I now have had my F-Type for a couple of weeks and I have discovered a trick that I think makes the Stop/Start system more useful!

Whenever the system is on and I am coming to a stop, I can control if the system is going to shut off the engine or not by just letting up on the brake before I come to a COMPLETE stop. For example, if am stopping to cross a road and don't want the stop/start system to stop the engine, I let up, a little, on the brake as I stop. But if I am stopping for a red light, I keep constant pressure on the brake pedal until just before the light turns green and then I let up a little so the engine restarts before I can move. If you time it right, it almost as not having a stop/start system and therefore far less intrusive.

 

Isn't it just easier to hit the Eco button?

 

I do this for two main reasons,

1. It is fun, somewhat like using a clutch to shift, since the F-Type doesn't come with a stick!
2. It is nice to know that I am saving a little gas while I sit waiting time at a light!

 

I can't find the comment now, but somewhere I think I'd read about some displeasure over this feature and how does one disable it. At first I thought I could "disable" the feature by pushing the button; but of course, that won't permanently disable it. The solution was to have the dealer do it. It didn't take him 15 minutes and was identified on the shop invoice as "A customer requests to have ECO Start/Stop System disabled". I'm much happier with the ride. Admittedly, my driving habits probably contributed to my dislike of this feature, and I felt to continue with it would cause me to learn how to drive all over again.
Luck
King Fala

 

+1
Can't you just turn this feature off rather than bringing it to a dealer to have it disabled?

 

Yes the Eco start/stop always is on when you start the car, unless you're in Dynamic Mode. So you'd have to always manually turn it off with the button, which can be a pain. But Naples is right, if you're light on the brakes when you come to a stop, it won't auto-stop. After a while you get good at it, it's quite brilliant. So when you DO want the engine to stop, you just press harder on the brakes at stop.

 

There is a separate small battery that feeds the stop start, I believe its near the main battery.. If you disconnect the small battery, apparently everything works fine, other than the stop start which is now disabled.
Lawrence.

 

"So you'd have to always manually turn it off with the button, which can be a pain."
Wow! Look how lazy we've become. Push of a button=pain. Lol

 

lol

 

The first thing I do after I start the car is to engage Dynamic Mode. That disables the start/stop function and also increases throttle response, steering weighting, quicker gear shifts at higher RPM, stiffer suspension and opens the exhaust baffles)
I guess some of you do not exclusively drive in Dynamic Mode as a default? Any particular reason?

I do the same in my 997 Turbo S. Start the car, push the sport button.

I wish dynamic mode and sport mode could be programmed as the default on engine start but for some reason the manufacturers have not allowed that option.

Walt

 

Mine stays in dynamic once set. Yours goes back to normal on a restart?

 

I do exactly the same thing. Right after hitting the start button, I toggle the drive selection switch to Dynamic before even putting into gear.

 

It stays in Dynamic for a while, but if the car sits for more than a day, it defaults back to Eco.

 

Huh! Mine stays on Dynamic Mode too, but I use my F-Type as a daily driver so it hasn't sat yet. That's too funny, it'll eventually revert to Eco mode??

And I suspect the reason it eventually defaults back to Eco mode, and why the Eco mode button itself is not a toggle or a hold button, is because EPA rules would then disallow the Eco-mode mileage performance to be 'official'.

 

Dynamic Mode remains selected for approximately 6 hours after the ignition has been switched off, after which point it will have to be reselected.

According to the owners handbook, Page 78.

Walt

 

I've actually gotten used to it. Only time I had an issue was when a guy on a Harley jumped me at the light. I did the oh crap, got the car started, gave it full throttle, and passed him like a bat out of hell in a little less than a block. That was actually rather impressive though not too wise given the Highway Patrol office sits right around the corner (and the car isn't exactly in stealth mode when the exhaust opens up).

 

Another trick is to select the menu option that allows the paddle shifters to work in both normal automatic and manual shift mode. Without "dynamic" engaged, if you downshift a speed or two while braking, the engine will not shut down at that stop, and normal eco behavior will only resume when it reverts to normal drive mode after a short time. However, a simple paddle downshift while braking at every stop, and the engine will never shut off.

 

I've been wondering if the small fuel savings from the ECO mode will cover the eventual cost of a starter motor down the road???

 

I only drive in Dynamic mode.