Auto Stop/start Caused Me A Near Miss Today...

[XZO]

I forgot to switch off the stop/start today and it nearly [could have?] caused an accident.

I was on an angled steep hill T junction waiting to turn right across traffic onto a fast A road. I was holding the Caravelle on the hand brake ready to cross as soon as safe. Then came the gap and just as I was about to move off – foot starting to apply pressure on the throttle - the engine stopped, then started, hiccuped as the gearbox fought to find a gear, wheel spin for a moment and the off I go.

All this caused my safety margin to disappear and as I was already starting to move I was committed and floored it, nobody had to brake hard and no real drama with any other vehicle on the A road, it just made me miss a heart beat because the engine systems interfered with my driving that could have caused an issue.

Rant over, I just wish I could permanently switch the bloody A button off. Grrrrr.

 

[Dellmassive]

you can . . . . .

see here > Stop/start Doing Your Head In? Disabling It - How We Done It -

 

[Spaghetti]

Is yours a DSG? I was talking to @Tourershine about the delay sometimes with DSG ‘boxes and it sounds less than ideal.

I’ve got a manual, and start/stop can be annoying, but if it’s in gear it doesn’t turn off, so I don’t get the hesitation so much.

 

[Tourershine]

I've always been vocal on the dangers of Start/Stop on an automatic gearbox. I don't dislike it on a manual, and my previous van, which was manual, it was always activated, but that hesitation on an auto is bordering on dangerous in modern traffic, so mine is always switched off as part of starting up my van.

 

[XZO]

Hi
Mine is a DSG 150. If was a horrid feeling. The second or two while the auto box decided which gear seemed like an age to me at the time

 

[SNACK]

@XZO We have a 204 and I’ve not experienced any hesitation at all with our DSG. Even when the engine stops, it’s very quick to restart and pull away. Was it really a two second delay for you?

Do find it helps to slide the box down in to Sport mode for an extra quick pull away. Also, you can prevent the stop / start by only very lightly holding the brake, instead of pressing down all the way.

 

[XZO]

Seemed like 2 seconds but may have been less. I was in normal drive but take your point about sport. I was also concerned about wheel spin. For the last 12 years I have only had AWD. Still trying to assess whether the T6 suffers from wheel scrabble and how effective the traction control is. Easy does it while I learn the T6 driving dynamics

 

[Maddman31]

start stop can be turned of without getting faults using vag com . Also makes your starter motor last longer .

 

[Loz]

start stop can be turned of without getting faults using vag com . Also makes your starter motor last longer .

Stop/start Doing Your Head In? Disabling It - How We Done It -

Stop/Start doing your head in? Disabling it - How We done It - The start/stop is an interesting topic, some love it - some hate it. The thing is, its a requirement of the T6 EU6 licence as it is used for the consumption figures and especially the CO2 emissions for the registration...

www.t6forum.com

 

[minmax89]

I agree. It can be quite scary sometimes! I tend to brake to a stop at the junction. Then, the stop kicks in. when i see my gap coming up, I lift the brake pedal slightly and the engine starts, BUT the brake is still on (and crucially the clutch is still disengaged). This workaround works for me on the few times that I see those 'scary situations' come up (which is not that often)
I did think of that @Dellmassive option, which I still may do.
Adam

 

[minmax89]

@XZO We have a 204 and I’ve not experienced any hesitation at all with our DSG. Even when the engine stops, it’s very quick to restart and pull away. Was it really a two second delay for you?

Do find it helps to slide the box down in to Sport mode for an extra quick pull away. Also, you can prevent the stop / start by only very lightly holding the brake, instead of pressing down all the way.

Peoples perception of what a second is can vary wildly I find. But yeah, there is the start up, then clutch engaging (DSG) then movement. Its deffo around a second. But when you're panicking at a junction it feels like 5 seconds!!! Ha!

 

[DaveD]

and not a single polar bear was saved....

 

[Salty Spuds]

I agree. It can be quite scary sometimes! I tend to brake to a stop at the junction. Then, the stop kicks in. when i see my gap coming up, I lift the brake pedal slightly and the engine starts, BUT the brake is still on (and crucially the clutch is still disengaged). This workaround works for me on the few times that I see those 'scary situations' come up (which is not that often)
I did think of that @Dellmassive option, which I still may do.
Adam

That's how I drive mine all the time. I don't mind the stop/start, you have to know how to use it, just like any other "Gadget" on the van. We also have a Skoda Yeti with a similar engine/DSG combo, that behaves exactly the same. Just a slight easing on the brake pedal & they start up straight away.

 

[Mud Digger]

I forgot to switch off the stop/start today and it nearly [could have?] caused an accident.

