Auto start/stop

[mgordon]

Do all 3 series have this as standard? I've looked in the brochure and it seems to suggest they do. Picked my new 335i coupe up last week and either my car does not have it or I am doing something wrong. I thought it was simply a matter of stopping, putting the car into neutral and releasing the clutch, then the motor should automatically stop. Done this and nothing happens, any ideas?

The car is brand new, sticker under the bonnet confirms a build date of April 2008. Is a trip to the dealer is order?

[Deva Link]

It's probably been programmed to be off.

Only works when engine up to temp and the weather isn't too cold, but shouldn't be an issue at this time of year.

ETA: I think it only works on 4cyl models.

Edited by Deva Link on Wednesday 4th June 14:03

[davidd]

only 4 cyl

[Welshbeef]

The 335i is Auto only and all auto's do not have stop start.


As an aside the VW Bluemotion will get the stop start in late Q3/early Q4 2008 this std has a combined cycle of 74mpg so with the stop start we could be seeing the first mass produced car which has a combined cycle of well over 80mpg.... get in.

[mgordon]

335i is definately not auto only as I have a manual. The diesel 335 is auto only as that was my last car and the reason I went for a petrol this time as I prefer manuals.

Thanks for the info that auto stop/start is only fitted on the 4 cylinder models. Does anyone know why this is? Seems a bit daft to me as surely on the larger 6 cylinder engines the benefits would be even greater for economy.

[Webber3]

mgordon said:

335i is definately not auto only as I have a manual. The diesel 335 is auto only as that was my last car and the reason I went for a petrol this time as I prefer manuals.

Thanks for the info that auto stop/start is only fitted on the 4 cylinder models. Does anyone know why this is? Seems a bit daft to me as surely on the larger 6 cylinder engines the benefits would be even greater for economy.

Maybe BMW think that anyone buying a 6 pot petrol engine has given up any hope of getting decent fuel economy

[Deva Link]

Webber3 said:

Maybe BMW think that anyone buying a 6 pot petrol engine has given up any hope of getting decent fuel economy

I thought that too.

or perhaps the saving doesn't lower the car's emissions enough to affect its VED and/or BIK tax brackets?

[Welshbeef]

Id guess that they are rolling it out over the entire range - IIRC in Autocar/Autoexpress a little while ago the new M5 was shown and it stated that even that will have the Stop start - so given that then everything else bar Autos (for now) will get it in due course.

Frankly this technology has been around from the late 70's & used a lot by VW in the 80's and Citroen in the early 90's. Why it didnt catch on is beyond me - its a no brainer every new car should have this feature. Imagine if the govt put in force regulations that every new car sold had to have stop start Im pretty sure the outcome would have a massive benfit to overall Car CO2 output especially when compared to the savings they believe they will achieve from the new VED bandings

[telecat]

I had the 118D with it earlier this year for a month. Turned it off as I found the car stalling as I moved off despite it rarely being used. As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" it never "cut in". Doesn't seem to affect MPG much either. The 118d should do 60+ mpg according to BMW's figures and it never went ovet 45. As for the "Bluemotion" hitting 80MPG, I think you are dreaming. If you are under 6 stone on a flat road with no passengers or cargo with a following wind you MIGHT get close. I think the best most do is about 55MPG. It's just too underpowered.

Edited by telecat on Thursday 5th June 09:34

[Welshbeef]

telecat said:

I had the 118D with it earlier this year for a month. Turned it off as I found the car stalling as I moved off despite it rarely being used. As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" it never "cut in". Doesn't seem to affect MPG much either. The 118d should do 60+ mpg according to BMW's figures and it never went ovet 45. As for the "Bluemotion" hitting 80MPG, I think you are dreaming. If you are under 6 stone on a flat road with no passengers or cargo with a following wind you MIGHT get close. I think the best most do is about 55MPG. It's just too underpowered.

Edited by telecat on Thursday 5th June 09:34

Well I used to get 55-58mpg all the time out of my Golf Gt TDI 115PD 5 door, and on a long run would always be into the low to mid 60's and a best ever of 74mpg over 200miles - always calculated brim to brim method.

I tested the 123d with stop start over a few hours and achieved 56.5mpg it had 3000miles on it and I FULLY tested it.

With regard to your 118d experiance - you need to take your foot OFF the clutch then it cuts out not a hard change in style to learn and provided the engine is off for 2 seconds then its better off than leaving it running. 118d go onto the 1 series forum and one guy there has had it up to 90mpg brim to brim method but nearly always has it in the mid 60's.

[Deva Link]

telecat said:

As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" ...

You're not *supposed* to do that anyway - if someone hits you up the backside then your foot will come off the clutch and the car will shoot forwards.

Of course stop/start etc and the other tweaks BMW have made are really just a trick to get lower emissions rating - you're not actually meant to use them. I imagine that of every vehicle had, and used stop/start, then as the vehicles got older junctions would be clogged up with cars that wouldn't restart.

[Welshbeef]

Deva Link said:

telecat said:

As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" ...

