Disregarding sentiment about whether people like or dislike the auto engine shut off at traffic lights etc.., is it good for the car or, do the repeated starts wear out the starter motor faster and thereby negate any potential fuel savings as a friend of mine claims

 

Well I have no scientific evidence to offer one way or another, I suspect it can't be doing the system any good over the long haul despite and minor fuel savings. I think it ultimately adds stress to the starter, alternator and other fan and electrical systems.

 

In addition to increased wear on the starter, I've often wondered how good it is for the engine itself to shutoff, then abruptly restart and immediately have to accelerate the car before oil pressure has had a chance to build, which could lead to additional engine wear on rod bearings. Just another reason I disabled mine...

 

Aussie John Cadogan is one of my favourite on-line car journos and here is his take on automatic stop/start systems:
https://autoexpert.com.au/posts/the-...-start-systems
In summary, it's useless pointless BS designed to achieve one thing and one thing only - reduce average fuel consumption in lab tests - but it doesn't harm your engine, starter motor or battery.

 

Isn't this feature primarily to reduce carbon emissions from our filthy gas sucking engines?

 

The auto transmission has a device that maintains fluid pressure while the engine is off, so it can shift quickly when the engine restarts. I would guess that isn't needed for oil.

 

It significantly reduces emissions in congested urban areas (citation needed) even if the car isn't a GSP (Gas-Sucking Pig). No matter how efficient your engine, if you're idling and stopped, you're getting exactly zero MPG.

The systems surrounding the start/stop system have been designed to cope. The old starter motors would have a drastically reduced lifespan. I read about a Mercedes development where the starter motor will be built as part of the engine with no additional moving parts. It seemed like a pretty clever idea.

 

Where is the plug to pull to disable the start/stop. 2016 F type

 

The systems are designed for the start stop (batteries, starters, etc.) but logic and physics suggest that start stop is harder on things than not having it is......whether or not it's enough to matter is a different thing.

I can see the value of the auto start/stop in large cities with lots of rush hour traffic and stop and go......here I leave it turned off.

Dave

 

[QUOTE=DPelletier;1883293
I can see the value of the auto start/stop in large cities with lots of rush hour traffic and stop and go......here I leave it turned off.

Dave[/QUOTE]

And so do I here in Victoria...as Dave says, unless you spend a fair amount of time stopped in traffic, the gain in fuel savings and the drop in emissions does not outweigh the annoyance and wear and tear (and I can accept that the engineers have taken the latter into account, but...).