Really Happy About This

[C1]

Would never buy a car with such an implementation.(These babies cut off at a brief 4-way stop.) Have a friend who has one and says they cant disable it. Says that even the dealer cant help him. Hard to believe. If youre gonna put something like this in, implement it with a variable time out select control - jeez.

US set to kill off tech that cuts car engines at red lights

 

[BoomerD]

My last two F150s have come with the start/stop feature. There's a button on the dash that turns it off until the next time the truck is started...and, should I choose, there are devices that don't void warranty, don't leave any trace in the system, but will dismantle the auto start-stop system...until you want it to work.

Autostop Eliminator - Disable The Auto Start Stop Feature

The Autostop Eliminator is an intelligent tech device for your car, truck or SUV that will safely disable auto start-stop feature and remember your preference

www.autostopeliminator.com

Start/Stop - Page 1 - 4D Tech, Inc

www.4dtech.com

 

[WelshBloke]

My experience of those is if you change the battery they stop working.

Which is a bonus!

 

[Fkstick McDuff]

Never understood why they introduced auto-stop but didn't implement some kind of delay on it. I actually like it on my vehicle for long stops (long red lights, drive-thru, traffic jams). Hate wasting gas idling for too long.

It's stupid at a stop sign when you are motionless for a grand total of 1 second. A 5 second delay would seem like a good idea, unless this leads to other issues that I'm not taking into consideration.

 

[C1]

More on this in today's news. (and also now on local radio news).

Article has truths, untruths & semi-truths.

EPA's Zeldin vows to take action against controversial start-stop vehicle system

- True? (as some may actually like/prefer it) : " Zeldin said Monday on X. 'EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it.' "

- I like the way this one is put in the article" : "Cars generally have a button allowing drivers to disable the feature." (Like maybe it is not disableable in some vehicle types?)

- Why this is being done?: Cause the "auto companies who adopt it are given extra fuel economy credits."

- Untrue or semi-true: "that automatically turns off a car's engine when it is stopped at red lights to save fuel."
(100% Ive witnessed vehicles turning off & restarting after having just momentarily stopped for a mere two-way stop sign. IMO there is no need for doing such thing & that is a nuisance. Cant imagine what a pita this would be in something like start & stop LA highway traffic situations which are common. Might even be hazardous - imagine a mile long string of cars start & stop creeping along.)

I suppose to be fair, there probably are situations in which such an implementation might be beneficial/preferred, but if so, then it should be disableable as well as tailorable.

 

[pcgeek11]

First I've heard of this "feature". Stupidest thing I've ever heard of.

 

[balloonshark]

My sisters vehicle has this feature. I think the biggest issue is there isn't a long enough delay after you stop which has already been mentioned. I also wonder if the starter and solenoid eventually get hot if you are repeatedly starting and stopping. I guess they could be monitoring temps and then disable the feature but that's a big assumption.

If I had to sit in traffic a lot I would welcome this feature because we only have one planet.

Deregulation is great if you're a billionaire who can afford a ride to another planet or moon once the Earth is no longer inhabitable.

 

[manly]

Affectionately known by its acronym ASS. I never use this feature, and disable it if necessary (it applies only for BMW's Eco driving mode).

I believe the only (?) use case where it works well is for long traffic signal stops. As others have already mentioned, ASS would absolutely suck for heavy commuter traffic scenarios such as L.A. freeways.

Absolutely sucks if some implementations won't even allow you to disable it manually. An automaker should be publicly shamed if that's how they've coded it (ASS is a way to help achieve CAFE compliance).

 

[IronWing]

My Buick has it. My main complaint is that it kills the AC so I have to put the car in park to keep the AC running at lights.

 

[WelshBloke]

Mine (when it was working) only kicked in if I was stationary, out of gear and with the handbrake on so it wasnt really that intrusive. That said I was never convinced that it achieved a lot in a modern car.

 

[C1]

My Buick has it. My main complaint is that it kills the AC so I have to put the car in park to keep the AC running at lights.

The danger with this, Im told, is that when doing so then even a slight bump from the rear would also take out or at least damage the car's transmission too (ie, parking pawl at minimum).

 

[manly]

My Buick has it. My main complaint is that it kills the AC so I have to put the car in park to keep the AC running at lights.

WTflyingF? How does that work, you have to put it in park quickly before ASS kicks in???

Mine (when it was working) only kicked in if I was stationary, out of gear and with the handbrake on so it wasnt really that intrusive. That said I was never convinced that it achieved a lot in a modern car.

