EPA to phase out stop/start systems on cars

[jhvaughan2]

The system is and always has been voluntary. It provides a small EPA credit for a tiny boost in performance. With enough pressure from buyers they might stop including it but expecting them to retroactively allow us to shut it off permanently might be a stretch.

This. Don’t blame the government for this it was offered, not required, and the car companies snapped it up. Yeah capitalism.

 

[bigggbbruce]

I just gotta know, if you are heading down a busy street and you want to turn into let's say a driveway, but someone is coming out. So you stop in a hurried wait, that stupid system is going to shut off in the middle of traffic. Insane.

 

[ladder13]

Honda is facing a class action lawsuit.

Honda Idle Stop Lawsuit Certified as Class Action - California Consumer Attorneys, P.C.

By Sepehr DaghighianPartnerLawsuit Moves Forward Over Alleged Engine Restart Failures A class action lawsuit targeting Honda has officially been certified, allowing it to proceed on behalf of affected owners in multiple U.S. states. The lawsuit accuses Honda of selling vehicles equipped with a...

www.thelemonfirm.com

 

[Herb686]

Gee - I wonder it Taxi's ever had these?? Hard to keep your butt warm in NY while waiting for a fare!!

 

[Boxlock]

I posted this a couple days ago to a car forum, but think it belongs here also!

Do these so called engineers take LSD before they come up with these off the wall devices?

If I was a boss and some hot shot engineer came to me with this Eureka idea of start/stop I would have fired him/her on the spot and escorted out of the building by security!

It’s not so much the engineers as the damn know-it-all government bureaucrats.

 

[jschmidt]

I can tell you I am personally responsible for dumping pounds of Freon into the atmosphere while working on B-52s and probably own one of those "holes" in the ozone. I can also tell you that those holes healed themself long ago. I've lived in S. FL for over 30 years, and the tides are no higher now than in 1993 when I retired here. Nothing has gone "underwater."

Yes they are. And any reductions started after the world banned fluorocarbons. Before that it was getting worse. It has to do with those holes that let in all sorts of electromechanical distortion and radiation that the ozone layer protects us from, including cancer-causing radiation from the sun. 1980-level recovery over Antarctica is expected by around 2066 and by 2045 over the Arctic.

You don't hear about it as much because it is an environmental success story. It's probably the worst example you could have used to claim your point.

 

[jschmidt]

Gee - I wonder it Taxi's ever had these?? Hard to keep your butt warm in NY while waiting for a fare!!

I've always hated this "feature". But I learned last week in Portugal and Spain that the system works perfectly in multiple brands, eight maybe. As usual, Republicans want to ban something tha finally works perfectly. It's because you all have to keep your cars longer and think light bulbs are too expensive.
If you still don't like it, you can always upgrade that beater to a newer car.

In city driving, stop-start saves 3-10% of gas, on average. But EPA mileage doesn't even include stoplight savings. That's roughly two gallons extra per tankful. Of course, if you are afraid to go to cities, it won't help you much.

Since EPA doesn't regulate or require it, I'm not sure why anyone cares what they think. If they're making a safety claim, that's regulated (simply to allow) by DOT. They're just blowing smoke you know where. Or maybe the current management doesn't even know.

And the idea that heat goes away at stoplights is just ludicrous. Fantasyland, my friend.

 

[jschmidt]

This. Don’t blame the government for this it was offered, not required, and the car companies snapped it up. Yeah capitalism.

Thank you. It helps to be able to read well enough to fact check, huh?

 

[ladder13]

Gee - I wonder it Taxi's ever had these?? Hard to keep your butt warm in NY while waiting for a fare!!

Or police cars.

 

[steve1817]

The bypass is a Toyota.

The bypass is to stop electing communists.

 

[steve1817]

This. Don’t blame the government for this it was offered, not required, and the car companies snapped it up. Yeah capitalism.

Which car company came up with CAFE standards? Yeah communism.

 

[ladder13]

Which car company came up with CAFE standards? Yeah communism.

Offered with a carrot attached.

 

[rwt1405]

