2019 Chevy Cruze to offer disabling auto start stop.

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: Trav
There are issues with these system and their vulnerabilities. AFAIK no manufacturer is using Irox bearings in full production engines at this time, their long term durability remains unproven as they were introduced in 7/17.

Add to crankshaft bearing wear, dual batteries, different and more far more expensive starter and related components and it quickly becomes an expensive proposition as this tech ages to save a little fuel.
At this time most engine bearings and crankshafts share the same part number with or without start/stop which are designed for approx 50,000 start stop cycles not the 500K possible from start stop.

Trusting manufacturers will develop better materials in the future that will last a minimum of a decade or more does no one any good today that is buying one of these.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/stop-start-long-term-impact-your-car-s-engine




Thank you. I was wondering about this. Also is there more wear on the transaxle? All those extra engagements from neutral to drive can't be good?

To me this seems like an all around bad idea. I'm all for technology - I remember the days of points and carburetors and I even have 2 vehicles with (GASP) direct injection, but I see this stop/start thing as a solution in search of a problem.

 

[Trav]

I can only share my own experiences with these things for what its worth.
Combination starter/alternators are nothing new, they were played around on cars as starter/generators many decades ago.
The new versions of this old tech are much better but more complex and very expensive, sure the components are better built and the method of operating the better mouse trap may be better but it will fail at some point for one reason or another that's a certainty.

Whenever the crankshaft is touching the bearings and moves it causes some wear hot or cold, this wear is minimal are baked into the cake if you will but when you increase that amount 50x the bearings are taking a major hit as the number increases.
These systems can start/stop the engine more in one big city trip at rush hour more than a whole month of normal operation.

All the talk about developing new bearing materials is all well and good but how they hold up to the abuse and neglect of typical owners is unknown and may not be for a decade or more.
IMO the potential for costly repairs vs the fuel savings is not worth the trouble, I don't like the car shutting off and restating all the time anyway so for me its real deal breaker if it cant be disabled.

In the USA its a CAFE thing. In Europe there are other reasons for its popularity among some groups.

More important to the automakers, adding stop/start tech increases Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) figures, helping offset all those big SUVs being sold.

http://autoweek.com/article/technology/what-auto-stop-start-autoweek-explains