Probably not in the real world, but IIRC it was worth about 1 MPG for CAFE compliance. And because U.S. cars kept getting bigger and heavier, every little bit was important for automakers.

I could be wrong, but it's not like federal regulations required auto start-stop? The automakers went with it because it helped them hit a fuel efficiency number.

 

[IronWing]

WTflyingF? How does that work, you have to put it in park quickly before ASS kicks in???



Probably not in the real world, but IIRC it was worth about 1 MPG for CAFE compliance. And because U.S. cars kept getting bigger and heavier, every little bit was important for automakers.

I could be wrong, but it's not like federal regulations required auto start-stop? The automakers went with it because it helped them hit a fuel efficiency number.

Putting the car in park restarts the engine.

 

[pcgeek11]

My sisters vehicle has this feature. I think the biggest issue is there isn't a long enough delay after you stop which has already been mentioned. I also wonder if the starter and solenoid eventually get hot if you are repeatedly starting and stopping. I guess they could be monitoring temps and then disable the feature but that's a big assumption.

If I had to sit in traffic a lot I would welcome this feature because we only have one planet.

Deregulation is great if you're a billionaire who can afford a ride to another planet or moon once the Earth is no longer inhabitable.

The starter Solenoid is going to have a greatly reduced life due to the constant starting of the engine. The Copper Contacts are going to be burned severely. Also Most of the shitty mechanics will recommend a Starter replacement at $350.00 Plus+++ Labor instead of replacing just the solenoid or contacts.

I replaced my contacts in the starter a few years back for $30.00 and an hour of my time.

 

[repoman0]

The starter Solenoid is going to have a greatly reduced life due to the constant starting of the engine. The Copper Contacts are going to be burned severely. Also Most of the shitty mechanics will recommend a Starter replacement at $350.00 Plus+++ Labor instead of replacing just the solenoid or contacts.

I replaced my contacts in the starter a few years back for $30.00 and an hour of my time.

View attachment 123780

Doesn’t it seem like the starter and surrounding systems would be redesigned to make this tech work without reduced lifetime? Sure enough: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1109687_dont-start-stop-systems-wear-out-your-cars-starter

IIRC I saw an Edmunds article that these systems reduce city fuel consumption by around 10%. That’s not nothing but obviously the trade offs are large especially if the implementation sucks.

 

[manly]

Putting the car in park restarts the engine.

hah it's almost as if the designers were trolling. "Hey Bob, let's make this as shitty as possible and see if the managers approve it!"


Edit:

From the Edmunds article referenced above.

Of course a slight creep can be your friend if you want to force a premature restart for some reason. If you don't have room to let the car inch forward you can also force a restart by tugging on the steering wheel instead. Stop-start cars have electronic power steering and the engine will start to support it.

 

[96Firebird]

I've never owned a vehicle that has start/stop, but I've driven some that have it. The one I've driven the most is my fiance's father Subaru, and I've figured out if I don't press the brake hard when coming to a complete stop, the car will stay on. If I want it to shut off, I just have to press the brake a little harder. I'm not sure if this is by design or just my light braking foot, but I think some variation of that could be beneficial compared to just shutting off every time the vehicle stops.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I always thought that feature was dumb, it's just putting extended wear on the starter and it's just extra complexity for very little gain. It also makes it so it takes longer for the heat to come on as it's not letting the engine continue to warm up as you're driving. Or at least in theory. I've never owned a car that had this feature so not sure if it really makes a difference.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Wey-ull . . . . .Pil-grums! When I queue up to get gas at COSTCO, I just turn off the ignition.

Honestly, I don't know how I will feel about these new-fangled features. My car is 30 years old and I love it. I nearly bought a red RAV4 Prime the other day, but I couldn't move the money fast enough from my investment accounts before someone else grabbed it off CARMAX and it was just . . . freakin' . . . GONE.

So I continue loving my 30-year-old -- Old Beauty Queen. The last time it "shut off" at a stoplight, there was just something wrong with it. I replaced a fuel pressure regulator and some sensors. Got that right and OK!

 

[pcgeek11]

Doesn’t it seem like the starter and surrounding systems would be redesigned to make this tech work without reduced lifetime? Sure enough: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1109687_dont-start-stop-systems-wear-out-your-cars-starter

IIRC I saw an Edmunds article that these systems reduce city fuel consumption by around 10%. That’s not nothing but obviously the trade offs are large especially if the implementation sucks.

Good info! Thanks.

I still don't like the idea.... I wouldn't buy one.