We also hate the auto start stop feature. It’s just become second nature to press start and immediately press to turn that feature off.
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My new Volvo has this auto start/stop feature. I’ve driven it with the feature off…and on, and frankly I have noticed no difference. I can’t feel it stopping and starting…at all.
Re: controls. Mine is voice activated “hey Google, turn the temperature in the driver side to 72 degrees”. Or “hey google, turn the radio volume up” or my favorite…”hey google, directions to name the place or address from current location”. No hands needed…at all.
Well apparently my husband is “no one”. His car is not very old but he wants a brand new one! I have been holding off but his birthday is soon and I am going to tell him to go ahead and buy it.
My mercedes has a button that I push before backing out of the garage that turns that start/stop feature off…I absolutely hate it and it does nothing much for the mpg.
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My 13 year old hybrid Ford Fusion has the voice activated dash that changes temp and seat heat and radio station, volume, voice dial, etc and it’s 13 years old…long before apple play and Google. My Mercedes doesn’t have as advanced automated system as the old Ford Fusion.
The fusion was a great sedan. Why did it get discontinued?
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I’m not sure why, but I ordered mine thru CarsDirect new outfitted the way I wanted as it was the last of that model Fusion hybrid - best car ever…not a single issue except a $250 air conditioning fan that needed replaced in 13 years…but, we are sticklers for spending the money to taking cars to the dealer for regular maintenance as identified in the owners manual. I’m pretty sure most car guys say we are wasting a lot of money, and possibly so but I’m 67 3/4 and never had a car break down (nor a flat tire while driving) so my comfort level is high when I follow mfg directions.
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It does for CAFE. That’s why it’s there.
So the car companies can meet standards.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy
Every mpg or fraction thereof they can eke out in government tests to meet requirements - and yes consumers are paying for it ( in cost) - just like lighter metals.
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My prius prime hybrid doesn’t turn off when I stop. We have rented cars that do. I prefer cars that don’t turn off and have to restart.
We always buy new. My current car is 5 years old. That’s the longest I’ve ever owned a car. DH brought up getting a new one this year, but I told him I’m perfectly happy with my car, as long as it continues to perform as it does now.
I’ve just gotten into the habit of disabling the start/stop feature. I do it before I even pull out of the garage, right after I put on my seatbelt. I don’t have to think about it anymore.
Neither does my Fusion hybrid, but I’m not sure our engines turn off, they just switch power input (my Fusion by the way was the last Ford hybrid to use the Prius battery I believe, I think that’s why it’ so great). Our Ford Maverick hybrid pickup truck does not do on/off either when it switches to/from gas to battery power/
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This is a good plan. I need to get into this habit.
One thing occurred to me however: I like the stop/start feature on my wife’s Prius. One issue here is that the gasoline motor stops and starts quietly and smoothly. We can barely tell whether the Prius is running on the electric or the gasoline engine, or on both. When the gasoline engine turns on, typically we would not even notice.
In contrast, my more traditional internal combustion vehicle has a bit of a rough start after it automatically shuts off. It at least sounds as if the roughness of the start was not worth the short period of time that it was off. If the starter were smoother, I might be less bothered by the automatic stop/start feature. However, I am not sure if it could be smooth enough to be less obvious unless I actually had a hybrid (which I very likely will in my next vehicle).
I can definitely tell when the prius prime engine switches from electric (silent gliding) to ICE (louder and rougher). I much prefer the stealth glide and fortunately only have it switch toward the end of the rare long drives.
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Well, I was totally wrong on guessing the engine doesn’t turn off so disregard above!
My Honda Pilot 2017 does that auto-turn on/off. I shut it off out of habit now too. I have also learned to rest my foot on the break just so, enough to stop the car but not enough to trigger the auto shut-off.
What a terrible feature that so many people hate.
I like to buy new or certified new and drive for a long time. I love my Pilot. It’s roomy, comfortable, great visibility and inexpensive to maintain. We are looking into a new car since my daughter will take her 2021 VW Golf to school next year. We have been using it as our second car since she’s been away, and now my husband has to commute to the office 3 days a week. So lame. We are thinking about the Volvo XC40, which is highly reviewed on Car and Driver. Or a Subaru Outback.
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As I said above I automatically turn off the auto start stop feature when I start the car. My husband (mechanical engineer) is completely opposed to the auto start stop. He says in mechanical equipment the most frequently damaged part that needs repair is the start/stop. He feels that it’s extremely hard on the car to start and stop the engine that many times and he described to me what happens when it’s starting although I could never explain it here. He absolutely does not want that feature on as he does not want to deal with the mechanical issues down the road. Not enough saving of fuel to warrant the mechanical issues.
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New car camp here. More options to choose from, and the price difference is negligible over the lifespan of the ownership of at least 10 years. Truck is 24 years old, EV is 7…
And I’m with the posters who hate the stop/start feature. It really is a way for manufacturers to sell more maintenance and parts!
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No it’s not - and it’s not shown that it causes any issue. I’ve never read about it being an issue in any warranty study or high replacement part study.
It’s to meet CAFE standards with the government - it shows an increased fuel economy in the tests as do many other things that auto OEMs do (which yes, raise the price of the vehicle but that’s because everyone is trying to meet the regulations).
That’s why it’s there.
Few like it, even at the car company that I work, although I leave it on - because I guess after a while you get used to it.
And some just cheat to get there - Hyundai before, most recently Toyota although only the RX hit our country.
Then others cheated on dieselgate -whether VW, Ram, Benz although VW took the brunt of the PR hit.
I’m not for cheating at all - but these companies resort to it - so they can be leaders and so they can meet regulations (without the expense required to do so).
Toyota Admits To Cheating On Tests, Pauses Production Of 3 Models (yahoo.com)
When I found myself waiting for literal months for a part to fix my push button ignition, I drove to CarMax and asked to see every car with a physical key. I ended up with a used Suburu Outback that has an option to turn on or off most of the sensor related functions, knobs for the radio, and a beautiful metal key to start the car. It’s been great.
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Metal keys are wonderfully reasonably-priced to make duplicates. Electronic fobs are so dang expensive to make ANY extras of. I find it crazy now that many cars are sold with only ONE key fob—that would make me very nervous (like when we only had one after S misplaced my spare on a visit).
I’m not so much a fan of electronic starters and fobs but it’s tough finding vehicles these days with metal keys. Glad you found one you like!
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