Start/stop feature - the worst function ever?

Status
Not open for further replies.
grampi said:
Maybe it isn't annoying to you, but you have no idea what is to me...
Click to expand...
Oh, I have an inkling. I've read your threads about cars with too many lights.

Who else is sick of the over-lighting?

What is it with all the lights on the front of vehicles these days? It seems like more and more vehicles these days can't do with just a pair of headlights, they've also got to have these annoying driving lights. I understand the purpose of driving lights as they make vehicles more visable...
bobistheoilguy.com

How many lights?

What's going on with all the lights on the front of vehicles these days? Apparently, the days of a pair of headlights, and a pair of corner markers (parking lights) are gone. Now we have to have headlights, DRLs, and those stupid looking "mad eyebrow" lights. Does every vehicle need to have...
bobistheoilguy.com
 
Last edited:
loneryder said:
What about no oil flow to the main bearings every time it stops? That's what I would worry about. Add me to the list of people who won't own one.
Click to expand...
You should have better things to worry about. It's not a failure point after all these years. You didn't think the engineers factored that in when designing the engine? Plus a hot engine with hot oil is better off than a cold start so it's not that big a deal. Lots of people have 100k+ on those systems by now. Mercedes came out with their system on the E350 back in 2014, no complaints about that issue on the forums. Only issue really is the aux battery dying early.
 
^ It always strikes me as odd when someone tries to claim if it lasts, say 8 years (you mentioned 2014) or 100K mi, then that's all we care about? What about the other remaining half+ of the vehicle's lifespan?

The average vehicle on the roads today in the US is at 12 years and rising, and only that low because of how easily vehicles are totaled these days. You improve the odds with careful, defensive driving.

No, I don't think engineers adequately factored for it, considering they didn't factor for it even before stop start existed - hence replacement starters are made, sold, installed, rather that it's done out of desperation to meet CAFE #s and outlast the warranty.

If one of my vehicles had a starter fail, I wouldn't raise a stink about it in a forum anyway, unless it was a big tear-down project in order to swap it out.
 
Last edited:
We have an f150 at work with that feature. I hate it. Every time I come to a red light it turns off and the ac gets hot and humid. Pretty annoying when it's 100+ and the ac stops.
 
My 2015 F150 has it and after the first day of ownership I looked at the wiring schematic and jumped the switch. I hate it.
 
After driving a fleet vehicle Fusion at work multiple times, I can safely say I won't ever buy a vehicle with this feature unless it can be permanently disabled with a scan tool or the like.
 
Chris142 said:
We have an f150 at work with that feature. I hate it. Every time I come to a red light it turns off and the ac gets hot and humid. Pretty annoying when it's 100+ and the ac stops.
Click to expand...
My Honda and the VW before it would disable start-stop if the AC demand was high. (And it would tell you)
 
Dave9 said:
^ It always strikes me as odd when someone tries to claim if it lasts, say 8 years (you mentioned 2014) or 100K mi, then that's all we care about? What about the other remaining half+ of the vehicle's lifespan?

The average vehicle on the roads today in the US is at 12 years and rising, and only that low because of how easily vehicles are totaled these days. You improve the odds with careful, defensive driving.

No, I don't think engineers adequately factored for it, considering they didn't factor for it even before stop start existed - hence replacement starters are made, sold, installed, rather that it's done out of desperation to meet CAFE #s and outlast the warranty.

If one of my vehicles had a starter fail, I wouldn't raise a stink about it in a forum anyway, unless it was a big tear-down project in order to swap it out.
Click to expand...
At some point, all systems will/can/could fail on an older vehicle - past 8 years...why stop there...s it an unreliable system if it fails at say 15 years? The manufactures have to have some cut off here and bearing the cost of ownership of 10+ year vehicles is what is it/on the owner at that point and not really their problem. It's a starter and a battery that is designed to do this, I don't see how this system even when it goes kaput is going to cost anymore to maintain than anything else on a 10+year old vehicle.
 
Seems I am not alone in hating this feature. IMO, it's just another worthless function the auto makers are going to keep shoving down our throats no matter how many people don't like it...
 
grampi said:
Seems I am not alone in hating this feature. IMO, it's just another worthless function the auto makers are going to keep shoving down our throats no matter how many people don't like it...
Click to expand...
Given a choice, I would say "no" to this feature. For our VW that wasn't a choice so I fall in the "get used to it/forget about it" camp.
 
TiGeo said:
At some point, all systems will/can/could fail on an older vehicle - past 8 years...why stop there...s it an unreliable system if it fails at say 15 years?
Click to expand...

Exactly, we shouldn't stop there, and should consider it a problem if it fails at 15 years, unless there's some kind of severe duty like, oh I dunno, maybe stopping and starting your vehicle every time you stop?

TiGeo said:
The manufactures have to have some cut off here and bearing the cost of ownership of 10+ year vehicles is what is it/on the owner at that point and not really their problem.
Click to expand...

Again, exactly right, which is a reason why owners won't want it, that it's on them to bear the cost.


TiGeo said:
It's a starter and a battery that is designed to do this, I don't see how this system even when it goes kaput is going to cost anymore to maintain than anything else on a 10+year old vehicle.
Click to expand...

Why would it be just as well, to have an additional thing fail sooner, somehow justified by other things that cost as much or more that fail TOO? That is the opposite direction vehicles should be going in, not adding one more thing to fail among the growing list.

"A starter and a battery that is designed to do this", in itself doesn't make it a good idea depending on what is important to the owner. Everything in a vehicle is designed to do what it does, but that's not a rationale to add more failure points. If the starter design works better, fine, put it on every vehicle without stop/start, instead. Let the aftermarket starter market dry up, as well as all the other replacement parts that could last longer if not for designs that don't emphasize lifespan enough.

It should not be assumed any longer that there are things you need to replace on a 10 year old vehicle (your # for cost of ownership above) besides the consumables if it's not a severe duty situation. If there are several things to the point where you consider a starter just One More Thing, then I consider that a poorly made vehicle.
 
Chris142 said:
Not on the f150. It can be 100+ and it turns the freaking ac compressor off.
Click to expand...
That is strange. Either an engineering flaw or something is broken. The stop is disabled on my RAV4 if the A/C compressor needs to crank to meet the climate control settings. The dash will light up saying something like Stop feature disabled due to climate control.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Wrenchturner44
Auto Start / Stop Defeators
2 3
Replies
42
Views
4K
jkasch
KrisZ
How aggressive is the Start/Stop in your vehicle?
2 3
Replies
42
Views
1K
JWC86
A
ANOTHER proven iPhone lifesaving feature for the newest iPhone 14
2
Replies
28
Views
906
Y_K
S
No Stop/Start on 2021 GM SUVs and Pickups
2 3
Replies
51
Views
4K
Andrew1972
K
Cars/Brands that do auto start-stop well
3 4 5
Replies
94
Views
7K
4strokes
Top