I actually went back and read a previous post before replying to this one. My 24 Prius can run 70 MPH on the electric motor and hybrid battery without the gas engine running, It does not even have a "starter motor" or fan belts. All of that is integral in the hybrid system. Even the air conditioner does not require the engine to be running. There is no "cranking noise" when the engine starts, it is actually done by the transmission. My last tank of fuel (10.5 gallon capacity) I went 520 miles on 8 gallons of regular gas (COSTCO) at $2.73 a gallon.
65 miles per gallon 4.4 cents a mile.
I hope this post does not cause people here to hate me. I recycled cars my whole life and drove for free. Had a 37 Ford 5 window coupe in original condition but ran radial tires. Adjusted the ORIGINAL mechanical brakes with a laser thermometer to match the temperatures and effectiveness of the brakes.
This new car is almost unbelievable compared to what I have driven. It kept me awake when I was falling asleep. It slammed on the brakes in COSTCO parking lot when some idiot was going 25 MPH with people and cars backing up everywhere.
Closing in on 75 years age my car is my partner in keeping me healthy and alive. I don't need to be as frugal with transportation as I have been, just like I don't need to drive a 1967 383 Formula S Barracuda like a wild man, burning up 100 gallons of gas a week when it was 32 Cents a gallon. in 1973 just before gas prices skyrocketed.
For those here who can take care of an older car and stay safe, I understand your position PERFECTLY.
I just don't need to work that hard at being cheap at this point in life. I can afford the luxury and safety of my new car. The thought of going back to what I had literally scares me today.

4.4 cents a mile is $4400 per 100k miles.
At 15 MPG you are spending 65/15 times the money on fuel. That's $19000 versus my $4400.
$14600 in my pocket every 100k and this car can go 341,000 miles on the original brake pads.
Your V8 engine burns .5 gal per hour idling. My car can go at least 32.5 miles on that same fuel while yours sits there and goes nowhere. If I drove slowly I can average over 90 miles per gallon.

I'm all for you having the vehicle that YOU wish to drive/have

As for me, I have absolutely NO desire to ever drive a Prius, or ANY vehicle like a Prius

Also, I would never consider a Prius to be a "luxury" vehicle, but if you consider it to be, good for you

I'm glad you like YOUR vehicle, please respect that not everyone likes your Prius, nor wants one

No offense, but I could care less what kind of mileage your Prius gets, I don't want one, nor would I ever purchase one, EVER

 

[Cibermac]

I can hear the roar of approval from most on this forum.

EPA to phase out controversial start-stop car technology

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans to phase out the controversial start-stop technology in vehicles, a feature that has divided drivers.E

news3lv.com

Will they come out with tools to disable it for the older cars? I have a switch I have to hit on my car every time I start it and would love a permanent off switch.

 

[NYlakesider]

Will they come out with tools to disable it for the older cars? I have a switch I have to hit on my car every time I start it and would love a permanent off switch.

Basically if you have a car computer programmer and know how to use it, just about anything on the vechicle can be "adjusted" The problem is the factories will have as serious hissy fit if you work on certain things. They control the passwords needed to do certain things and low and behold if a dealership or mechanic there makes things work better they get very upset and will punish.

From what a dealership mechanic I know says that they could disconnect that nuisance in a few minuets for a nominal charge If the factory allows it.

 

[Stevens]

My ford Ranger has a button to push to cancel the "stop" feature. As others have mentioned the small savings in gas used must be negated by additional wear on starter and other components

 

[TX-Dennis]

Will they come out with tools to disable it for the older cars? I have a switch I have to hit on my car every time I start it and would love a permanent off switch.

There are devices you can buy for many vehicles that eliminate the "feature." Some versions are a pain to install requiring tearing the dash apart to access a wiring harness. Others are as simple as plugging it into your OBD2 port. Google auto start stop eliminator for whatever vehicle you have, and I would imagine you'll find something.

 

[jschmidt]

No big deal in a hybrid set up like the Toyotas. My wife's RAV4 stops the engine (runs the accessories off the big battery) at stop signs or stop lights. As someone stated earlier, no starter and when the gas engine starts you won't notice it most of the time. Sort of feels like an automatic transmission changing gears at some times and not noticeable at other times.

I keep it turned off on the BMW. Hate that hesitation/vibration when it starts up at a stop light/stop sign (makes me think something bad just happened to the engine). On one of the forums I belong to some people were suggesting some BMW models were experiencing engine failure issues due to the constant starting/stopping of the engine so often when it's at operating temps. Doesn't make it true but one engine size seemed to have a lot of failures vs. the others.

My F250 doesn't have it. I wonder if it's just not "required" on the bigger trucks?

They have electric fans. Those are the kinds of uninformed guesses are popular with people who are afraid of change. The first one in my life was electric windows. Stupid people were awash with stupid ideas.

 

[jschmidt]

The system is and always has been voluntary. It provides a small EPA credit for a tiny boost in performance. With enough pressure from buyers they might stop including it but expecting them to retroactively allow us to shut it off permanently might be a stretch.

Right, except the EPA test doesn't measure gains from stop-start.

 

[jschmidt]

I just gotta know, if you are heading down a busy street and you want to turn into let's say a driveway, but someone is coming out. So you stop in a hurried wait, that stupid system is going to shut off in the middle of traffic. Insane.

You can apply theoretical beliefs to problems, but your information will always be inferior to real world data. In this case the real world disproves your theory.