Saw first non-hybrid (Malibu) with engine stop/start. Why do people hate stop/start?

[Natalya]

What I'd like to see is a button for EOC to come with the cars, or maybe for them to EOC automatically -- quick shift into neutral and then the engine dies if you're already at speed and you release the accelerator for more than a second or it detects you're going down a hill or something.

[sandychain]

I rented a 2015 Malibu for a week. The only weird thing was when I stop in a parking spot, it shut off, when I shift to park, it starts so I can turn it off.
It got worse mileage than a 2014 Altima 2.5cvt.
Malibu 32 mpg average, Altima 37 average.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Maybe she just couldn't articulate why it bothers her?

I think I could guess: an engine that stops running unexpectedly? That's a BAD THING (TM) -- I can see that putting fear into a person who doesn't understand the feature or is generally nervous about their safety.

In a lifetime of driving conventional vehicles, an engine that stops running unexpectedly indicates the beginning of a stressful, possibly dangerous and probably expensive situation. It may be hard to overcome that.

Another source of unease: you want to scoot across the intersection but the engine is currently off? That's another BAD THING (TM).

I've driven one of these Malibus.

I'm not adverse to having the engine to turn off and on, I do it manually on my Civic all the time. But I don't like it turning off and on when I don't understand why. And I don't like having the engine off when I want to get moving.

Switching quickly from stopped to accelerating, it takes just a moment for the engine to start and then it lurches awkward. I thought this was awkward and can see this as a reason to dislike the system. Changing my habits slightly eliminated the lurching completely.

Sometimes while stopped, the engine would start again. I never figured out why exactly. It was probably something I was doing, but I'm not sure what.

[Ecky]

In the Insight, the engine will restart without releasing the brake if 1) battery voltage gets too low, or more commonly 2) if there isn't enough vacuum for braking.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by darcane

I don't like it turning off and on when I don't understand why.

Agreed - I would want the system to work predictably. If it shuts off when I'm not expecting or doesn't when I am, it bugs me somewhat.

The same applies to the Prius and my parents' Civic hybrid.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by darcane

Sometimes while stopped, the engine would start again. I never figured out why exactly.

Maybe to drive the air-conditioner and keep the cabin temperature, or to not leave the engine get too cold to make a restart more difficult.

[Vansquish]

As someone who works on stop/start systems, there are a variety of reasons that people don't like them. In short, they are as follows:

1. Loss of certain power assistance features. On cars equipped with hydraulically assisted steering/braking systems rather than electrically-assisted ones, turning the engine off often means losing those power assistance features.

2. Loss (or weakening) of certain comfort features such as A/C, and the like.

3. From the engineering side, one of the major problems is the NVH caused during start-up/shut-down of the driveline. Furthermore, because of the manner in which ICEs function the combustion cycle may stop at any number of different positions during an auto shut-down. As a result, the engine may effectively be flooded in one or more cylinders, it may have an incomplete combustion event on auto-start, and so on. The results of each of these is a lag in start-up and significant NVH.

Depending on the software controls, some of these effects can be mitigated, but frankly, because there are only so many things you can do to speed up an ICE's starting procedure, there will always be some additional NVH and/or lag between start-up and the shut-down state.

[dremd]

A buddy had one as a rental in Vegas. It was 4 cylinder impala with stop start. I was ok with it, he hated it with a passion. I had a 4 cylinder turbo charged mustang convertible rental at the time and I did significantly better mpg than him, probably mostly his level of anger with the Chevy though.

[milesgallon.com]

I have a 2014 Ford Mondeo diesel. It has start stop, and even tough I was sure I wouldn't like it, it turned out to be quite ok.

I have a manual so I can choose to not put it in idle if it's just a quick stop and the engine will not stop.

For starting "for no reason" i've noticed if it's hot outside it will start after a short while to keep the A/C going. It's just at the point when I start to feel it's getting a bit hot, the engine starts and the A/C kicks in.

There's some instances though that annoys me, stopping to get the mail, the engine first stops, but then after I open the door it will not automatically start again so I have to start it manually, which feels awkward when I have not turned it off, like it would have stalled.

[gasstingy]

I bought a 2008 Malibu Hybrid new in 2009. The belt-alternator-starter is what they called it on that one. When you had the AC in the correct setting and came to a stop, the engine shut off {along with no compressor operation for the AC} and the AC's fan kicked up to full speed to help with the illusion of staying cool. When I lifted my foot from the brake pedal the B-A-S restarted the car so it could go immediately. I enjoyed the start stop feature of the car more than anything else. However, IIRC, the maximum length of time you could sit before the engine restarted was 90 seconds.

Two memories come to mind about that whole setup.

First, I tried to slip my foot off the brake and smash the gas as fast as I could to see if I could beat the restart. I could not. Maybe others are faster that me, but I was trying pretty hard to see if I could beat it to the punch.

Secondly, when it wasn't blazing hot and I would be caught at a long light, as soon as it would run out of time and restart, I would ease off the brakes and let the car roll forward a couple feet and stop again to get it to shut down again. It worked for me.

I got rid of it because I just couldn't stand getting 31 mpg on my easy commute. I could do way better than that in the Saturn I had before that.