Confused in Spokane

Coyote Chris

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I was siting in RVs to see if any fit my butt and saw a tag. "This vehicle shuts down its engine when stopped and will restart upon release of the brake peddle. It has a heavy duty starter"
What the shoot, I said. Or something like that.
I know how a Prius can do this. It uses the generator as a starter and has e motors in case the engine doesnt start anyway.
So I ask the saleman.
He says there is a way to go into the menu and turn off this "feature" but you have to do it every time you start the engine.

What am I missing?

You pull up to a light at one of Spokane's famous 1 1/2 min lights or you are stuck in traffic on the interstate for 20 min.
You come to a stop and the engine is turned off. So there you are on a hot day with no air or a cold day and no heat????????
And at a western two lane waiting 20 min for a pilot car?
At some point, the traffic Buddah allows you to creep forward two ft and you life the brake peddle, the engine starts hopefully, and you go two ft and it dies again?????
Most engines dont like to be stopped and started but I do admit that the Prius seems to have solved the wear issue.
Then we have the transmission. Once the engine starts again, the transmission has to wake up and engage????
The guy behind you in the 1954 Ford pickup smoking left handed cigarettes sees your brake lights go out and he starts to accelerate cause he thinks your engine is running and your tranny is engaged?
What am I missing?????
 
Lots of new vehicles do that new. F150s 2017 and up. My 2024 Subaru does that. I can disable it by pressing a button but must do that each time the engine is started.

The “story” I got is that it helps manufacturers meet emission standards because an engine at idle doesn’t run clean.
 
Lots of new vehicles do that new. F150s 2017 and up. My 2024 Subaru does that. I can disable it by pressing a button but must do that each time the engine is started.

The “story” I got is that it helps manufacturers meet emission standards because an engine at idle doesn’t run clean.
I think it was the Honda CRV that would stall as they had to meet idle emissions. Of course, if you turned on a fan to low, for instance, it stepped up the idle a bit. Wink wink.
 
So there you are on a hot day with no air or a cold day and no heat????????
I had a VW T6 (panel) van with such "start-stop" feature...
It is "supposed" to restart the engine when the cabin temp drops (or raises) while stationary in a queue... which goes exactly that far...
To make things worse have engine exhaust levels obviously full priority over driver comfort/cabin temperature, means that thing doesn't heat at all as long as the motor hasn't reached full temp; being a diesel that can take quite a while... that fogged windows are a serious safety issue seem to not matter when it comes to emission concerns...
With the a/c being noticeable undersized (god beware the thing would use a drop fuel more), summers weren't much better either... takes +20 minutes driving till a lukewarm sensation replaces that f_hot feeling...
To make things worse is the system starting to act up when the engine gets really warm in dense summertime city traffic, that diesel grows a significant tendency to stall paired with a heavy start right after being revived by releasing the brake pedal, stranding you right in the middle on an intersection, with peeved drivers back and forth leaning on their horns...

Fortunately there is that button in the dash to disable that crap...
 
My '21 Accord stops automatically most of the time. But as soon as I turn the steering wheel a tad, or push the accellerator a bit, it restarts.
 
My '19 Ranger has that feature, but you could plug a nightlight into the outlet on the back of the center console and it would disable that feature because it thought you were using an accessory like a laptop, etc..

I then used the Forscan software to disable it completely. Lots of start stop eliminator stuff on amazon you can get, some easier to install than others. I think some vehicle software now allows you to permanently turn it off. I hate that feature, there are several reports of people stuck in traffic when the vehicles wouldn't start again. Maybe it's beneficial for some to utilize but I don't care for it myself.
 
I had a VW T6 (panel) van with such "start-stop" feature...
It is "supposed" to restart the engine when the cabin temp drops (or raises) while stationary in a queue... which goes exactly that far...
To make things worse have engine exhaust levels obviously full priority over driver comfort/cabin temperature, means that thing doesn't heat at all as long as the motor hasn't reached full temp; being a diesel that can take quite a while... that fogged windows are a serious safety issue seem to not matter when it comes to emission concerns...
With the a/c being noticeable undersized (god beware the thing would use a drop fuel more), summers weren't much better either... takes +20 minutes driving till a lukewarm sensation replaces that f_hot feeling...
To make things worse is the system starting to act up when the engine gets really warm in dense summertime city traffic, that diesel grows a significant tendency to stall paired with a heavy start right after being revived by releasing the brake pedal, stranding you right in the middle on an intersection, with peeved drivers back and forth leaning on their horns...

