I have a newish car I’d quite like to keep until I hate it as much as I eventually hated the last one. Ten years?

It has this stop/start feature. It works well.
I can turn it off.
I tempted.

What’s the Bob?

Call me cynical but no starter is going to put up with 10* the use as long as the last gen stuff, is it?

And when it does need replacing, it’ll cost more….

Apologies if this has been done many times.

See also:
Ambient red green & blue fuel usage dash lighting scheme – go away quickly.

Oh and air conditioning?
It was pretty cool, if not ice cold on the hottest day of the year.
Only upped the fan to 2 out of 4, but certainly cool enough.

Seem about right?

Apologies, I only buy a car once a decade if I can help it.

Thanks
Pete.

I’m not convinced with the auto stop/start thing, for the same reasons as you. It works well when everything is shiny and new, what about when it’s not? Given that my current car is now 11 years old and still drives and feels like one less than half it’s age, maybe that’s not going to be an issue for you? However, increased use of starter and battery… more expense in the long run possibly and I would imagine certainly a plug it into a something to make sure the replacement will talk to the rest of the **** car.

I remember my Mk1 Golf GTi had green, yellow and red lights, or something like that, for economical driving. I ignored them. Insulating tape at the time helped.

Air con? I’m all for it, generally set mine between 19 to 21 degrees for cabin temp. The fan does what the fan does. I’m learning to not having to understand how everything works and why in these ‘newer’ cars, mainly because I have little inclination nowadays to fix it myself and I don’t have the machine to plug the car into to work out which bit of solidstate kit has stopped working.

Can’t go wrong with coil, dizzy and points! 😉

It dismays me that a feature that reduces pollution can simply be turned off, dunno how the manufacturers get away with it.

As above it is a feature to stop you killing babies (as much) use it !

I thought I’d hate it and wouldn’t use it when I got new car. I spent the first week cursing it but don’t even notice it now.

Apparently they also fit seatbelts to cars now. This kind of typical nanny state type lunacy prevents you from being thrown clear of the car in a crash…

I once had a presentation from a company who set up to sell the new batteries required for stop/start tech to the aftermarket. Their business model assumed a life of 7 years for original equipment, so sales of aftermarket would begin to ramp up 7 years after stop/start was first introduced.

Unfortunately for this company, 9 years in and sales were unexpectedly poor. They realised that the factory fit batteries were in fact lasting 10 years or more.

Good for us as users. Bad for them with a warehouse full of the things.

No idea about the starter motor wear.

From a user perspective, I like stop/start in an automatic, but find it a little unintuitive in a manual (sometimes doesn’t restart immediately when you want it to).

I think the stop start thing is just a gimmick by manufacturers. I could be wrong but doesn’t it use up more fuel stop starting an engine multiple times in a short distance, maybe different with modern cars but I’m sure that was the case when it first came out. Maybe a good thing if you just stop at a red light for a minute then go but on my commute I can see the lights half a mile away and maybe stop start 50 times before I get through them. Manufacturers, according to their ads, believe that there’s only ever one car on the road!

Of its anything like the system in our vehicles, it will soon enough stop working mutch as the battery gets less than 100% perfect. Starter motor will have been sized with the extra duty in mind, I’d not worry about it.

The first car (ford focus 10 years ago) I had with start stop was great

The second car (ford focus 4 years ago til now) is rubbish at restating and frequently stalls – I always bypass it now

progress………………………

I don’t think its about fuel consumption, its emissions. I turn it off for stop start traffic on dual carriageways etc, but in town it makes more sense where you may be sitting at red lights for a minute or so at a time. And thats where you don’t want engines idling. Can you turn it off, or do you mean just temporarily disable it every time you start the car?

The green yellow orange lights to suggest how you are driving really are rubbish though, you can drive about and keep them the right colour but drive right up to each obstacle and hammer on the brakes. They should only go green when you are reducing speed gradually i.e. not using the brakes too much.

A hot engine restarting all the time uses less fuel than one idling. They’re not csrb fed so the injectors are off until there’s a chance of ignition.

The starters are slightly beefed up, as are the batteries, but many also use the valve train to reduce compression so the load on startup is less (fiat multiair, bmw doubleVanos for example).

It’s not new tech, VW have had start stop on some golfs since the early 90s.

Stop/start?

Do people use it?

