Auto Start/Stop Technique

[Bucko]

I'm surprised so many people dislike it. If anything, I wish it would stop more readily after creeping forward at a light.

Good tip on the wheel input for those who didn't know. I don't find myself having to make any adjustments to my driving, personally. This is the first vehicle I've had with the feature and it just hasn't bothered me at all.

It's not that I dislike the feature, but that I don't have the choice (without it costing me) to disable it all together.

Several years ago, we owned a BMW that had the auto start/stop feature. BMW offered us the option (for free) to disable it, and if we wanted to use it, the dash button would enable it; reversing how the BS works now...you press the dash button to disable it.

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[Mark S.]

I believe it helps the auto manufacturers meet the CAFE requirement numbers needed on paper, anyway.

Almost certainly. This is a fleet feature, which is what CAFE is all about.

 

[NMhunter]

When my auto S/S isn't on, I can sit at a long light and watch my gas mileage average go down. It becomes very obvious after you have reset your odometer.

I just went along on a hunt to help 4 new hunters. Each of them brought a diesel truck towing a large trailer.

Rich people don't care about gas mileage. Unless they are in government, in which case they care about yours, but not the mileage their private planes get. .

 

[Bronclahoma]

With the auto hold applied, you can very gently touch the throttle to fire up the motor without disengaging the hold.

That's what I've been doing since my 21 BL was new. I still have a lead cell battery in my 23 BL and I don't like any unnecessary battery drain.

 

[RodNSA]

Here's something I discovered quite by accident the other day that might mitigate some of the dislike for the auto stop/start system. I know my biggest beef is the slight delay after stepping on the accelerator pedal (while the engine starts) before I get any actual acceleration. It's an acceptable delay in my opinion, but if you hate, hate, hate it nonetheless, you can avoid it by giving your steering wheel a slight twist just before the light changes. When you do, the engine will start, leaving the auto hold for the brakes (if you use that feature) engaged.

My guess as to why this works is that the system cuts power to the electric steering motor when the engine is off to prevent placing too much load on the battery, therefore it must start the engine to provide power to the motor so you can turn the steering wheel. You'll feel the motor turn on as soon as the engine starts.

It's a nifty way to avoid the engine-start delay!

Thanks for the tip ... appreciated! Personally, I'm one that hate, hate, HATES it. My solution is to either push the off button immediately or probably 1/2 the time I'm driving in sport mode which automatically disengage the auto stop/start.

 

[23BigBend]

I haven't noticed any delay in acceleration when using auto start stop. For me it's working so transparent I don't even really notice when it shuts down and restarts, I have to look at the dash to see that the tach goes to zero and the auto start stop indicator light is green. I just let off the brake pedal hit the gas and I'm gone.

Same here! And the more I drive it, the less I notice it. I actually like the quiet-time while waiting for the light to change.

 

[westcoaster818]

When my auto S/S isn't on, I can sit at a long light and watch my gas mileage average go down. It becomes very obvious after you have reset your odometer.

I just went along on a hunt to help 4 new hunters. Each of them brought a diesel truck towing a large trailer.

Rich people don't care about gas mileage. Unless they are in government, in which case they care about yours, but not the mileage their private planes get. .

Not accurate. The mpg saving is negligible it has nothing to do with mpg Ford put it to satisfy insane governmental guidance for "sustainability" Auto start stop is bad for starter components.

 

[rocks]

Not accurate. The mpg saving is negligible it has nothing to do with mpg Ford put it to satisfy insane governmental guidance for "sustainability" Auto start stop is bad for starter components.

I hate auto/start and don't use it but the starter is not a normal starter. It's built to be used with A/S.

 

[NMhunter]

Whats not accurate? You don't think your vehicle uses gas while it idles? Or you do think rich people care about gas mileage? What you think is negligible may depend on how much money you have.

It remains to be seen if the gas savings will cover the cost of a new starter. I'm hoping mine wears out while under warranty.

 

[westcoaster818]

Whats not accurate? You don't think your vehicle uses gas while it idles? Or you do think rich people care about gas mileage? What you think is negligible may depend on how much money you have.

It remains to be seen if the gas savings will cover the cost of a new starter. I'm hoping mine wears out while under warranty.

The "gas savings" are minimal.

 

[Mark S.]

The "gas savings" are minimal.

This may be true for individuals, but scale it up fleet-wide and you save a lot of fuel. In addition, you put less harmful emissions in the atmosphere.

Please share your data regarding the claim that start/stop systems are "bad" for the vehicle. Bad in what way? I've seen nothing online suggesting that starters or other mechanical components are failing at higher rates on vehicles using start/stop technology. Yes, it's harder on the battery, but manufacturers design all the mechanical components to handle the increased stress/wear. If you have any data I'd like to see it.

 

[Jrl]

This may be true for individuals, but scale it up fleet-wide and you save a lot of fuel. In addition, you put less harmful emissions in the atmosphere.

Please share your data regarding the claim that start/stop systems are "bad" for the vehicle. Bad in what way? I've seen nothing online suggesting that starters or other mechanical components are failing at higher rates on vehicles using start/stop technology. Yes, it's harder on the battery, but manufacturers design all the mechanical components to handing the increased stress/wear. If you have any data I'd like to see it.

Agree with all you have stated , but ford has failed when it comes to battery choice .needs to be agm

 

[Mark S.]

Agree with all you have stated , but ford has failed when it comes to battery choice .needs to be agm

I agree. The question is did Ford make a mistake with battery choice, or was that choice forced on it by the supply chain disruptions? I don't know the answer to that question. It appears that many have been successful in getting their batteries replaced with an appropriate AGM unit under warranty. Yes, it's a hassle for the owner, but it appears Ford is at least doing the right thing.

 

[coopny]

I agree. The question is did Ford make a mistake with battery choice, or was that choice forced on it by the supply chain disruptions? I don't know the answer to that question. It appears that many have been successful in getting their batteries replaced with an appropriate AGM unit under warranty. Yes, it's a hassle for the owner, but it appears Ford is at least doing the right thing.

Based on the owners manual per year from 2021-2023 - I would wager it's a combination of both supply chain disruption AND realizing EFB isn't really cutting it. See my other post here with the battery recommendations by model year in the owners manual. For 2021, Ford only recommended an enhanced flooded battery. For 2022-2024, Ford recommended an EFB part number, but alternatively recommended the AGM part on the same page.
The other way you can read this is that Ford thinks EFBs are fine, but as time have experienced parts shortages (either during vehicle build or while doing warranty or non-warranty service battery replacements) in the EFB, so the AGM was specified as an "either or" for owners.

I also believed my 23 BS BL had shipped with an AGM, but just popping the hood to double check, it's part BEF-48H6-A - enhanced flooded.

BEF48H6A is in stock on parts.ford.com for $204.
BAGM48H6760 (the AGM part) is $191.21 (lower than MSRP of $224.95), but it's out of stock with indefinite backorder.

People here who report battery failures generally report receiving AGM replacements within the 3 year/36k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, but that the part is on backorder right now to get from Ford to the parts counter, which to me suggests a combo of the two - Ford would rather put in AGMs, but they don't have the supply chain capacity to keep vehicles rolling off the line with them, so they'd rather ship EFB than not build the car.

 

[Mulhern]

Auto Start/Stop is an unnecessary, annoying nanny state "feature" forced upon us and nothing will convince me otherwise!

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