This was on a very very steep incline. Enough to spill beer out of a can while its in the cupholder. I was at a dead stop, and had to get going up hill. I don't have a problem powering through the brakes at most inclines, but this one was a doosy.

 

I don't see how powering through the brakes for 1.5 seconds is long enough to smoke the pads. Hard braking to a stop generates way more heat without cooking anything.

Anyway, you said it's fine with hill assit off? I would turn it off and use the hand brake instead.

 

Yeah, I probably should. I prefer using the hand brake anyways.

 

Hsa works in direct proportion to how much pressure is applied to the brake when stopped. Mash the pedal and it will hold you rock steady for a couple seconds. Touch the brake like it has a raw egg on it and it won't hold at all. Master its usage and you will find that its a great feature.

 

Nice, i'll give it another shot...

Seems like it does not always kick in

 

I turned mine off. I've been driving sticks for 24 + years. So the roll control was a pain IMO.
Press the menu button on the steering wheel until you find personal settings.
Press the arrow right button(the indicator on the dash will show the direction)
Scroll till u find the hill control and you can choose to shut it off.

 

I would Have to say that unless your tires are spinning you cant burn the brakes. If your vehicle is stopped and and your tires are spinning you will smell the rubber way before brakes. So what you smelled was your clutch. As for the spit on the rotor. That's kind of normal. I did brakes and alignments for a living so i am not talking out my ars. You would be amazed at how hot they can be. They are stopping a 4000 lb vehicle. and if you were in a hilly area then they had been working that much harder. I believe the Time that the hill assist holds is based on incline and how hard you press the pedal. I have had mine hold almost 3 seconds. I have forgotten about the assist and stalled it because the brakes have not disengaged.
So I am wondering if the clutch has a issue in some regards. My preferernce would be that it stall when the clutch is let out. But if your rpms are up where the torque really kicks in
say above 2500 then it may be overpowering the clutch. But my mind still keeps taking me back to clutch issues.

 

This. The first time it kicked on, I thought something was weird. The second time, I figured out what it was and disabled it immediately. Just another thing to go wrong, and for a very unnecessary convenience. Starting on a steep hill in a manual is one of the happy parts of life anyway.

 

also remember this is the first time crysler has put this engine with a manual tranny. they did have to redesign the clutch to change it a bit from the 3.8. i would think it was only the clutch plate mounting to the fly wheel. I am not triing to be a alarmist. But any changes are a possible weak spot. On the other hand I hard shifted from 1st to 2nd and chirped
the 32" tires that come stock on the rubicon. That impressed the crap out of me. chirping 32'S. i am so happy I traded in my 03 rubicon for the '12 rubi.

 

Hm...wow thanks for the info guys. That makes a lot of sense. I did not realize that the amount of brake power had to do with how far you pushed in the brake - I guess I assumed it let it out slowly...but it does seam to just pop it out all at once.

Ok, so quick question - what are the causes of a clutch heating up? Is it from riding the clutch and giving it too much throttle? I've been driving sticks for a while, and maybe I was pressing the clutch in just a little bit and didn't realize, but I don't think so. The clutch on the JK, at least on my 2012, seems to release really early in 1st gear anyways. The only time I use 1st gear is when I'm on an incline.

If this is my poor driving habits, I need to fix it fast - but now I'm scared it might be a manufacturing problem that hasn't been completely addressed yet.

If I smelled the clutch burning, did I do any damage? I'm a bit concerned about melting some sensors or something down there - if there are any....