I was on an angled steep hill T junction waiting to turn right across traffic onto a fast A road. I was holding the Caravelle on the hand brake ready to cross as soon as safe. Then came the gap and just as I was about to move off – foot starting to apply pressure on the throttle - the engine stopped, then started, hiccuped as the gearbox fought to find a gear, wheel spin for a moment and the off I go.

All this caused my safety margin to disappear and as I was already starting to move I was committed and floored it, nobody had to brake hard and no real drama with any other vehicle on the A road, it just made me miss a heart beat because the engine systems interfered with my driving that could have caused an issue.

Rant over, I just wish I could permanently switch the bloody A button off. Grrrrr.

Holding the van on the hand brake ? do you not have anti roll brakes just holding the Van on the foot brake with the slight delayed brake release then giving you that moment as as engine picks up .... to pull away or is that a Blue-motion thing i got on my trend-line

 

[Dellmassive]

some tips that i have observed . .

The stop/start will only kick in when the brake peddle is 20-30% depressed or more - so if you are light footed it wont kick in in at a junction.

When it cuts out at a junction . . . if you just blip the brake peddle the van will restart and wont cut out again untill you drive off above 10mph(ish) and come to a stop again - so this can help get the engine going straight away.

Hill hold assist is great but be cautious as it lets go of the brakes after a few seconds.

i find the best way is to just press the dash disable button while around town if you feel the need to . . .

and learn the characteristics of the DSG lag and stop/start - once you get used to it and expect/anticipate/account for the delay at junctions and stops things become much easier. . . . if all else fails just switch it off for the remainder of that journey and try again next time.

 

[minmax89]

gotta say, really sound advice above. There are a LOT of autonamotive devices on a modern car. Some are really good. We kinda expect them to be flawless. But when you think about it, they're al just based off basic computer programming working with some parameters and sensors. Nothing like the complexities of (and how fast) the brain makes multiple impulsive decisions. A lot of it works very intelligently but its all relative. Like when we think its amazing that a dog can do tricks. If my wife did the same tricks I'd be like, "so what"

 

[DaveD]

Stop / start reminds me of this lorry:



It makes such a tiny, insignificant difference to emissions, but the gullible are appeased!

 

[Salty Spuds]

Stop / start reminds me of this lorry:

View attachment 110530

It makes such a tiny, insignificant difference to emissions, but the gullible are appeased!

Agreed, on a global scale, it’s insignificant. The real benefit of stop/start is at a very localised level. We have to walk past a large motorway junction with associated feeder roundabouts, the planners in their wisdom have put traffic lights on all the roundabouts & the motorway junction. Consequently, at any one time, there’re loads of vehicles going nowhere. The pollution is tangible, you can taste/smell/see & feel it. If all those vehicles sat waiting for the lights to change had “working” stop start, I’m convinced it would improve the situation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Greta, in fact I’d smack her arse & send her back to school if she was mine. But we have to be responsible for what we do, & any small effort helps.
All in my opinion of course, I’ll get me coat.

 

[DaveD]

Agreed, on a global scale, it’s insignificant. The real benefit of stop/start is at a very localised level. We have to walk past a large motorway junction with associated feeder roundabouts, the planners in their wisdom have put traffic lights on all the roundabouts & the motorway junction. Consequently, at any one time, there’re loads of vehicles going nowhere. The pollution is tangible, you can taste/smell/see & feel it. If all those vehicles sat waiting for the lights to change had “working” stop start, I’m convinced it would improve the situation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of Greta, in fact I’d smack her arse & send her back to school if she was mine. But we have to be responsible for what we do, & any small effort helps.
All in my opinion of course, I’ll get me coat.

It's likely that the vast majority of pollution comes from vehicles setting off and accelerating from stationary, the ideal scenario would be one which keeps vehicles moving, even slowly, that is the key to lower levels of local pollution IMO.
I definitely fully agree with you on local pollution being a serious issue and in the situation you describe I used to switch my engine off (to save fuel!) before stop start was fitted on vehicles, sadly my T6 doesn't anticipate if we shall be stopped for 2 seconds or two minutes and reading threads on this forum it is clear that many people switch the stop / start off at the beginning of every journey or even permanently disable it.
There's now a body of thought that suggests that pollution in the form of tyre debris and brake dust is just as serious a problem as exhaust emissions, regenerative braking is probably part of the answer to part of that problem but I think it's something we will hear a lot more about in the future.
Please don't get your coat, different opinions keep things interesting!

 

[Skyliner33]

Just reading this and thinking about the stop start on my van. When I am stopped in a line of traffic at the lights, if the car in front edges forwards a couple of meters then this causes my engine to start. I have started leaving a decent gap to the vehicle in front to stop this happening.