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[Varche]

My dad has a new ( well it now has approx. 10 months on it) Ford Fiesta 1.1 manual. Lots of short journeys of up to five miles at a time. He has the air con on, heated windscreen, heated seat and heated steering wheel and why not.

The stop start has stopped working . Took it back to the dealer and they fobbed him off with thermo something or other. Now I could understand a car having an override if the outside temp is cold and you have the heating on and you haven't gone very far for the override to say " disable stop start until....

However  a quick search of the Internet shows up multiple other folk having similar problems.

I suspect his battery, whilst man enough to always start the car, may be struggling to provide the right voltage for electronic kit like Stop Start. Does that sound reasonable?

Like I have always thought these gadget rich cars will be a nightmare in ten years time

[BazaJT]

Afaik the stop/start will be automatically disabled if the battery charge drops below a certain[70% rings a bell]value so it could well be that.I forget now what recall there are for the Fiesta or if they only applied to certain engines.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Afaik the stop/start will be automatically disabled if the battery charge drops below a certain[70% rings a bell]value so it could well be that.I forget now what recall there are for the Fiesta or if they only applied to certain engines.

Yep.

Anyway stop/start is a pain in the arse and saves SFA in petrol.

I switch it off.

TPMS is another of those things we don't need, and spends most of it's time sending incorrect error messages. TPMS is the solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

[Shackeng]

I have it on the Mundano, works well, don't see a problem with it. It does'nt work all the time for whatever reason, but it certainly does not affect getaway from lights etc. Starts quicker than I can.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I have it on the Mundano, works well, don't see a problem with it. It does'nt work all the time for whatever reason, but it certainly does not affect getaway from lights etc. Starts quicker than I can.

It is quick to react but it's 'petrol saving ability' is unproven......at least it was when I tried a 'with it' and 'without it' test.

Also, I'm not sure it's a good idea to be starting and stopping the engine every few seconds. Must put a strain on something or other.

[YZ250]

As far as I'm aware, poor battery condition and/or low engine temperature will prevent it operating. In the Beemer, it's the second button I press, which is about one second after pressing the start button. If I do forget though, it doesn't operate until the engine is up to normal running temperature. I hate it personally and think it should be off by default instead of on.

[Varche]

Just seen this on Honest John

 ""Depends how you are using the car. Stop start will not function if your use is predominantly short runs from cold starts. It only works if the engine is fully to temperature, the battery is fully recharged, and the ambient temperature is above 3'C. "

haha can you imagine the hoohaa if your wipers only worked on long runs, if engine up to temp , battery fully charged and above 3 degC .  I am unimpressed. 

[YZ250]

Just seen this on Honest John

 ""Depends how you are using the car. Stop start will not function if your use is predominantly short runs from cold starts......

Just to add more confusion, when I pick up my new one it will have 'intelligent stop/start'. When the engine has reached normal running temperature, the car will decide whether to bother operating the stop/start based on whether it thinks it will be stationery for long enough to justify it cutting in.
How the hell can it know that when even I don't know how long I will be sat there. As said, it won't affect me as I'll still switch it off. 

[Varche]

I switch mine off. One less thing to worry about when negotiating our local roundabout from hell.

[Varche]

The dealer is having the six month old car in to supercharge the battery.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

The dealer is having the six month old car in to supercharge the battery.

Is this superior to a fully charged battery?

[Varche]

Good question.

We will see if the stop start comes back afterwards.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Good question.

We will see if the stop start comes back afterwards.

I Imagine it will be the same as with a fully charged battery.

[Sir Tigger KC]

The dealer is having the six month old car in to supercharge the flog us a new battery.

Batteries for stop/start cars cost about a sqillion quid I think? 

[Varche]

245 euros (about £213 squids) fitted for a Golf at the dealer here.