When at lights, you definitely hear cars engines turn off but almost immediately the engines kicked into life again and the driver sits there for 5mins with their foot on the clutch..and the engine ticking over.

Very, very rarely do you come across a driver sitting at lights or roundabout with the engine off.

So, for me the feature is pointless… it’s not used IME.

My last car had it, I thought it was a fairly good feature but it did take about 10s for it to restart… and y’no when the lights have turned green and you have  “angry mob” revving the nuts off their Bimmer 1SERIES up yer arse in a state of perpetual rage… those 10s seem like a lifetime.

Glad my current car doesn’t have it…

stop/start probably going to compulsory in near future, I’d have thought. Can’t have ques of traffic running their engines for nowt.

Air con is one of the best things to ever happen to “normal” cars, wouldn’t be without it now. Mine’s on permanently between 19-21.

Old cars were pieces of shit in comparison to new cars.

Do people use it?

Yep.

you have “angry mob” revving the nuts off their Bimmer 1SERIES up yer arse in a state of perpetual rage

Ironically we have a 1 series and the engine starts between me pushing the clutch down and before I’ve fully engaged first gear.

tbh, my 1961 Volvo took less than 10seconds to start and drive away from cold (with the key) so if my BMW took as long as you’re saying I’d be back at the dealers.

We also have a Cooper S with the same feature and that works equally quickly.

I can’t imagine why you would choose to disable it, tbh, is getting away from the lights 0.5s sooner worth sittign with an idling engine for 4 minutes?

I’ve had cars with it for about 12 years now. Works perfectly fine you don’t really notice it most of the time as engine starts as soon as press the clutch.

Do people use it?

Yep, 99% of the time.

I turn it off at the car park barriers at work as it stops the engine just as the barrier lifts. The only other annoyance is at busy roundabouts where I may need to nip out quickly and a couple of seconds’ delay makes a difference. I tend to briefly put the gearbox into sport for those moments which prevents/limits the stop/start.

ABS and Traction Control.Nanny bloody state!Whats wrong with sliding into a bus full of school children?

For a bit of balance, I love mine. It’s very good.

For some traffic situations it’s not suitable, like if you’re going to be stopped for a couple of seconds. But then you can avoid the engine stopping if you choose.

Planning ahead and spotting those times means you can press the easy to find button to disable the system, or keep your foot on the clutch. Or plan your driving so you don’t stop for a couple of seconds… 😉

I assume the starter is adequately designed for the job, just like I hope the brakes and other bits are adequate too.

And those folk who sit outside the kids’ gym class for an hour with the engine running can do one.

I used it when my car had it.

For some traffic situations it’s not suitable, like if you’re going to be stopped for a couple of seconds. But then you can avoid the engine stopping if you choose.

This.  I disable mine for creeping along motorway queues, but it’s on and working all other times.  Saves fuel and pollution, why wouldn’t you?

I switch mine off every time I get in the car. I plan to keep the car long term and a starter used once per journey will last longer than one used half a dozen times a journey. I don’t like the short delay if it switches off at roundabouts. I rarely drive in stop start traffic but will switch stop start on if I get stuck in a jam. No point having an engine idling when you are going nowhere.

Mrs Pondo’s 8 year old Colt has it and still works fine, I wouldn’t be concerned about replacing starter motors or batteries over the benefit of reduced emissions and fuel use. The GTD I used to have would start itself when the car in front started moving, which I thought was a great idea. 🙂

Here in the Antipodes, where most cars are automatic, stopping at a light can often be silent as the stop/start kicks on all the cars. Got to be a good thing hasn’t it?

Does the function work better in auto vehicles? Been in taxis and Uber cars where it seemed to work fantastically, you would be hard pressed to know it was even fitted.

Works well on my V40, use it all the time.

Great tool in the never ending game of trying to keep the displayed MPG as high as possible…

I got a Peugeot Partner with one. I was dreading it, but it’s really very good. I understand that the Peugeot system doesn’t use the starter motor for stop/start but rather has a beefed up reversible alternator/motor that starts the engine without using the starter. As others have said, the engine has started before the clutch if fully depressed and first gear is selected so it’s really not an issue. I only turn it off if I’m in creeping traffic jams where it tends to stop engaging anyway as (I assume) the battery charge drops below the threshold the ECU thinks is enough to guarantee a restart with no issues.

and a starter used once per journey will last longer than one used half a dozen times a journey

When was the last time you replaced a starter on a car?

