Zephyr Posted September 18, 2020 Share #1 Posted September 18, 2020 I commute to work on my bike and on the way go through 7 sets of traffic lights. I am amazed at how many people shut their cars off at red lights and start them again when it turns green. Something I have never thought of doing. Have you ever, or would you ever shut your engine off in traffic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Zephyr Posted September 18, 2020 Author Popular Post Share #2 Posted September 18, 2020 ... and on a side note I just found out you can rate your own thread so I gave myself a solid 5 out of 5. I love me. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #3 Posted September 18, 2020 They have to be newer cars that do that on their own. It makes no sense to me since it has to kill the starter and battery. A guy I ride with once in a while always tries to remember to press the bypass button to stop it from doing that, but it resets on every cold start so it is a loosing battle (Ford Escape). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #4 Posted September 18, 2020 Yep that auto start technology is becoming much more prevalent tons of cars shut themselves off at stop lights now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #5 Posted September 18, 2020 I had a rental car that shut off at the lights. Annoying as hell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share #6 Posted September 18, 2020 Ahhh, that makes sense, I had no idea that is a thing. I just thought people were being strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted September 18, 2020 Share #7 Posted September 18, 2020 My fiends full size pickup truck, auto stops/starts at stop lights. Yeah his starter and battery get a lot of work. Someone decided they can slightly increase the mpg rating for a car or truck when the engine is off while it is stopped. My 2005 (and 2016) Prius always has shut the gas engine down at a stop light. The exception is when the motor is needed for heat in the winter. In the winter, you can turn off the heater at a stop light and the gas engine stops. Some times the gas engine shuts down while we are moving too, when it isn't needed. You seldom notice that the gas engine isn't on, it doesn't need to be on even if the A/C is on in the summer. The Prius isn't OFF when the gas engine is shut down. The hybrid system is still on, so the electric motors accelerate the car from a stop, and that starts the gas engine when needed too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #8 Posted September 18, 2020 34 minutes ago, 2Far said: I had a rental car that shut off at the lights. Annoying as hell. Golf cart technology trickled down to the automobile. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #9 Posted September 18, 2020 6 hours ago, Longjohn said: Golf cart technology trickled down to the automobile. Trickled UP you mean! (I wonder how Dick Trickle is doing these days?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parr8hed Posted September 18, 2020 Share #10 Posted September 18, 2020 Had a buddy that bought a new truck and didn't know that they did this. Apparently he called the salesman in a panic at a red light because it "died" on him. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #11 Posted September 18, 2020 7 hours ago, Bikeguy said: Someone decided they can slightly increase the mpg rating for a car or truck when the engine is off while it is stopped. A blatant numbers grab when they fully know it is a stoopid dea. Might be ok if you could predict how long you would be stopped, but you can’t. Not yet, anyhoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #12 Posted September 18, 2020 When I took womaxx to her recent covid test we were in line for almost an hour moving the car only every few minutes.......5 to 10. Yes I shut the engine off. If not we would have been sitting stationary in a sea of burned hydrocarbon breathing mixture. As for the start/stop......to hybrid cars suffer massive starter motor failures from starting and stopping often? It seems to me that modern motor technology can produce a brushless starter motor that doesn't wear out as fast as the old school stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #13 Posted September 18, 2020 Two years ago when we were in Portugal, we had a rental car that shut off when you stopped. What made it really interesting was this car had a manual transmission, and in Portugal, you are almost always starting on a grade. So there you are, starting on an upgrade with the motor shut off, and the starter engages as you engage the clutch. Fortunately, it was a diesel, with lots of clutch engagement torque, so once I got the hang of it, I was OK, but the first few tries were interesting. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted September 18, 2020 Share #14 Posted September 18, 2020 It’s more to cut down on emissions at idle than to gain MPG. At one point, they were talking about going to a 36 volt system so it would tax the systems less at restart. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted September 18, 2020 Share #15 Posted September 18, 2020 I turned that feature off. I do a ton of stop and go commuting (not lately) and worried it would kill the starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #16 Posted September 18, 2020 1 hour ago, groupw said: It’s more to cut down on emissions at idle than to gain MPG. At one point, they were talking about going to a 36 volt system so it would tax the systems less at restart. As long as they can use newer technology than the old series parallel switches they used to put on heavy trucks. Those things were a constant source of grief. A 24 volt starter required less amperage draw so they thought it was a good idea, but about 40 years ago, they decided heavier cables and a more heavy duty 12 volt starter would be less bother, and we kissed those switches from hell goodbye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted September 18, 2020 Share #17 Posted September 18, 2020 5 hours ago, maddmaxx said: As for the start/stop......to hybrid cars suffer massive starter motor failures from starting and stopping often? My Prius doesn't have a starter motor. It uses electric drive motor and the hybrid system voltage for starting the gas engine. It does have a small 12 volt battery just for the computers, lights, wipers, windows, and heater blower motor. I drove my 2005 Prius for 260,000+ miles in 11+ years. Never had any issues with the hybrid system, or hybrid battery. The small 12 volt battery is like any other 12V battery. That battery lasted 8 years and 208,126 miles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted September 18, 2020 Share #18 Posted September 18, 2020 I hear cars doing that. It still throws me off. Hybrids. 5 minutes ago, Bikeguy said: My Prius doesn't have a starter motor. It uses electric drive motor and the hybrid system voltage for starting the gas engine. It does have a small 12 volt battery just for the computers, lights, wipers, windows, and heater blower motor. I drove my 2005 Prius for 260,000+ miles in 11+ years. Never had any issues with the hybrid system, or hybrid battery. The small 12 volt battery is like any other 12V battery. That battery lasted 8 years and 208,126 miles. Fucking excellent. I wish we had a hybrid truck. That is neato. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted September 18, 2020 Share #19 Posted September 18, 2020 fuck start/start. Stupidest thing ever. I will not buy a vehicle with this, but since most have it, I will only buy one where it can be shut off. Problem with that is, the button needs to be pressed on every start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted September 18, 2020 Share #20 Posted September 18, 2020 2 hours ago, bikeman564™ said: fuck start/start. Stupidest thing ever. I will not buy a vehicle with this, but since most have it, I will only buy one where it can be shut off. Problem with that is, the button needs to be pressed on every start I thought it was cool at the beginning as I had never had one. I turned it off, it didn't come back on. I agree, it would be a pain each time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now