Start/stop feature - the worst function ever?

[Tdbo]

Yes, it is most definitely an irritant as far as I am concerned.

 

[Andrew1972]

…. And I can imagine the repair/replacement cost of these items is astronomical...

Have it on a 5 year old VW at 110k miles working flawlessly on original battery and starter. It does not bother me.

 

[grampi]

More vehicles with start-stop = less fuel burned.

Greater good and all that. If you don't like it, disable it.

Not possible on all vehicles...

 

[RooflessVW]

Not possible on all vehicles...

Sure it is.

Just because they don't give you a button doesn't mean it isn't possible.

 

[PimTac]

. If the starter design works better, fine, put it on every vehicle without stop/start, instead. Let the aftermarket starter market dry up

I remember in the good old days when starters went out regularly. There were starter motor service shops too.

I have never had a starter go bad.

 

[dishdude]

I remember in the good old days when starters went out regularly. There were starter motor service shops too.

I have never had a starter go bad.

Now that you mention it, neither have I. I've had a belt driven accessory go bad either.

I can't believe we're up to 5 pages of this...must be a slow day here!

 

[grampi]

Now that you mention it, neither have I. I've had a belt driven accessory go bad either.

I can't believe we're up to 5 pages of this...must be a slow day here!

What else is there to talk about?

 

[PimTac]

What else is there to talk about?

Electrochromic rear view mirrors.

 

[Wolf359]

You'd have to ask him. He has stated this thread is a waste of time, so I'm guessing the only reason he posted here is because he enjoys arguing...

Oh let's not bicker and argue....

 

[Wolf359]

^ 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.

It's it odd for you to claim that just because it's fine for 8 years, that you're going to have problems after 8 years? You basically have no data to back that up and I just offer 8 years worth of data to say that it doesn't appear to be a problem 8 years later. Plus a car is made up of thousands of parts, why stress out over a couple of parts here and there? Gotta break eggs if you want to make omelets or in this case, save gas. And while everyone claims that the starters fail early on cars with start/stop, I've yet to actually hear of a particular make where that's true.

 

[Wolf359]

Electrochromic rear view mirrors.

I forget, why is one side electrochromic on the side mirrors but the other one is not?

 

[PimTac]

I forget, why is one side electrochromic on the side mirrors but the other one is not?

I have not seen electrochromic side mirrors.

Now that rear view mirrors are going digital, that will be another thread we can look forward to.

Actually all mirrors are going digital.

 

[dishdude]

I have not seen electrochromic side mirrors.

Now that rear view mirrors are going digital, that will be another thread we can look forward to.

Actually all mirrors are going digital.

I had a 2008 Saturn Aura with a driver side electrochromic mirror, first mainstream car I had seen with that feature. My Grand Cherokees had all three.

 

[wtd]

My fiancé's mother has a 2021 Subaru with the auto start/stop feature and it's definitely not a seamless system. The restarts are rough for some reason. It would bother me but she doesn't seem to mind.

 

[The Critic]

The one on my Ram 1500 HEMI is extremely smooth, but it is a 48V system.

 

[Bud]

I have to agree with Grampi on this one. Rented several vehicles that had this feature and did not like it. But then again I am an old fart. But I am glad you young whipper snappers like it.

 

[svtrit]

I may be wrong, but I thought the F150’s I had allowed the engine to stay running after a certain ambient temp to ensure the AC stayed cold.

I never tried it, but I also read somewhere putting a 7 to 4 pin adapter in the trailer light receptacle tricked it into thinking there was a trailer attached and it would stay running.

 

[ArPix]

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...

I dislike this feature too but it is untrue that the auto makers are shoving a worthless feature down our throats because if it was negatively impacting their bottom line they would not do it. Stop/start improves fuel economy and emissions a bit so I will continue to abide by it with my VW. These days with high gas prices and other issues I think it’s a small price to pay.

 

[wemay]

Works great on the Palisade.

 

[demarpaint]

For me it will eventually become something I have to get if I want a new vehicle. It's not a deal breaker though. As long as it can be disabled either with a dongle or pushing a button I'll learn to live with it. If I like a vehicle that doesn't have a button to turn it off or there's nothing in the aftermarket that will do it for me, I'll shop for another vehicle.