Car Tech 101: Auto-start-stop explained (On Cars)

Brian Cooley discusses auto-start-stop tech, what it is and why it's here to stay.

[s]

"I know, let's increase wear & tear on our engines by 1000%. It'll get us extra 0.5 mpg"
"brilliant!"

[ryanatta]

I believe Mazda's stop start system is one of the better ones. Instead of using the starter motor to re engage the engine, putting strain on the starter motor, it injects petrol into the cylinder that has just finished its compression cycle then ignites it using the spark plug which gets the cylinders going and restarts the engine. Apparently they claim a 0.35 second start up and no extra wear on the starter motor.

[akaunderdog]

7 years later, im so grateful i found this video. Great host as well.

[leom.]

The feature nobody wanted and still got from automakers. Literally everyone I know always turns it off. I hate it, it's the dumbest thing. Just to save pennies.

[joemann]

My manual 2015 Honda Civic has a similar feature. Usually when I stop without pressing the clutch. Most would say this is stalling, but I'll call it Auto-stop from now on.

[Thedude]

i feel like anything that is going on and off, on and off is gonna break

[DBGMLV]

You should be given the choice if you want it or not. Like an option you can buy.

[jonathandonne]

My car a 2015 Renault Twingo 90 TCE has start/stop & I like it. I average about 50MPG (UK not USA gallons) & works smoothly. It kicks in when you put the gear stick in neutral & take the foot off the clutch pedal, soon as you press the clutch it fires up straight away. It won't work if the engine is cold & will fire the engine up if battery level is low. You can disable it by a switch on the dashboard. Tried it with start/stop off & it made a difference in economy, I do live in city with a lot of traffic lights & it does benefit me.

[americaelibertas]

I don't know what people are complaining about. I drive a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox and it comes with an Auto Start/Stop technology that is standard. In my opinion, General Motors makes the best auto start/stop technology in the business because when I drive the Equinox around, the technology is surprisingly smooth and seamless. In fact, most of the time I have to shift my focus from the road to instrument cluster to know that the technology has activated itself. I have no problems with it and any kind of improvement in fuel economy is good. In fact, it is very useful during rush hour traffic where fuel economy just plummets from sitting in one place for a long time idling. Yes, it does sometimes produce a different sensation but for the most part it is not bothersome. I think the reason why so many Americans don't like the feature is because they're simply not use to it. Overtime, as the technology improves, Americans will be so used to the system that it will be as commonplace and accepted as airbags.

[whitb]

My aunt has this in her BMW, it's very annoying and they keep it shut off. I also think if you live in place with heavy traffic and your engine starts and stops every 30 seconds there is no way damage is not done in the long run.

[ambitionsskyyyy]

What everyone here fails to realise is that automobile manufacturers KNOW that the stop start system is BS. They also don’t do it to ‘kill your engine to make money in the long run’ either, it’s done purely because governments like the ones in Europe press for manufacturers to produce automobiles that are ‘earth friendly’ and manufacturers have realised that stop start is a great way to make cars look incredibly green on paper! Thus Road Tax being cheaper for the consumers also! It’s a win win.. but everyone knows that nobody uses it in the real world.

[zhuolizhang]

In California, there are so many stop signes, it is so annoying that my car shut down just for 3 second on every stop sign

[jhboob]

The money you save on gas goes to the cost of the deep-cycle battery. lol

[tombomombodombo]

You didn't go over the disadvantages to this type of system. For example, is it harder on the engine?

[Mystic_Chizu]

One problem it has with savings is that Deep Cycle batteries cost a lot more than regular batteries and you tend to replace them almost as often.

[TheGarywilliams]

i wonder if the cost of the fuel saved will cover the cost of starter replaced 5 times more frequently that the roughly 5 year + service life of a regular starter

[JBoya]

I have this in my car. It is pretty interesting the first few times you drive with it, but now I really do not notice it. I drive most of the time in the city so the engine shuts off a lot. And by me they have relatively long traffic lights so that further increases the time the engine is not running.

[JMNTN]

Start stop is only so the manufacturer can say it has lower urban consumption, in real life it does so little difference that you only save a few dollars every year and as said in the video starting an engine puts more stress on the engine so constantly stopping and starting it isn't good for it, that's another plus for the manufacturer, the car needs more maintenance

[StellaSteve]

I'm certain that in the long term, this will cause more harm to cars than good.

[marktuyet]

so I'm in Florida in a traffic jam and it's 98 degrees outside ... why I'm avoiding cars with this tech