The widely disliked auto start-stop feature found in countless modern vehicles may finally be on its way out, thanks to EPA chief Lee Zeldin. The administrator took to social media this morning to declare the technology’s days are numbered.
Many drivers will welcome the news, having long found the system intrusive and annoying. Whether the feature truly disappears remains to be seen, but Zeldin’s pointed declaration suggests a real push to put an end to the polarizing technology.
Actually, this article has a few good points but my experience with such a system is not that bad. I have a GM start/stop system which I cannot turn off, but it is so unobtrusive it does not bother me. For one, it is fast. When I take my foot of the gas quickly and hit the gas, the car turns on in the time I am moving my foot over to the gas pedal. The only thing I cannot do is a two pedal start like cars used to be able to do, which is not really needed. If the system is built well, there is virtually no delay at all. The problem is other manufactures have not built it to react as fast so this article is true in those cases. The only way to get around it at traffic lights is anticipate when the light turns green and take your foot off the gas when the light in the other direction is yellow. That will give the car time to start and pull away when your light turns green in that case.
It is annoying! I recently bought a Jeep Compass. Unfortunately, it as that feature, but I can turn it off. I can’t stand it. I do have to turn it off every time I start the car, but it’s worth it. I am in the situation where it doesn’t start up right away (1 sec delay) and then it feel like an eternity for the car to get in gear to drive off. When that start/stop function is off, it’s smooth driving. Good riddance!