Best to change it before this happens (Picture istock/lentolo) Stop-start not working might be a sign the battery is about to pack up. You’ll know this because a warning light will illuminate on the dashboard. Neither will it work if there are any faults with the engine management system. And the car is smart enough to disable stop-start when you’re on a steep hill. The system realises there’s a high chance you’re manoeuvring and will find the engine cutting out every few seconds more than a little irritating. Having the wheel turned at an acute angle will prevent it working too. Stop-start won’t operate when reverse gear is selected or a parking aid is active. Other reasons why stop-start may not work To make all those starts seamless, the stop-start won’t kick in if it detects the battery is dying and it’s going to struggle to restart the car. I read somewhere that while a ‘normal’ car’s engine would start up about 50,000 times during the car’s life, on a stop-start car, that figure would be around 500,000.
Or maybe your battery needs checkingĬars with stop-start use special batteries that can withstand constantly starting an engine. So it disables the stop-start in case the battery is drained so much the engine won’t re-start. The computer knows the battery’s most important job is ensuring the engine starts. This is because all those features will then be drawing electric current from the battery. If it’s cold and you’ve switched the lights, wipers and heater on it may decide that cutting the engine isn’t going to do the battery any favours. Stop-start is clever enough to monitor the battery and how much current is being drawn from it. You’ll know the stop-start has stopped working because an A in a circle with a line through it will appear on the dash. Therefore the clever computer keeps the engine running until it’s at an optimal temperature. This is because the car’s computer is sufficiently savvy to know that an engine is at its most efficient when it’s fully warm. Stop-start won’t intervene when the engine is cold. And I’m not the only one the cold’s affected. The weather’s been so chilly lately, I’ve struggled to get out of bed in the morning. But if it stops stopping, is it a problem? And should you take your car to the garage? It might be due to the cold weather And it’s on nine out of every 10 new cars sold. Stop-start is designed to save you fuel and cut a car’s exhaust emissions by reducing the amount of time your engine sits idling without going anywhere. Is your car’s stop-start system on the blink at the moment? If it isn’t working as you think it should, there might be a very good reason for it.
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