[Diesel_Dave]

Originally Posted by Tesla

Have to ask this question and will probably get jumped on.
Is it really worth it, I'm sure it does save fuel, but what about increasing rear and tear on the vehicle?
It was always said that Taxi Cabs in the old days could easily do 1,000,000km because they were only started and shut down a few times a week, so engine conditions are constant and wear is minimal.
There are many areas that may be negatively affected by starting, even with a hot engine, the biggest loads on any component are initial forces required to bring them in motion, so that goes all the way from starter, belts, pumps, bearings, all the moving parts basically. Every time you stop the engine the oil galleries drain away and it takes a second or so to build up oil pressurse.
Does anyone know of any studies done on longterm effects of repeated engine starting?
I generally only shut down when I think the delay will be longer than 2-3 min.

You big up some very good points. The wear impact of EOC is what concerns me too. I'm sure some work was done on frequent starting and stopping for the Prius and other hybrids, but I have yet to see the data.