BMW stop/start

BMW stop/start

Author
Discussion

RECampbell

Original Poster:

12 posts

95 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
The stop/start function on my E92 BMW has disengaged. I have been told that it could be due to cold weather conditions. Anyone got any advice?

MitchT

15,788 posts

208 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
Perhaps it's meant to do that. Possibly to stop the battery being drained by repeated engine starts at a time of year when batteries are under more strain anyway.

Fox-

13,228 posts

245 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
RECampbell said:
The stop/start function on my E92 BMW has disengaged. I have been told that it could be due to cold weather conditions. Anyone got any advice?
If it's still not working after a good run with the car up to temperature, and its above freezing outside, it's probably the battery.

pvogue

628 posts

113 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
How many miles are you doing? maybe battery is not charging up sufficiently along with the colder weather, has to be over 3c outside

Fox-

13,228 posts

245 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
pvogue said:
How many miles are you doing? maybe battery is not charging up sufficiently along with the colder weather, has to be over 3c outside
Mine works at under 3c.

billshoreham

358 posts

124 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
RECampbell said:
The stop/start function on my E92 BMW has disengaged. I have been told that it could be due to cold weather conditions. Anyone got any advice?
that's correct. should not be active below 5.0.C

Fox-

13,228 posts

245 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
billshoreham said:
that's correct. should not be active below 5.0.C
Is that purely an E92 thing? Mine functions correctly as low as 1c I've noticed so far.

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
Yes, the car monitors temperature, electrical load (like heated rear screen, heated seats, etc.) and will decide when to disable the stop/start to ensure the battery stays fully charged.

My E87 1 Series had it and when the battery was dying the car flashed up a warning and disabled the stop/start.

Mind you once I had the new battery at less than 5 years old (AGM type so about £300 including coding!) I kept the stop/start turned off all the time. Still ended up needing a new starter motor at 6 years old and 77K miles! (Another £600). eek

Looking back I should have had the stop/start permanently disabled in the onboard settings - and you may want to consider that too OP!

Edited by Mr Tidy on Saturday 3rd December 22:51

RECampbell

Original Poster:

12 posts

95 months

Saturday 3rd December 2016
quotequote all
After reading the replies, It sounds like there is a problem with the battery.
I have been doing short journeys. Must try to do a long journey.

ninjag

1,827 posts

118 months

Sunday 4th December 2016
quotequote all
Turn the ignition off and probe a live fuse with a multimeter and see what the voltage is.

Edited by ninjag on Thursday 8th December 16:55

nw942

455 posts

104 months

Sunday 4th December 2016
quotequote all
Seeing as you do short journeys, can you put the car on a charger occasionally during these winter months?

Bicronical

34 posts

89 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
quotequote all
I went through this on a 1 series and an X5. One was 8 years old, the other 5.

If the stop/start isn't working, my experience is that the battery is end of life and anything you do is a short term fix at best. That said, I went for nearly two years before changing the battery.. :-)

re. charging, make sure you obtain a charger that is a quality one and has a specific setting for AGM as using a cheap charger or one not for AGM, could well shorten the life further as I did when i did the same.. I would recommend a CTEC charger, this is what all the dealers use.

If you change the battery you will need a recode from BMW to tell the car that you have a new battery as it is a smart charging setup. Frustrating to have to pay for this but hey ho. You can ignore this and just chuck a battery in but the car will overcharge the battery and in time (c.two years from experience) you will need another one.


Locknut

653 posts

136 months

Thursday 8th December 2016
quotequote all
In my F30 the stop/start does not work in "Sports" mode and (subject to checking) I don't think it works when the air-conditioning is on either.

ian in lancs

3,769 posts

197 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
I have this connected to my Z4M AGM battery all the time. Fab piece of kit

http://www.ringautomotive.com/uk/products/Cars/Bat...

Edited by ian in lancs on Friday 9th December 09:16

thebraketester

14,192 posts

137 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
ian in lancs said:
I have this connected to my Z4M AGM battery all the time. Fab piece of kit

http://www.ringautomotive.com/uk/products/Cars/Bat...
Driving around with that thing plugged into the mains must be somewhat inconvenient .

ian in lancs

3,769 posts

197 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
thebraketester said:
ian in lancs said:
I have this connected to my Z4M AGM battery all the time. Fab piece of kit

http://www.ringautomotive.com/uk/products/Cars/Bat...
Driving around with that thing plugged into the mains must be somewhat inconvenient .
dont go far from home

4rephill

5,040 posts

177 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
BMW's stop/start systems monitor all manner of things in order to allow it to function, including the condition of the battery, the loading on the electrical system, the electrical drainage on the system, whether the alternator is charging the system at the time, the outside temperature and several others.

With the additional loading of heating/air-con/headlights/wipers etc., etc., being used at this time of the year, the system tends not to operate as often.


A year ago around this time of the year, a family friend had taken her 1 series back to BMW due to the stop/start no longer operating "correctly", and was complaining that they had fobbed her off, telling her that there was nothing wrong with the system. She argued that the system had operated properly in the summer, cutting out at certain junctions on her daily commute, but no longer did. She was moaning how they were saying it was due to weather, but she knew better and it was definitely broken.

I had to have a long conversation with her to point out just how clever the stop/start monitoring system was and exactly what it monitored in order to operate (with a lot of on-line supporting evidence!). She wasn't totally convinced, but decided to see how things went.

Come this last summer I asked her how her Stop/start was now and she replied: "You were right, when the weather warmed up it started to work properly again. The only problem now is it is due to go in for a service soon and having made such a fuss, I'm dreading having to go back into the Dealership so I might send My Husband instead!"


aeropilot

34,299 posts

226 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
^This

A couple of years ago, I was commuting by train, so for 12 months car was sat not being used Mon-Fri, and sometimes for a few weekends in a row, it would only get a few short runs at the weekend. Once winter hit, on a Sat morning I noticed the heated rear window wasn't working. bks I thought.
Next day low battery warning light came on when I got in it, and then the 'light bulb' moment as I twigged that it must have 'disabled' the HRW the day before because of the low battery.
I gave it a 30 miles blast down the motorway for the hell of it, and sure enough next weekend when getting in car HRW was working OK.

Bloody cars are far too clever and complex these days laugh


DocSteve

718 posts

221 months

Friday 9th December 2016
quotequote all
The first thing I do when I start the car (given the buttons are next to each other) is turn the start/stop off. With an auto in particular it doesn't aid smooth driving in traffic. If I really wanted to save a few pounds a month on gas I'd buy a Prius and drive it as if I was the Queen's chauffeur.

Life is too short. Don't get me started on electronic handbrakes.... :-)

Mr Tidy

22,065 posts

126 months

Saturday 10th December 2016
quotequote all
aeropilot said:
Bloody cars are far too clever and complex these days laugh
Almost right! I think they are far too complex and think they are far too clever - but some of this "clever" sh*t is just a PITA! laugh