Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
Really, when was the last time anyone had to replace a starter?
VW Rabbits had chronically weak starters, but since those late 70's / early 80's vintage vehicles, I've never had to.
I understand Wayne wore out the starter in his Accord, but the number of starts on his will vastly outnumber the typical ecodriver.
Not saying it can't happen, but I bet it's pretty unlikely.
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Well, I've had to replace starters on several of my cars - 1988 Chevy Celebrity, 1995 Chevy Beretta, 2000 Chevy Impala. Granted, all of them were beyond 100,000 miles at the time of the replacement, but I take it more or less for granted that I'm going to have to replace a starter at least once.
Note that the above replacements were made before I made it a point to turn the engine off at long lights.
For what it's worth, BMW's owners manuals claim that
four seconds of idling is the break-even point for idling versus shutting off. Of course, shutting down and starting up for every 4-second delay sounds like you're asking for trouble. My rule is that I'll shut down if I
know the wait will be more than 20 seconds AND if the oil is at operating temperature.