Auto Start/Stop Disabled

[Bronco III]

I dislike this feature and make a point of turning it off most of the time. A few weeks ago, I noticed that it was no longer shutting the engine off while I was stopped and the indicator light on the instrument panel showed it was off, even though I hadn’t pushed the button! While I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’m wondering if this indicates a problem? In my ‘22 OBX, I bought the adapter to disable this feature but now maybe I don’t have to in this one.

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[dwrufus53]

I dislike this feature and make a point of turning it off most of the time. A few weeks ago, I noticed that it was no longer shutting the engine off while I was stopped and the indicator light on the instrument panel showed it was off, even though I hadn’t pushed the button! While I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’m wondering if this indicates a problem? In my ‘22 OBX, I bought the adapter to disable this feature but now maybe I don’t have to in this one.

If your battery is going, the disabling of the auto start/stop is one of the first indications.

The other thing that will definitely disable the auto start/stop is ambient temperature. Living in Phoenix, it auto disables from about mid-April through early November.

Also, I run my Bronco Sport in sport mode most of the time, and that, also, will disable the auto start/stop.

Given the above and your location, my first guess would be to have your battery checked.

 

[Dude]

…, I’m wondering if this indicates a problem? In my ‘22 OBX, I bought the adapter to disable this feature but now maybe I don’t have to in this one.

As stated earlier - it could be the battery is not holding a sufficient charge, could also be:
Positive and negative terminals at the battery posts aren’t snug,
Negative cable bolted to drivers fender is not snug,
Not driving the vehicle for a sufficiently long time for a few times a week,
It’s too cold out or too hot out or a number of other reasons that are documented in your Owners Manual, or
Alternator or other charging system component isn’t functioning properly.

Ford dealerships offer a free battery and charging system check but you’ll want to make sure it’s a load test check

On your vehicle you can enable the auto stop/start display to see the reason why auto stop/start is disabled - most likely on your vehicle it probably will say because the vehicle is charging

‘21-‘24 Bronco sports don’t have an easily accessible 12V battery display on the instrument cluster (it’s in the Engineering Test Mode but not so easy to access)

there are various devices you can use to check the health of your battery including Bluetooth devices but I like this simple 12V meter you plug into the 12V port in the center console, you can keep tabs on the battery voltage in real time when you are driving - pretty easy to see the alternator is always (or almost always) charging the battery no matter how much you are driving in which case the auto stop/start will be disabled - and could be a good indication your battery is close to failing

 

[DWG]

My 24 BS Badlands has the Auto Start/stop display as part of the myview menu selection. I am not sure about the 25 BS. It may be in the Status menu which is where it is in my 25 Escape. I use it all the time. If I haven't driven my vehicle for a few days it will tell me that the auto start/stop is off because the vehicle is charging. These AGM batteries will start right up even if the battery State of Charge (SOC) is below a certain threshold to activate the auto start/stop. Because I am using my BS daily the auto start/stop is activating regularly even though recent temperatures have regularly been in the 20's and 30's.

My 25 Escape has the same 2.0L engine that is now in the Bronco Sport. Because it is not driven as much as my BS and can sit for a week or longer I have sometimes had to drive it for up to 50 miles with the colder temperatures to get the battery charged enough to activate the auto start/stop.

I have recently learned that Ford dealers can view the health of your vehicle on their computer without seeing the vehicle. One of the items they can see is the SOC of the battery. One day I happened to be near my car dealer while I was driving the Escape and waiting for the auto start/stop to engage. It engaged while I was within 1/4 mile of the dealer. I stopped in to the dealer service department and asked service writer about the battery health and the SOC was at 70%, So at least for my Escape and I assume for the BS also it seems the battery SOC needs to be at 70% for the auto start/stop to activate.

You can check the SOC without any tools very easily by stopping into the dealer. It may turn out that the auto stop/start is acting normally. If you are driving the BS regularly more than just short trips and the outside temperatures are not to low for the auto start/stop to activate and the SOC is low than I would have the dealer check the system.

Knowing what I now know about vehicle health items like the battery SOC I wish Ford would add the battery SOC to the Ford App but I am sure there are seasons why these things are not in the Ford App.

 

[TheX]

Sport mode?

 

[Bronco III]

I appreciate the answers. I took it in for the programming recall and I wonder if they disabled it because I asked about it. I drive about 1k miles a month around town and on the freeway, usually in normal mode, so it has plenty of opportunity to charge but I will have it checked out. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy it being disabled. Thanks!

 

[DWG]

Sport mode?

No, always in normal mode.

 

[TheX]

No, always in normal mode.

In Sport mode it's disabled by default.

 

[OBSASQ]

I found this wonderful book that says:
Why does the engine not always stop when I expect it to?
The system is designed to work in a way that complements other vehicle systems, allowing them to operate at optimum performance.The system does not stop the engine if:
• The driver door is open.
• Your vehicle is at high altitude.
• The heated windshield is on.
• The engine is warming up.
• The outside temperature is too low or too high.
• The battery charge is low.
• The battery temperature is outside the optimal operating range.
• The engine is required to run to maintain interior climate and reduce fogging.

 

[Dude]

I appreciate the answers. I took it in for the programming recall and I wonder if they disabled it because I asked about it. I drive about 1k miles a month around town and on the freeway, usually in normal mode, so it has plenty of opportunity to charge but I will have it checked out. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy it being disabled. Thanks!

Make sure to ask for a battery load test and might as well get the charging system tested (including alternator) - many Ford dealerships do this for free

Battery load test is the important aspect

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