We have an Escape with it. It can be temporarily disabled with the button, or if you shift into sport mode.

The wife (it her daily driver) doesn't even notice it anymore, and while I notice it, it doesn't bother me anymore.

As for longevity, I'm not too concerned. I haven't seen a starter fail since my '89 Jetta with 220k on it, and I know technology and quality have come a long way since then.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
You can thank your Federal Gooberment - manufacturers trying to figure out how to adhere to CAFE standards. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...average_fuel_economy....

Yep, make them big and heavy and loaded with bells and whistles, then they wonder where the hell did the decent gas mileage go?

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
You can thank your Federal Gooberment - manufacturers trying to figure out how to adhere to CAFE standards. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...average_fuel_economy....

Yep, make them big and heavy and loaded with bells and whistles, then they wonder where the hell did the decent gas mileage go?

Don’t forget ethanol. How can you get dumber than that?

Why my vehicle is a 1999. 4X4. Reliable to a fault. It has 270K and I expect another 50K out of it without any major repairs (about 4-5 years with my annual mileage) And if it needs one, I will repair it. I turn the key forward when I want it to start. I turn the key rearward when I want it to stop.

25mpg. Around town.

And the AC blows ice cold. Necessary here in the ENC.

Best part? Cost of ownership. About $400/yr.

I agree with almost everything Scotty says here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=...5w4ZE#fauxfullscreen

quote:

Originally posted by kz1000:
Annoying as all hell. I've disabled it on my BMW.

Exactly.

Wifes F150 has it. I find it mildly annoying but you can either learn to defeat it by manipulating the brake pedal, turning on tow mode (not sure if sport mode turns it off), or disabling it by pushing a button. I understand some have jumpered the wires at the actual switch to defeat it also. The battery, alternator and starter have reportedly been upgraded to compensate. I can tell you by experience my F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost starts up almost immediately, making it a seamless transition when leaving the light. My biggest concern is having the engine restart immediately after shutting down when, for example creeping forward at a light. Would I preder to not have it? Sure. But it isn't a really big deal.

As long as the vehicle makes it past the warranty period, the manufacturer could care less about wear and tear on starters, batteries, etc. Another result of the cafe standards is the trend away from naturally aspirated 6 cylinder engines to turbocharged 4 cylinder engines. The Acura RDX is an example. In 2019, they are going to the 4 cylinder.This in turn is causing more of these engines to require premium fuel. While it's a fact that turbos have come a long way, I'm reminded of a favorite phrase of my father's, "something else to go wrong".

They suck. First thing to get shut of in my wife’s Highlander when it’s fired up.

Our freakin’ brand new Durango Police Packages have them!! A freakin’ cop car!!! Guess the first thing that got disabled when all the wiring and cop stuff went in them?

Wow, it seems some people just don’t have enough real problems to worry about...

We have a 2015 F150 with the 2.7L twin-turbo and the auto stop/start feature. To hear the folks in this thread talk (about something most have no history or experience with) it should have been reduced to scrap by now with failed starter, stripped flywheel, blown turbo, and shot alternator...

Instead, it has over 45,000 trouble free miles and has averaged over 19mpg for those 45k. Other than oil and filter changes, it has had exactly one repair issue, an oil pressure sensor that started to leak. That was fixed under warranty.

The restart is instant as soon as the slightest pressure comes off the brake pedal. Never stuttered, stalled, or delayed taking off from a stop.

In those cases where the stop/start would be an issue (ac need or heavy stop/go traffic) there is a very conspicuous button on the dash and disabling the system is as complicated as reaching out and pushing said button. Anyone bothering with it via ForScan programming or bypassing it via wiring must have a lot of free time that needs filling.


At 55 years old, between my wife and I, we’ve have had about 25 cars going back to when we got licensed to drive. In all those cars, and well over a million miles, I’ve had just ONE starter fail.


Y’all worry like a bunch a long tailed cats on a porch full of rocking chairs..

Since Mrs. Lee and I will get rid of our BMWs the day before the warranty runs out, I'm not real bothered by it.

I had an Opel Insignia for a rental car in Germany last summer and it was a real pain in the ass, being a manual transmission. And it was very quiet, so not always obvious when the engine was on or off, unless I watched the tachometer. Really not fun in inner city traffic, when you can't tell if you stalled out with the clutch in first gear or if the engine turned off because you didn't move or have your feet on the pedals in the right sequence.

Any and all added complication has potential to fail. Sometimes even stupid, seemingly unrelated things can stop a car. A few months ago I had a 2007 Mercury Montego disabled by water in a tail light.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:

2015 F150 with the 2.7L twin-turbo ...
... has over 45,000 trouble free miles ...

Neither the age nor the mileage is nearly enough to establish long term reliability. In 2025 and 145,000 miles, we'll see how it goes. I won't mind being proven wrong.

quote:

In those cases where the stop/start would be an issue (ac need or heavy stop/go traffic) there is a very conspicuous button on the dash and disabling the system is as complicated as reaching out and pushing said button.

If you hypothetically wish to leave the stop/start permanently off, can you just leave the button pushed, or does it default to stop/start and make you push the button every time you drive it?

quote:

Anyone bothering with it via ForScan programming or bypassing it via wiring must have a lot of free time that needs filling.

All the ones I have seen default back to enabled after you turn the vehicle off. Therefore you have to hit the button every time you get in the vehicle. If there is a inexpensive and fairly simple one time way to turn it off I am good with that.
Like my Daytime Running Lights Factory setting is no front lights on until you select with the headlight knob. Daylight hours on this Expedition I like the fogs and parking lights to be on when driving during the day. I had to turn the knob 1 click every time and pull the knob out for the fogs. Then remember to shut them off.
5 minutes in ForScan changed that. Now every time the car is in gear on they come with no input from me. Then when it gets dark headlights come on. Vehicle shuts off so do the lights. Likely will never have to touch the headlight knob again.

Somethings are just worth fooling with for a little bit to eliviate a continuous task.

I have only driven a 2018 Equinox with auto on and off but if any car I have has a system that is as clunky as that I’ll certainly take the time to figure out a way to permenantly disable it.
From the thread sounds like Volvo has it right but Chevy certainly does not.

Just returned a Chevy Equninox to the rental place after a few day rental that had that feature. The start/stop thing is not for me.

"This is my "Start-Stop", sir."

The real issue is that the fuel savings from this is so miniscule that it's not worth putting any extra wear on the parts. Vehicles barely use any fuel at idle. It just isn't worth the few dollars that you'd save with even continues stop and go driving.

stupid idea

Rode in a nice Volvo that has it when we were in Europe. Whether the driver was my BIL or his GF: Every time they stopped at a light the first time after restarting the car they'd reach down and disable it.

It would drive me nuts and piss me off greatly if my car did that.

My 2017 Escape has it.

I now am in the habit of starting the car, pushing the auto start button to off, then putting on my seatbelt.

My wife's new BMW has the feature, except the car defaults to off.
If you want the car to use the auto start on/off, you have to activate it.
This makes more sense to me.

There is no way to disable these things permanently? They default to "on" every time you start it? Sounds like an aftermarket tuner needs to come up with a reflash.