Engine shut off at red-light stops

Temesvar

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Was just wondering what the opinion is about them cars that shut off even when stooped at a light.
Is it worth the gas saving over use the life of the starter and the battery?
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hobby-man

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Was just wondering what the opinion is about them cars that shut off even when stooped at a light.
Is it worth the gas saving over use the life of the starter and the battery?
Yes. Engineering explained did a video on it. In most cases idling longer than ~7 sec will waste more fuel than stopping and starting.

Obviously automotive engineers would use more robust starters to account for the increased duty cycles.
 

bluehatch17

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If you’re car isn’t a hybrid or cAme with that feature auto shutoff/restart from the factory. Doing this manually yourself is just plain stupid.
 

RobbJK88

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Having test driven cars with this feature (it was a CRZ hybrid) i personally am not a huge fan of the feature, especially if you're someone like me that likes to immediately get on the gas when the light turns green. There is about a 1 second startup delay where the car will roll forward and kind of sputter as it attempts to get restarted, i can imagine this being worse in a non-hybrid car without electrical assist. If you're a more casual driver that isn't on the gas right away and let the car roll forward on its own from a stop, it wouldn't really be an issue though. (in the CRZ putting it in "S" disabled the stop/start feature)

It always takes me a bit by surprise when the car next to me at a stop light suddenly starts it's engine however.
 

M16

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i turn it off because
1. its annoying
2.sometimes it glitches and doesnt start
3. it reduces the life of your battery
4.its annoying
5. more wear and tear on that starter that will cost an arm and a leg to replace
 


Hajidub

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On by default on my wife’s Passport, it’s a pain in the ass. Instinctively shut it off when we start the car,no option to shut off permanently. Crv has it off as default.
 

Dyim

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Cheaper to buy gas IMO than paying for the wear and tear on starter, battery.

You can probably save more gas by driving at the speed limit.

If I am really keen on saving the planet, I will be on the Prius forum. I do recycle though
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