Start/Stop requirements

Read here about which requirements the car must meet in order for a Start/Stop system to be activated and functioning optimally.

Many new cars today are equipped with a so-called Start/Stop system, which turns the engine off when stationary at a traffic light, for example. However, there are a number of parameters that must be met before a stop/start can be activated. If the system does not work, this is because these requirements have not been met. These may be, for example:

Temperature

• Most stop-start systems are inactive until the engine has reached a certain temperature. We therefore find that the system will take longer to turn on when it is cold outside. On very cold days, it may even be that the system does not indicate when to turn on at all.

Gear position

• If the car has a manual gearbox, it must be in neutral for the system to be activated. If you stay in gear at the traffic light, the car's engine will not turn off. If the car has automatic transmission, however, the engine will turn itself off at speeds below about 5 kph.

The car’s battery

• If the car's battery does not have full capacity, this can affect whether the start-stop system is activated.

Use of air conditioning and climate control

• If the car's air conditioning or climate control is used at full power this can mean that the car cannot activate the start-stop system. Often the air conditioning and climate control is used for demisting of the windows, and here the car's internal logic comes into play and judges that for safety reasons the most important thing is to be able to see out, not to turn the engine off. If you want the start-stop to work, the air conditioning/climate control needs to be turned down once the windows have cleared.

Individual requirements

• How the start/stop function works may differ between car makes and models. TThe full details are in the car's owner's manual.

Less CO2

• Start/Stop is there to reduce the car’s CO2 emissions. The New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) has found out that a car can "save” about eight percent of its CO2 emissions during urban driving at 7 km with 12 stops over 15 seconds.