- Nov 16, 2015
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Except the SatNav in my Santa fe is the pants, worst I have ever had. Trip to Switzerland Took me great until the French German border, Into Germany for 20 miles back into France, missed the best area of France for wine, The Alsace.
- Jun 20, 2005
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- Nov 16, 2015
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Not so sure, we went back for my birthday weekend. Nice caravan site near Colmar. http://camping-eguisheim.fr/
- Jul 18, 2017
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Now that I have had the vehicle for awhile I find it best to switch off the Stop Start due to my driving habits. I was always taught that when stopped, apply hand brake and engage the correct gear. This means removing your foot off the brake pedal.
Also with consideration for drivers behind me removing my foot from the brake pedal stops the brake lights blinding the person behind me in low light.
However when you remove your foot off the brake pedal, the engine starts even though the handbrake is engaged so the stop start system becomes obsolete if driving according to Advanced Driver training which I did many years ago,
Also with consideration for drivers behind me removing my foot from the brake pedal stops the brake lights blinding the person behind me in low light.
However when you remove your foot off the brake pedal, the engine starts even though the handbrake is engaged so the stop start system becomes obsolete if driving according to Advanced Driver training which I did many years ago,
- Nov 11, 2009
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Mines got autohold which I activate before druving off. I can set stop start to be active or non active. So on coming to a halt I just press the brake pedal and remove foot from brake. Autohold keeps it stationary and releases as soon as I touch the throttle to start driving again. It has an electronic handbrake with auto release which I am not a fan of. The handbrake I only use when putting the car into park. It all felt weird when I first bought it as I unconsciously wanted to lift or release a handbrake lever. But I’ve got used to it now and quite like it.
- Jun 16, 2020
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Mine is the same, but I do keep my foot on the brake for short periods, mainly because the handbrake switch is in a stupid place. If it looks like I will be stopped for a while, it goes into park with hand bake on. The start-stop operates in park. Move to drive and it all come back to life.
IMHO, start-stop should still operate under the handbrake while in drive, and the HB switch should be central as on VW’s
John
I keep my Stop-Start permanently disabled - otherwise the engine cuts out just before coming to a halt which is a PITA when manoeuvring slowly.
- Nov 11, 2009
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My Kia doesn’t do that as you can inch slowly forwards or backwards and autohold doesn’t come in until I more firmly press the brake pedal. But being DCT it’s still not as smooth as a conventional torque converter or CVT auto box. But times better than my Skoda Superb DSG.
- Jan 3, 2012
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Since owning my car i have kept the stop-start on but when we were towing, I disabled it ,
That may have been unneccessary as VWs disable the Stop-Start automatically when towing.
- Jul 18, 2017
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We cannot permanently disable the Stop Start on our car and have to remember to manually switch it off every time we use the car.
I had to use VCDS (a third-party look-alike for the VW diagnostic system) to change the default from on to off - so I can use the switch to turn it back on if I choose.
- Mar 14, 2005
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Whether stop start is deactivated when towing is more likely to be model specific rather than brand related.
My previous Passat DSG had a slight hesitation and clunkiness when pulling away as the DSG sorted it's self out, and it was especially noticeable if the auto hold braking system had been engaged. I found that if I lightly tapped the throttle momentarily just before needing to move the brakes released and the gear box responded more smoothly, but it was all about anticipating the road conditions.
My present Passat GTE PHEV has stop start and a dual clutch transmission, and auto hold handbrake and the combination works very well. The car is as responsive and smooth from standstill as any fluid flywheel because of the EV element and the DSG and engine start is all but imperceptible, and the auto hold handbrake works very effectively.
My previous Passat DSG had a slight hesitation and clunkiness when pulling away as the DSG sorted it's self out, and it was especially noticeable if the auto hold braking system had been engaged. I found that if I lightly tapped the throttle momentarily just before needing to move the brakes released and the gear box responded more smoothly, but it was all about anticipating the road conditions.