Never had a car that started multiple times per journey. And have had faulty starter motors in work vans. So they do break. Pushing a button once to reduce wear on components seems an easy win to me.

If you never start it at all, it’ll last even longer.

Except for the wear on piston rings,egr dpf , exhaust , cat , fuel pump , injectors etc etc.

Do you slow down with the clutch to save wear on the brake pads too ?

I replaced a starter motor once. It was 32 years old and ironically what killed it was lack of use rather than over use.

Wether there is an environmental benefit depends on your driving. If you do a lot of stop start driving where you’re sat at a minute or two at a atime then it will be beneficial but if not then it will not be.

It dismays me that a feature that reduces pollution can simply be turned off, dunno how the manufacturers get away with it.

Because safety trumps everything. I turn it off when approaching a busy junction. The last thing I want is for the engine to die at the point i need to pull out.

Of course the starters on the cars will be beefed up to support the additional duty. Its a simple engineering problem to solve.

Does the function work better in auto vehicles?

I think it works better in manual cars to be honest. On my partners car it kicks in when stopped and in neutral and then restarts when the clutch is depressed so by the time you’ve actually selected a gear the engine is running. I prefer it to the way the function on my automatic works.

Surely if you need to get away in 0.1 of a second because Lewis Hamilton is coming round the A414 roundabout and you’re only a point ahead of him in the photocopier sales world championship……

You can just put your foot on the clutch to keep the engine running when you’re first in the queue?

In my auto (VW) it means I have to keep my foot on the brake – not sure this is nice for people sat behind me, but huh, they’re only car drivers 😉
I think the VW one only works when you stop in a certain way, because a lot of the time (it seems more often lately, though I don’t really drive much) the little symbol “no stop/start” comes up and the engine stays running. Bit odd. My emissions are low anyway, what with the car sat on the driveway unused.

It’s seamless on my manual diesel Outlander.

It only stops the engine if the car is in neutral and your foot is completely off the clutch. The lightest pressure of your foot resting on the clutch is enough to keep the engine running at junctions and roundabouts. It’s never stopped unless i’ve wanted it to.

It also  restarts if you so much as twitch the steering wheel.

the little symbol “no stop/start” comes up and the engine stays running. Bit odd.

That’ll be because there’s another system running that needs the engine, probably either heating or aircon.

My stop start disables if the cabin temperature isn’t close to what is set.

The only car I’ve driven that had auto stop/start work very well for the way I’d be taught to drive (just like gonefishin describes above).

At the front of the queue? Leave it in gear with clutch down and handbrake on – ready to move away.
Not in the front of the queue? Take it out of gear and handbrake on – engine stops.

Given the queues of traffic standing on their brakes that one passes on their bike, I don’t think many people at all drive like this.

Anyway, the stop/start worked ok. I figured the cars were designed for it and why not do just that tiny bit to reduce idling pollution?

All our cars have had Auto Stop/Start for years now. Fantastic invention, should be compulsory fit on all cars.

It dismays me that a feature that reduces pollution can simply be turned off, dunno how the manufacturers get away with it.

There’s some evidence that start/ stop increases pollution. This is because it reduces the temperature of the catalytic convertor, leading to increased NOx emissions. The study I read was only for one car mind, so more research is needed.

It works on my Ford, pretty seamlessly, though I don’t use it much so sometimes the system isn’t available, I assume because the battery isn’t fully charged. It comes back to life after a motorway run.

I never switch it off.

In my car it only works when you knock it into neutral, so roundabouts aren’t an issue. The only time I would ever use it at a roundabout is if they were light controlled.

The engine has started before the clutch is fully depressed. And as its a nice petrol engine it makes a nice burble when it re-starts rather than sounding like a spanner thrown in a wood chipper

On our second Fiat fitted with it and think it’s great. Always starts quicker than you can depress the clutch so no issues there.

The main frustration is when it doesn’t stop, as noted above. The ECU thinks the battery won’t restart it, or it thinks you’re parking etc. where start/stop would be a minor inconvenience.

It is more pleasant when on the bike and you’re waiting behind a stopped engine.

Is there a generational divide here with a lot of newer tech? I see a lot of older people setting off before belting up – probably as they’ve grown up that way. Even in newer cars where auto handbrakes specifically prevent this, and you have to manually override by holding the foot brake and releasing the electronic handbrake. Why??