much gingerbread features into the Escape (read:spent my money on features worthless or will never be used). Also, don't try changing Driving Mode controls while driving; the transmission will jerk violently with a loud noise...dealer says this is normal due to transmission speeds changing suddenly! Most ridiculous is the engine stop feature; just let me turn it ON if I want it instead of having to turn it OFF every time I start the car.

"Very hard to find on pages 218-220" ??? More like impossible to find there. The icon in question DOES NOT appear there, at least in my copy. Here is a 40 second video explaining that it is meant to be used at stoplights or drive-thrus etc". https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=POiq8yBhylQ

Not in my 2021 Escape Owner's Manual on Pages 218-220. Looking for the picture it is not there either. It would be helpful if they would take a picture of what they were talking about because that is what the consumer will be looking for. What you call something is meaningless to me. I am going to look in the book for a picture of how it looks in my car. Ford, next time let an owner of the vehicle help you write the book, just saying.

I had a 1956 Studebaker with an automatic trans and it had a pawl somewhere in the drive train that kept it from rolling back if I stopped on an uphill. I didn't have to push any buttons.