diff --git a/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py b/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
index ebabcfebd..19b2ee6da 100644
--- a/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
+++ b/selfdrive/controls/controlsd.py
@@ -60,7 +60,19 @@ LANE_CHANGE_ARREST_JERK_FLOOR = 0.6
 # steeringPressed (the driver's instinctive grip during the unwind is what let the
 # collapse through, and the driver physically overpowers a torque command regardless).
 CURVATURE_HOLD_HARD_SPEED = 4.5 * CV.MPH_TO_MS
-CURVATURE_HOLD_RELEASE_SPEED = 6.0 * CV.MPH_TO_MS
+# Release must sit ABOVE the speed where the model's action wakes up mid-turn. Left
+# turns cross the intersection before arcing, so the car reaches ~3.5-4 m/s while the
+# action still reads ~0 (left1/left2 rlogs 2026-07-15: a 6 mph release dropped the
+# floor mid-turn and visibly unwound the wheel 50 deg before the action woke; rights
+# wake at ~2.2 m/s and never showed it). Hold authority above creep speed is bounded
+# by the opposite-command release and the decay band, not by this ceiling.
+CURVATURE_HOLD_RELEASE_SPEED = 10.0 * CV.MPH_TO_MS
+# Pre-wind stays a low-speed device: the plan-geometry source only feeds the ratchet
+# below this speed; above it only the model's own action can raise the hold, and only
+# at a limited rate so a single-frame action spike (left1 rlog 21.9s: -0.157 for one
+# model frame) can't get captured and floored for seconds.
+CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_SOURCE_SPEED = 6.0 * CV.MPH_TO_MS
+CURVATURE_HOLD_RATCHET_RATE = 0.04  # 1/m per s, hold growth limit above the plan-source speed
 CURVATURE_HOLD_DECAY_TAU = 2.0     # s; hold tracks a sustained lower model demand with this time constant
 CURVATURE_HOLD_STANDSTILL_TIMEOUT = 30.0  # s stopped before the held turn intent is dropped
 
@@ -325,12 +337,16 @@ class Controls:
         # earlier-seeing source: it shows the turn at standstill while the action is
         # still blind, letting the pre-wind start before the car moves.
         turn_candidate = new_desired_curvature if CC.latActive else 0.0
-        plan_curvature = get_plan_spatial_curvature(model_v2) * CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_SCALE
-        plan_curvature = max(min(plan_curvature, CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_CAP), -CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_CAP)
-        if CC.latActive and plan_curvature * blinker_dir > turn_candidate * blinker_dir:
-          turn_candidate = plan_curvature
+        if CC.latActive and CS.vEgo < CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_SOURCE_SPEED:
+          plan_curvature = get_plan_spatial_curvature(model_v2) * CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_SCALE
+          plan_curvature = max(min(plan_curvature, CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_CAP), -CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_CAP)
+          if plan_curvature * blinker_dir > turn_candidate * blinker_dir:
+            turn_candidate = plan_curvature
         if turn_candidate * blinker_dir > abs(self.turn_hold_curvature):
-          self.turn_hold_curvature = turn_candidate
+          new_mag = turn_candidate * blinker_dir
+          if CS.vEgo > CURVATURE_HOLD_PLAN_SOURCE_SPEED:
+            new_mag = min(new_mag, abs(self.turn_hold_curvature) + CURVATURE_HOLD_RATCHET_RATE * DT_CTRL)
+          self.turn_hold_curvature = math.copysign(new_mag, turn_candidate)
         elif self.turn_hold_curvature * blinker_dir < 0.0:
           # blinker flipped to the other side: turn intent changed
           self.turn_hold_curvature = 0.0