what stops autos rolling back on hills? I know there is a limit, and they cannot hold it to a certain point.
Is it the idle throttle pushing against it?
Reason i ask, would a greased throttle cable be likely to cause an auto to roll back on a small hill?
I agree with the others.......depends what you mean small hill??
If you take 2 autos the same and one rolls back, the other holds or even creeps forward slightly.....it would suggest to me the torque convertor in the one that rolls back is donald.

There is a 'stall' test you can do with autos.
Handbrake on, foot on brake, select D and floor the go pedal.....for no more than about 5 secs to see what the revs go to.....do the same in another 'the same' car for comparision......If one revs quite a bit higher than the other........its a sure sign of a donald torque convertor.
Note: The no more than about 5 secs is fairly important....do it for longer and you will donald the torque convertor.....it will overheat!