Such as what Ford is apparently making standard on their vehicles.
Should I not have an aversion to this? Is it not another thing to break/disaster in waiting?

Thanks in advance for the info.

27k on my F150 without issue so far.

Starters, solenoids, flywheel teeth and turbos.

I'm sure there's someone on the forum that can calculate MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)...

As soon as I saw these liberal dream devices (auto start/stop engines) one aspect became clear- Imagine you are driving a typical car or truck. You start that vehicle once for each driving session for each segment under normal conditions. Depending on the horsepower or electronic complexity of the vehicle, a starter might last 75k miles or greater. No one has any real consumer data yet but a vehicle in city traffic could conceivably stop/start/stop a 50+ times during one day.

While some starters are less than a hundred dollars. Most are more expensive. Also consider flywheel ring teeth. They generally wear at a rate consistent with starting sequences.
Even if you use those magic foo-foo-dust integrated-starter-alternator devices they are developing/proposing the wear is hundreds of times greater than a normal vehicle. Changing a flywheel is not cheap.

This is not even addressing heat build up and wear in non-commercial turbo vehicles. *When you turn off an engine the turbo spins down with no pressurized lubrication. That space of time between engine "ON" running (oil pressure) and engine "OFF" is the highest friction sequence time for a turbo as well as other parts.
No cooling system flow when the engine is off- either, which means you may also have decreased oil lubrication properties loss without this being reflected by mileage.

Imagine vehicles that spend a lot of time in traffic, particularly in hot states.

So what happens to your AC when the engine is off?

Annoying as all hell. I've disabled it on my BMW.

Adding another point, my last BMW was a manual and had it. Car would shudder every time I pushed the clutch in. Not as bad since current one is an auto.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kz1000,

quote:

Originally posted by Rinehart:
Starters, solenoids, flywheel teeth and turbos.

I'm sure there's someone on the forum that can calculate MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)...

We looked at a Toyota Highlander that had start-stop. On the test drive, I asked the salesman if it could be disabled as it was annoying as hell. I live in Florida, it gets hot here. The AC has to stay on at all times over the summer.

Just more shit to break by turning it on-off.

I hate them.

HATE.

I get them as rentals sometimes.

They suck, especially in hot weather as the AC 'runs / blows' but it's not cold anymore when the motor turns off - like the fan is running but that's it.

So I just manually put it in Neutral as I approach the stop sign and that keeps the motor running, then I click it back to Drive when the light changes to green - kind of like driving a manually transmission for dummies.

They are also a dog off the line, even with the Gucci auto fast start, it's slower than a similar car with a engine running.

Damn sure seem like a bad deal in a traffic jam in a city like Houston. A battery killer.

2015 Volvo XC60, 50k miles. Auto start/stop works great. If air conditioning is on and needed, engine will automatically start. It will not let the interior get hot.

I think they came about to save the climate Never mind about the pain in the ass they are.

Most of the Fords can easily be deactivated with ForScan.

I think it is a terrible idea. Had a loaner vehicle it was very annoying.

I can’t stand them. Hopefully I’ll never own a vehicle with that mess.

Why the hate? At least on the Volvo restart is instantaneous.

quote:

Originally posted by Johnny 3eagles:
Why the hate? At least on the Volvo restart is instantaneous.

Sounds like Volvo has it right (from your report). The Non-Volvo cars I have driven (I forget the myriad of Fords and other mainstream junk I've driven as rental cars) have sucked for the above mentioned reasons - hot car and slow restart responses and performance.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
I think they came about to save the climate Never mind about the pain in the ass they are.

Yes yes, they'll "save the world". LMFAO.

My Grand Cherokee has it and I hate it. Other brands do it better but this one is slow to restart and not smooth at all. Thankfully someone makes a module you can buy that disables it as otherwise you have to hit the off button every start.

It isn't terribly scientific but after a year plus of owning the Jeep and keeping this crap off, I ran it for a tank of gas. Same commute, essentially the same temperature, filled at the same station and I got essentially the same MPG.

The only reason this is being done is manufacturers get an across the board CAFE credit for this garbage, regardless of whether or not it actually saves fuel.

Hate ‘em. Had to deal with the annoyance on rentals.

I have a hard time believing the constant start and stop does not cause premature wear.

What exactly is the savings on fuel?

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


The question you really need to ask is: “Why do we give them so much control over our lives and freedoms?”

BTW - We just turn the function off.

I can't tell about the benefits of it for fuel mileage or wear and tear.

In the Volvo system, stopped at a red light, engine stops. Lift your foot off the brake and you're on your way. There is no pause or hesitation. There is an illuminated button on the console to disable the function. There is also an indicator on the tachometer when it has powered the engine off.

Mrs. slosig's BMW has it. I find it mildly annoying, but it isn't that hard to game so the car is running when I want it to be. When I harassed the salesman (who is a friend) about it was going to eat starters he claimed that that has not been what they have seen and that BMW supposedly beefed up the starters before rolling this out. Time will tell.

On the beemer at least, if you get off the brake and let it creep a little, it restarts and turns off the auto start stop until you get on the throttle and move out a bit. Additionally, there is a button to disable it.

Do I want it on a car? Nope. Can I work around it if I have to? Yes.

I've had a company car Malibu with it for 3 years now. After a while you don't notice it. No problems, but then the lease is up and I'll be in an Escape soon...