i stop start

[Vincent66]

In urban or motorway traffic jam situations etc. stop/start must be a good idea (until we can afford electric cars).

It would be nice though if the default could be changed to start disabled for those that don't live in urban areas - is that possible ?

From a safety point of view I think its better that the driver turns it on (having identified the jam)

I guess its a feature in its infancy so we should be patient.

[alanandlyn]

I've had lots of useful answers re iStop from this site. It has provided my wife and I with yards of endless conversation over the last few months. "Did Istop work today" "no-but I think it did once" etc etc. Basically--there's nothing wrong with your car. Before you wade through the manual-my findings and experiences are as follows.
1) It won't work if the engine is not properly warmed up
2) It won't work with the fan on
3) It won't work on a cold day
4) It won't work when you have the clutch depressed whilst stationary.
Apart from that--and provided iStop is in a good mood--it will not let you down.

Hmmmm, 2) should be it won't work with the aircon on, it will work with the fan on if 3) doesn't apply which should say: It won't work when the battery charge is below a certain level, this just happens to be more likely on a cold day.

[jtonline]

If there's a significant difference between outside and inside temperature then i-stop will not activate. There are a few more than Dogfuzz has listed.

As I've said before, I don't understand why people want to turn it off though; just leave it on to do it's thing. That said, in my automatic, it didn't take long to learn how much brake pedal pressure is required to bring the car to a halt without activating I-stop, say, at a pedestrian crossing, which is how it's designed to work.

[SoonerV8]

Uhm..................congestion, pollution etc.
In crowded city centres actually sitting at traffic lights is one thing, I-Stop yes! However crawling on congested roads is probably the more common condition and also where polluting output is at it's highest. By the time you had done a few stop starts the the battery/capacitor would be crying out for input from the alternator which would cancel the I-Stop anyway.

[Brum1955]

As I understand it the engine restarts by injecting fuel into one of the cylinders, the starter motor is not used. There are details of how this works on numerous web sites.

[Strangways]

I must say I'm finding some of the comments rather bizarre. Here is a gadget that saves fuel, saves on road tax and reduces pollution and has no adverse effect on the car itself. This has been around long enough now to prove itself and yet some people don't seem happy about it. Very confused as to why that is. I first had it on my Alfa 7 years ago and have never ever considered turning it off.

[HouseSpider]

I've done approximately 42,000 miles and the i-stop has performed very well. It works when the a/c is on but large temperature differences reduce the time it operates before the engine cuts back in. If I know I'm going to be stopped for a few minutes I turn the a/c off and it extend the time. The monitor also tells you when it's ready and if there is anything you have to do to make it cut in, e.g. put the the car in neutral.
I have even had i- stop working before the blue temperature light has gone off. The only thing that seems to stop it cutting in is having the the air system set to demist.
In the last 17 months the car has been in i- stop mode for 22 hours and 56 minutes - nearly a day sat at traffic lights or in queues. That's alot of time idling and polluting the planet if you're not using it. And that's just when it's operating. I think those of you who dismiss it need to look again.

[Dogfuzz]

Amazed that HouseSpiders Istop kicked in before the blue temperature light went "off".....wonder if that was in the depth of winter or a hot sunny summer morning?

[alanandlyn]

From a safety point of view I think its better that the driver turns it on (having identified the jam)

I guess its a feature in its infancy so we should be patient.

It's certainly not in it's infancy and I can't see anything unsafe about it the way it is......seems fine to me, leave it alone.
Might be a good idea to remove the switch and then stop the debate altogether.

[HouseSpider]

It was never a cold day but I remember thinking on one occasion it wasn't particularly hot.