Start/Stop technology

[Travelover]

I had an Escape hybrid for ten years with auto stop and it was great because it took off immediately under battery power. My 2017 Highlander has auto stop and I bought a device that turns it off every time I start the car. I did this because I hated the lag when pulling into traffic. I know that the start/ stop function can be modulated with brake pressure but I got tired of playing that game.

 

[RalphVa]

With it, it won't let you leave the car sitting in the garage with the engine running.

Another case for stick shift cars and leaving them in gear when stopped. You'd know if you left the engine on.

I'm forever shutting down our cars when at long lights or traffic jams. Would love to have this built in. I think all vehicles should be set up like motorcycles are with the starter and charger/generator being the same and engaged all the time. Would eliminate some weight from the vehicles.

Ralph

 

[Travelover]

.......... Would love to have this built in. I think all vehicles should be set up like motorcycles are with the starter and charger/generator being the same and engaged all the time. Would eliminate some weight from the vehicles.

Ralph

My Escape hybrid was designed this way and the "starter" motor spun the engine so fast that it was up to speed by the time it caught.

 

[KennyG]

A friend has a Forrester with it. It has a button to disable it but you have to press it each time you start the car. He bypassed it with a delayed automatic switch. Basically it waits 30 seconds after the car is started and then simulates pushing the switch. It's all automatic so it always gets turned off. I personally don't like the idea of starting an engine and putting it under load immediately. It's not as bad as when the engine has been sitting and the oil has drained but it still can't be great. As your engine wears mixed with the light weight oil means that it'll take longer for the oil pressure to reach where it should be. Over the life of a modern engine who knows how much of an impact it will have to things like rod bearings. One thing is clear, if you do have wear problems at say 150k none of the car companies will do a thing to make it right.

On my F150, the start/stop doesn't work until the engine is warmed up, eliminating excess cold starts.

 

[k0ua]

No, it doesn't turn off. It releases, but it doesn't turn off. There's an on/off button. There's a set button. There's a resume button. Once you turn the on/off button to on in a Chevy, it stays on forever until you turn it off again, no matter how many times you turn the ignition off or on. In a Ford or Toyota, each time you turn off the ignitions in the vehicle, you have to turn the cruise control on again before you can use the set button.

And those of us that own/drive various brands find this disparity annoying...

 

[MossRoad]

And those of us that own/drive various brands find this disparity annoying...

Yep. Once I get in a car and figure it out, it's not bad. Just have to remember. My 93 suburban has it on the turn signal stalk. Our 2013 Impala has it on the left thumb of the steering wheel. But the function is the same. Turn it on, and it stays on until your turn it off.

Our 2004 Sable has the on/off on one side of the wheel and the set/resume on the other. Same as our in-laws' 2000 Grand Marquise. Their Toyota van has a strange little stalk on the right side below the wiper controls. That one you have to push a button on the end of the stalk to turn it on each time you start the vehicle, then flick the stalk down to set/coast or up for resume/accelerate.

It would be nice if all of them were in the same place.

 

[k0ua]

Yep. Once I get in a car and figure it out, it's not bad. Just have to remember. My 93 suburban has it on the turn signal stalk. Our 2013 Impala has it on the left thumb of the steering wheel. But the function is the same. Turn it on, and it stays on until your turn it off.

Our 2004 Sable has the on/off on one side of the wheel and the set/resume on the other. Same as our in-laws' 2000 Grand Marquise. Their Toyota van has a strange little stalk on the right side below the wiper controls. That one you have to push a button on the end of the stalk to turn it on each time you start the vehicle, then flick the stalk down to set/coast or up for resume/accelerate.

It would be nice if all of them were in the same place.

Yes it would. It seems that all the manufactures have kind of standardized on putting the lighting control on the left dash, but there doesn't seem to be any effort to standardize the way cruise works across brands at all.

 

[bigtiller]

Yes it would. It seems that all the manufactures have kind of standardized on putting the lighting control on the left dash, but there doesn't seem to be any effort to standardize the way cruise works across brands at all.

One would think that in the interest of safety there would be more effort to standardize some of the controls, especially lights and cruise control.

 

[Oaktree]

I do like the "coasting" feature it disconnects the drive shaft so the car's rpm drops way down to about 700 rpm, about half of the RPMs if this feature was not included.

Almost sounds like the old "free wheeling" feature 50s/60s Saabs had. Can it be disabled so you have engine braking?

 

[txdon]

Almost sounds like the old "free wheeling" feature 50s/60s Saabs had. Can it be disabled so you have engine braking?

Yes or just tap the brake. It will also automatically engage if the decline is too steep which will slow vehicle down.

Since many state have laws against coasting my car is an outlaw. You can go through the menu and turn coasting off but there is no way that is is detectable.