[ishan12]

Totally hate this feature. I turn it off as soon as I start my XUV700. Sadly there is no way to permanently turn it off. In traffic like that of Pune or any other metro, it is totally useless in bumper to bumper situation. It extremely irritating if the car keeps shutting off and starting again and again every few seconds. It may be tolerable in smooth petrol vehicles, but not in large diesels. Also, there is the issue of AC switching off evey time the car turn off.

[harishhm74]

I have voted YAY to it as it just takes the guilt away of keeping the engine ON at traffic signals. I have had absolutely no issues in Ertiga AT which had this feature and I still miss this feature in XUV700 AX7L where it is a bit of multi-step process to switch off and on at a traffic signal and I inevitably just leave the engine ON all times at the signal (which I hate).

[MyLife_MyCar]

Voted Nay nay nay!!!

The good part:
In the new Verna, I initially thought of this to be a cool feature. The system works really well and there is only a slight vibration that only I (the driver) would feel, only because I know that ISG is enabled.

Secondly, unlike few people have mentioned, the ac still runs, though at lower efficiency / reduced blower speed.

The bad part, that led me vote Nay:
For ISG to shut down the car, it should be at standstill with brakes depressed. The moment I let go of the brake pedal, engine starts.

This means that I cannot use it with Auto-hold feature (which I find very useful whenever car is stopped). When auto-hold is enabled, I will definitely release the brake pedal and lo, the engine fires up!

It's just plain stupidity to ignore the fact that brake pressure is still maintained.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by MyLife_MyCar

This means that I cannot use it with Auto-hold feature (which I find very useful whenever car is stopped). When auto-hold is enabled, I will definitely release the brake pedal and lo, the engine fires up!

What a silly implementation and integration of two well-meaning sub-systems ! The whole point of auto-hold is to allow the driver to release his/her foot from the brake pedal while at a complete stop. If the auto-start comes on each time this is done, then what is the use of auto-hold?

Plain stupid unless there is some software button hidden in some submenu allowing you change this setting?

[supermax]

Originally Posted by amalji

I have been using the idle start/stop feature on my Innova Crysta Diesel Automatic for the last 4.5 years ( 63000 kms ). Let me try to give a review on the feature.

When does it get activated? Or in other words, when does it automatically shut down the engine ?

When one of the below conditions are met.

• You stop in a traffic light with brakes depressed firmly.
• You stop in a traffic light and then change the gear lever to P regardless of whether brake pedal is still depressed or not.

Are there any exceptions to the above rule?

Yes, listed below.

• When the battery doesn't have enough charge.
• When the steering position is not straight.
• When you are on a steep incline.
• When the cabin temperature is not within an acceptable range of the target temperature set.
• When driver seatbelts are unfastened.

Wonderfully detailed post, really, but could you help verify one more exception case for me? I wonder if the engine switch off doesn't happen if even the turn indicator is on, but steering position is still straight. Why do I wonder about this? Because the reason for the exception is clearly to not stop the engine when the driver is only stopped for traffic before making a safe turn, where the steering wheel is expected to be turned, and not straight. However, in Sweden, drivers are explicitly taught NOT to turn the steering wheel to left until the last minute, when it is safe to start driving to the left, to prevent getting shunted onto the opposite lane in the event of a rear-end collision while waiting to turn left. If the engine does switch off when the left indicator is on and steering is straight, it's a failure to implement best practices.

[CityFamilyCar]

Originally Posted by amalji

When one of the below conditions are met.

• You stop in a traffic light with brakes depressed firmly.
• You stop in a traffic light and then change the gear lever to P regardless of whether brake pedal is still depressed or not.

If all manufacturers could implement the same logic of switching off when lever moves to P, we can have a respite from having to keep the brake depressed. Unfortunately, in my Kia Carens, irrespective of the gear lever position, the brake has to be depressed for the engine to remain switched off. Is this the same with other cars as well?

[saisree]

Voted NO

Recently drove my friends Baleno which had the Auto Start Stop feature. 15 minutes, slow crawling traffic, switched of this feature. It's such an irritation to have the car start and stop before I could stop someone sneak into the gap.

[dilipkumar7278]

After four months of ownership of my xuv700 I can confidently say that this system is a nuisance most of the time, especially in city traffic. Now I disable the system before each trip , which is another nuisance. Mahindra should have given an option to permanently disable the system. Also I suspect it will do more harm to the engine/starter motor and compressor in the long run. This negates the effect of fuel saved, which, I think is negligible

[airwarrior]

Originally Posted by supermax

Wonderfully detailed post, really, but could you help verify one more exception case for me? I wonder if the engine switch off doesn't happen if even the turn indicator is on, but steering position is still straight. Why do I wonder about this? Because the reason for the exception is clearly to not stop the engine when the driver is only stopped for traffic before making a safe turn, where the steering wheel is expected to be turned, and not straight. However, in Sweden, drivers are explicitly taught NOT to turn the steering wheel to left until the last minute, when it is safe to start driving to the left, to prevent getting shunted onto the opposite lane in the event of a rear-end collision while waiting to turn left. If the engine does switch off when the left indicator is on and steering is straight, it's a failure to implement best practices.