You're not *supposed* to do that anyway - if someone hits you up the backside then your foot will come off the clutch and the car will shoot forwards.

Of course stop/start etc and the other tweaks BMW have made are really just a trick to get lower emissions rating - you're not actually meant to use them. I imagine that of every vehicle had, and used stop/start, then as the vehicles got older junctions would be clogged up with cars that wouldn't restart.

Imagine the vastly reduced noise levels.

In fact why areall public transport buses not with this feature ditto Artics - as they have such a large engine any time its off will result in really reduced fuel consumption.

[telecat]

Deva Link said:

telecat said:

As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" ...

You're not *supposed* to do that anyway - if someone hits you up the backside then your foot will come off the clutch and the car will shoot forwards.

Of course stop/start etc and the other tweaks BMW have made are really just a trick to get lower emissions rating - you're not actually meant to use them. I imagine that of every vehicle had, and used stop/start, then as the vehicles got older junctions would be clogged up with cars that wouldn't restart.

Perhaps I should also have said that I have the Handbrake on as well. I never stop at lights or junctions without it. It's how I was taught to drive. It could be said that it has got me out of more trouble than your method would leave me in. The Ability to get the car moving quickly has saved me from an accident more often than "waiting for the crunch". Personally I agree with you the tricks are just that. In the case of the 118d it means you only pay £35 VED mind the near 15p a litre difference in fuel costs don't help diesel much these days.

[Welshbeef]

telecat said:

Deva Link said:

telecat said:

As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" ...

You're not *supposed* to do that anyway - if someone hits you up the backside then your foot will come off the clutch and the car will shoot forwards.

Of course stop/start etc and the other tweaks BMW have made are really just a trick to get lower emissions rating - you're not actually meant to use them. I imagine that of every vehicle had, and used stop/start, then as the vehicles got older junctions would be clogged up with cars that wouldn't restart.

Perhaps I should also have said that I have the Handbrake on as well. I never stop at lights or junctions without it. It's how I was taught to drive. It could be said that it has got me out of more trouble than your method would leave me in. The Ability to get the car moving quickly has saved me from an accident more often than "waiting for the crunch". Personally I agree with you the tricks are just that. In the case of the 118d it means you only pay £35 VED mind the near 15p a litre difference in fuel costs don't help diesel much these days.

Trick or no trick engine off while not moving is clearly a good thing. Less fuel used, less noise, less emmissions.

[telecat]

Welshbeef said:

telecat said:

Deva Link said:

telecat said:

As I "sit" at Lights and junctions in gear with the clutch depressed "ready to go" ...

You're not *supposed* to do that anyway - if someone hits you up the backside then your foot will come off the clutch and the car will shoot forwards.

Of course stop/start etc and the other tweaks BMW have made are really just a trick to get lower emissions rating - you're not actually meant to use them. I imagine that of every vehicle had, and used stop/start, then as the vehicles got older junctions would be clogged up with cars that wouldn't restart.

Perhaps I should also have said that I have the Handbrake on as well. I never stop at lights or junctions without it. It's how I was taught to drive. It could be said that it has got me out of more trouble than your method would leave me in. The Ability to get the car moving quickly has saved me from an accident more often than "waiting for the crunch". Personally I agree with you the tricks are just that. In the case of the 118d it means you only pay £35 VED mind the near 15p a litre difference in fuel costs don't help diesel much these days.

Trick or no trick engine off while not moving is clearly a good thing. Less fuel used, less noise, less emmissions.

Less Fuel? Depends on how long you are stopped. Less noise, compared to what? Even the better diesels get noisy when cold and restarting is noisy. Don't forget the 118d left me stranded with this on meaning I had to manually crank the engine. Less emissions? I can see the "soot" problem rearing it's blackened skull over the parapit's after a while doing this. It's an "IF" solution. "IF" you drive in very slow stop start traffic, "IF" the engine is warm before it cuts out etc etc.

[steve-p]

I read somewhere that if you are stationary for more than 4 seconds it is better for economy and emissions to switch off the engine. However I'm quite glad the 6 cylinder cars haven't got this yet because I think it would annoy me. Any reduction in battery and starter motor life that it causes won't become evident for a while yet.

[Welshbeef]

steve-p said:

I read somewhere that if you are stationary for more than 4 seconds it is better for economy and emissions to switch off the engine. However I'm quite glad the 6 cylinder cars haven't got this yet because I think it would annoy me. Any reduction in battery and starter motor life that it causes won't become evident for a while yet.

According the BMW its if its off for 2 seconds then its more efficient than leaving it on.

[steve-p]

One thing I noticed today which isn't too clever is that in the 6 cylinder cars, the doors (and presumably boot) unlock when you switch off the engine. The whole point of automatically locking them when you drive off is to avoid carjacking and thefts of stuff from the passenger seat or boot when stationary. If you keep the engine running that's fine, but if you switch if off yourself (as I did today at a level crossing) then the doors unlock. This is surprising because most cars unlock when you open a door from inside, not beforehand. I don't think they thought it through very well