My present Passat GTE PHEV has stop start and a dual clutch transmission, and auto hold handbrake and the combination works very well. The car is as responsive and smooth from standstill as any fluid flywheel because of the EV element and the DSG and engine start is all but imperceptible, and the auto hold handbrake works very effectively.
- May 7, 2012
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My stop start does not restart the engine when I release the foot brake and I have never heard of this with a modern car. It does save fuel and in normal use disabling it will cost you money and increase pollution so using it should not be the norm. Frankly if stopped at traffic light or in a queue which is possibly where it works best I can see no point in having the car in gear and in most other circumstances you can see if there is a point in having he car in gear. The one exception I can see is when you are at a busy junction and need to be ready to go, in that case being in gear is probably best.
The one problem I am aware of was when my daughter had to drive through a daily stop start jam to get to work and that did run the battery down, so in those circumstances you may benefit from that.
I do accept that the system can be caught out on very odd instances when usually at a roundabout you get to the point where you just stop and need to accelerate as the engine cuts out. You do have to become aware of that problem but otherwise I can see no point in disabling it in normal driving. I will take the savings any day.
- Jun 16, 2020
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My car DOES restart the engine on releasing the brake. Otherwise I would not be able to move. It might be that stop start systems fitted to manuals are different, I have no experience of them. Buckman has an automatic as I do.
Regarding the battery, with mine the battery is monitored and if the batteries (two), are getting low, stop start is automatically cancelled. Also if the car calls for air-con.
John
- Nov 11, 2009
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Mine keeps the engine running until I take my foot of if the brake. Then responds quickly when I touch the throttle to move off again. It is an auto DCT.
- Jul 18, 2017
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On the Jeep the handbrake or foot brake is manual. Not to be confused with the brake pedal. I cannot see disabling the Stop Start saving and significant amount of money and as you mention, the battery may expire sooner than normal due to Stop Start cycles costing you a lot more than any savings.
When doing my "Advanced" driving course it was a fail if at traffic lights you took the car out of gear.
- Jun 16, 2020
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When I bought mine it was my first car with stop-start. On the test drive the sales person suggested I tested it by seeing if I could quickly take my foot off the brake and move to the accelerator. No matter how fast I did it the engine had started and I could pull away seamlessly.
John
- Nov 11, 2009
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So did you ride the clutch when in the police? The Swedish police changed most of their Saabs from manual to automatic on account of the high maintenance costs. Some officers complained that their acceleration times would reduce. In fact average acceleration times reduced as did maintenance costs.
- Jul 18, 2017
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Riding the clutch was also a fail as we were taught to fully depress the pedal and hold it there until ready to move off. These were the old Austin Westminsters from the sixties with superchargers fitted.
- Nov 11, 2009
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- Jul 18, 2017
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Road holding was phenomenal due to weight of the car. We were taught to do handbrake turns which is not an easy feat in such a car. They could do over 120mph which was a very high speed for that car and in that age.
Unfortunately not many of our national roads such as they one below allowed such high speeds safely. We did have proper two lane roads between the cities. They also used the Mk2 Jaguar on the roads shown. We all wanted to be transferred to Highway Patrol as it was a cushy number.
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I did test mine before I stopped using it - at traffic lights, when stationary, it was possible to react to the red/amber and get away before the green. My ***** was the engine cutting out before coming to rest and then not reacting quick enough if you wanted to carry on rather than stop. But I never noticed any fuel saving.
- Jun 16, 2020
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It seems that different manufacturers produce systems that operate better or worse than others. Mine works fine with just one exception. As I slow to a stop, the engine will cut out at about 2mph. I need to react by releasing the brake slightly otherwise it stops too abruptly. In the past, I should have asked Volvo if this could be adjusted to not cut out until the car is fully stopped. But I keep forgetting.
I have never done any fuel saving comparisons.
John
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