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Originally Posted by Ecky
People had this concern with the G1 Insight when it first came out. The logic was that frequent engine stops would allow the oil to drain out and temperature to briefly drop. However, over the last 17 years, the engines in these cars have proven extremely reliable, with plenty of examples lasting over half a million miles without a rebuild, and some far more than that.
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As long as the oil pressure builds up quickly enought to provide lube for the valvetrain, and eventually the engine is fitted with a pressure-sensitive valve that decreases the drain flow when the engine is shut off in order to retain some oil in the head for the subsequent start, there might be no further damage.
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The only thing I can think of that would see wear would be the starter, which is easy enough to replace and probably paid for several times over by the fuel saved.
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That's a good excuse to get a starter-generator, which is also going to eventually provide some mild-hybrid abilities like that BAS-Hybrid system. And there are also the full-hybrids that get rid of the starter and the alternator at all. So in mid to long term any concern about starter wear associated to idle shut-off might become outdated.