Fortunately there is that button in the dash to disable that crap...
Ok... ignorant question. Cars used to have solenoid -Bendix -gear teeth on flywheel etc. How can they not wear out faster?
 
My '19 Ranger has that feature, but you could plug a nightlight into the outlet on the back of the center console and it would disable that feature because it thought you were using an accessory like a laptop, etc..

I then used the Forscan software to disable it completely. Lots of start stop eliminator stuff on amazon you can get, some easier to install than others. I think some vehicle software now allows you to permanently turn it off. I hate that feature, there are several reports of people stuck in traffic when the vehicles wouldn't start again. Maybe it's beneficial for some to utilize but I don't care for it myself.
Wow...when I am King it and horn blasting car alarm set noise is history.
 
Ok... ignorant question. Cars used to have solenoid -Bendix -gear teeth on flywheel etc. How can they not wear out faster?
The current models with that start-stop automatic do have enforced/redesigned starter/Bendix units, oversized or even two batteries aboard...

The first gen of start-stop cars however had significant troubles due to the undersized (standard!) components failing... in urban stop'n'go some even failed due drained (regular!) batteries...
 
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The current models with that start-stop automatic do have enforced/redesigned starter/Bendix units, oversized or even two batteries aboard...

The first gen of start-stop cars however had significant troubles due to the undersized (standard!) components failing... in urban stop'n'go some even failed due drained (regular!) batteries...
I have heard "heavy duty" starters but a ring gear is a ring gear is a ring gear. I will ask Subaru forum. It's one thing to just hit a disable button... another to have to enter a menu. There SHOULD be a button to ENABLE.
 
Ok, how would THAT work exactly.
Don’t know “exactly”.

But air starters work in 2 different ways. Most commonly compressed air is fed into a turbine to spin the starter. They are light and powerful

The second type uses compressed air to force a piston down followed by a second piston and so on and then fuel is added.

Both start engines almost instantly. Kinda pricy though.
 
Don’t know “exactly”.

But air starters work in 2 different ways. Most commonly compressed air is fed into a turbine to spin the starter. They are light and powerful

The second type uses compressed air to force a piston down followed by a second piston and so on and then fuel is added.

Both start engines almost instantly. Kinda pricy though.
The first seems to not eliminate the Bendix issue. The second would add much complexity. In line at Yellowstone today, the pickup ahead of me would start and stop 20 plus times. Good battery.
 
I then used the Forscan software to disable it completely.
Tell me more about the Forscan software.
My '19 F-150 has this "feature", and it bugs the crap out of me. Yes, I have the disable button on the dash, but it would be nice to just shut it off completely.
 
Tell me more about the Forscan software.
My '19 F-150 has this "feature", and it bugs the crap out of me. Yes, I have the disable button on the dash, but it would be nice to just shut it off completely.

You'll have to check some ford f150 forums but you can get a trial version of the software if you just want to do one thing like this. Some will use it for many other changes like turning on the left/right fog light if you're left/right blinker is on... something like that.. puddle lights and many other settings.

I only used it to turn off the start/stop.

There's also hardwired options if you don't want to mess with the software:


You'll have to do the research to make sure it works for your truck.
 
Mellow, stop by sometime and bring the Forscan. We can hook it up to my 2023 Ford Maverick and dig around in the central computer. Mine is a hybrid, so the stop\start is built in and saves gas. The starter, however, is one of the two electric motors in the eCVT, and I would have a big blue brick without it. :)
 
Mellow, stop by sometime and bring the Forscan. We can hook it up to my 2023 Ford Maverick and dig around in the central computer. Mine is a hybrid, so the stop\start is built in and saves gas. The starter, however, is one of the two electric motors in the eCVT, and I would have a big blue brick without it. :)
Do you have a nightlight you can plug into the rear of the center console? Not sure if the hybrid is the same but on the ranger it disables start/stop if it thinks something is charging... that's the easiest way to shut it off but not every vehicle works that way and with a hybrid it may ignore it.

Not sure if this works on a hybrid.

 
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Do you have a nightlight you can plug into the rear of the center console? Not sure if the hybrid is the same but on the ranger it disables start/stop if it thinks something is charging.
Supposedly, I can do that in my F-150. But, unplugging the light when I park wouldn't be ll that different from pressing the button when I start it.
In good weather, it will sit for days between uses, so I'd rather not leave a light plugged in.
 
Supposedly, I can do that in my F-150. But, unplugging the light when I park wouldn't be ll that different from pressing the button when I start it.
In good weather, it will sit for days between uses, so I'd rather not leave a light plugged in.
Should power off after a minute or so, te outlet shouldn't be powered all the time, mine isn't.
 
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