Early days, but wondering how does the Auto Start Stop feature work out in the new hybrid vehicles? The Maruti Invicto (must be the same for the Hycross) is stated to start off in the EV mode and hence does not invoke the engine. Any feedback from the Hybrid owners ?

[Gotcha]

This is one of the most annoying feature on newer cars to increase mileage. I recently bought a pre-facelift i20 which didn't have auto start-stop while Baleno/Glanza had it (which I actually wanted to buy but didn't because of this hindrance).

It makes the car almost unusable - the AC compressor won't run when the engine is OFF and the cabin doesn't remain cool enough with just the fan running, especially on Baleno/Glanza with a weak AC. Even if turned off, the feature automatically reactivates after a while.

[blackbandit]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

What a silly implementation and integration of two well-meaning sub-systems ! The whole point of auto-hold is to allow the driver to release his/her foot from the brake pedal while at a complete stop. If the auto-start comes on each time this is done, then what is the use of auto-hold?

Plain stupid unless there is some software button hidden in some submenu allowing you change this setting?

Originally Posted by MyLife_MyCar

Voted Nay nay nay!!!

The good part:
In the new Verna, I initially thought of this to be a cool feature. The system works really well and there is only a slight vibration that only I (the driver) would feel, only because I know that ISG is enabled.

Secondly, unlike few people have mentioned, the ac still runs, though at lower efficiency / reduced blower speed.

The bad part, that led me vote Nay:
For ISG to shut down the car, it should be at standstill with brakes depressed. The moment I let go of the brake pedal, engine starts.

This means that I cannot use it with Auto-hold feature (which I find very useful whenever car is stopped). When auto-hold is enabled, I will definitely release the brake pedal and lo, the engine fires up!

It's just plain stupidity to ignore the fact that brake pressure is still maintained.

Well I can confirm that it is not the case in the new Verna. The engine does remain off even after I let go of the brakes with auto hold enabled and only turns on only if I tap the accelerator or if the cabin temperature drops.

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by blackbandit

Well I can confirm that it is not the case in the new Verna. The engine does remain off even after I let go of the brakes with auto hold enabled and only turns on only if I tap the accelerator or if the cabin temperature drops.

Thanks for confirming.
After a few tries, I was able to keep the car off even after letting off the brakes. However, it happens only 1out of 4 times. I have no clue how to keep it remain off.

I still turn of ISG as soon as I start the car because:
a) bumper to bumper traffic
b) ac performance

So my vote is still nay.

[blackbandit]

Originally Posted by MyLife_MyCar

Thanks for confirming.
After a few tries, I was able to keep the car off even after letting off the brakes. However, it happens only 1out of 4 times. I have no clue how to keep it remain off.

I still turn of ISG as soon as I start the car because:
a) bumper to bumper traffic
b) ac performance

So my vote is still nay.

Definitely a nay for me as well What I did notice is that cabin temperature is factored in. On a cool night it stays off long enough. But if the AC has not cooled the cabin enough it either doesn't turn off or turns back on immediately after few seconds. And compared to XUV 700 and Virtus I found the system in the verna to be less intrusive. I instantly had to turn in off in both these cars because it was very annoying on the get go. But in my verna I generally leave it as is and turn it off the moment I encounter heavy bumper to bumper traffic only so far. But yeah I would rather prefer to have had it the other way around where it would be turned off by default or at least if it would remember the last setting.

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by blackbandit

.. I would rather prefer to have had it the other way around where it would be turned off by default or at least if it would remember the last setting.

Yes, completely agree. Sometimes I forget to turn it off and the car will shut down at the first encounter of the traffic, which is about 30 seconds from my home (due to metro constructions)

[Guna]

Originally Posted by MyLife_MyCar

The bad part, that led me vote Nay:
For ISG to shut down the car, it should be at standstill with brakes depressed. The moment I let go of the brake pedal, engine starts.

This means that I cannot use it with Auto-hold feature (which I find very useful whenever car is stopped). When auto-hold is enabled, I will definitely release the brake pedal and lo, the engine fires up!

It's just plain stupidity to ignore the fact that brake pressure is still maintained.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

What a silly implementation and integration of two well-meaning sub-systems ! The whole point of auto-hold is to allow the driver to release his/her foot from the brake pedal while at a complete stop. If the auto-start comes on each time this is done, then what is the use of auto-hold?

Plain stupid unless there is some software button hidden in some submenu allowing you change this setting?

Seems like a issue with this particular car to me. Or is there any user setting which is over-riding the normal functioning? I don't think Hyundai will make such basic mistake. Engaging of the auto-hold function should be the trigger for the engine to shut.

I used to disable this feature on my Tiguan Allspace thinking that in Indian conditions it may lead to the failure of starter motor. But after reading about cars with this feature (with active usage) completing 50K+ kilometres without any issues, I decided keep it on as it really helps to add about 1 kmpl to your FE.