What Does AVH Stand For In A Subaru? (And Can You Turn The Feature Off?)

Just about every automotive brand has its own proprietary technologies that help to differentiate their creations from the competitions. One such system you can find in most modern Subaru vehicles is the AVH function, which stands for "Auto Vehicle Hold."

The AVH function is primarily designed to lock the car's brakes when it comes to a complete stop, holding it in place even on a steep incline. This feature was first implemented on Subaru vehicles in 2018, replacing a previous similar feature called "Hill Holder." It's kind of like a parking or emergency brake, but the big difference is that, while AVH is active, you can keep the car in drive and get moving again right away, no shifting necessary. 

It's also more comfortable if you're going to be stuck on an incline for a few minutes, as it eliminates the need to keep your foot pressed on the brake pedal. The only real catch is that AVH can only be activated while your seatbelt is secured — if you unclick your seatbelt while AVH is on, your emergency brake will automatically be engaged.

As convenient as all of this sounds, it is definitely a departure from the traditional automotive playbook, and might be a bit disorienting for some drivers. Not unlike the regular parking brake, you might end up forgetting it's there. Don't worry, though; if you'd prefer not to use AVH, disabling it is as simple as pressing a button.

Nearly all modern Subaru models have a dedicated AVH button, used to toggle the feature on or off. Depending on the precise model, this will either be a physical button located near the gear shifter, or a digital button on the dashboard touchscreen. Either way, when you press the button, a small green light will activate on it, indicating AVH is active. An AVH symbol will also turn on in your dashboard display. 

As long as AVH is enabled, whenever the car comes to a complete stop, the brakes will stay locked until you tap the brake or gas pedal. If you want to disable AVH, all you have to do is press the button again. Both the green light and the dashboard symbol will turn off, and your brakes will take over normally again. If you don't want to use AVH at all, just don't touch the button, and it won't be re-enabled.

Incidentally, on the majority of Subaru models, AVH is not a default setting. If you power down the car while AVH is enabled, then it will return to being disabled once the car is powered back on. The only exception is the Subaru Ascent, which defaults to whatever setting was on before the car was powered down. If you have AVH on in an Ascent, and power the car down, it will still be on when it's powered back on. If you had turned AVH off, it won't spontaneously turn on when you start the car. Additionally, several Subaru models lack AVH entirely, including the rear-wheel drive BRZ and the manual-transmission WRX.