Just trying to be prepared for picking ym Roomster up next week. When we test drove it there was a message in the display along the lines of stop start not available.

Theres a couple of buttons down by the hand brake one of which had a letter a on it and glowed amber when pressed. This didn't make any difference to the message whilst on the test drive.

lots of things can prevent stop start working, temp, battery voltage, demist set to screen, etc etc

 

so I would not worry

Thanks for the ideas.

Have to say tho I can't bring myself to collect a car from a used car dealer with a message on the display. Have been doing some reading up on the internet and it appears there are any number of faults or situations that can cause the message but sadly some are genuine faults.

Hi Immelmann. My Roomster is 2009, so I cannot give a definitive answer for yours.  

 

On mine, one of the buttons near the handbrake has the letters SET on it.  This is the "set" button for the Tyre Pressure Monitoring system.  When all the tyre pressures are known to be correct, drive at a steady speed on a flat road and hold the button down for a few seconds.  Eventually, it will beep and "set" the system.

 

Up to the point I read your post, I had thought stop/start was never fitted to Roomsters.  Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will come along and confirm.

 

Enjoy your new car.

Almost certainly battery voltage if its been hanging around , just insist the error message is gone before collection

if they plug it into the diagnostics it will tell them why it has the message

 

if the car is more than 3-4 years old try and get them to swap the battery as most batteries only have a 3-4 year warranty and stop start does put a strain on the battery and starter

Edited 22 February, 201511 yr by bluecar1

Cheers that makes me feel a bit better about it, I think I'll be lucky to get the garage to change the battery. It's a 62 plate by the way. Although I've driven it I'm worried it'll be a bit gutless when I drive it for real if you know what I mean. That said I need the economy and I'm expecting my fuel bill to drop £150 to £200 a month so fingers crossed.

Can't wait to get my hands on it.

two year old battery you should be fine, but might be worth getting them to scan the car for the reason

if they plug it into the diagnostics it will tell them why it has the message

if the car is more than 3-4 years old try and get them to swap the battery as most batteries only have a 3-4 year warranty and stop start does put a strain on the battery and starter

As posted above certain conditions must be met for stop start to work.

Engine must be up to temp, sufficient battery charge etc.

If the battery is faulty or not holding charge, you should get a specific message about the battery on the maxidot display. The batteries are bigger than normal if a car has start/stop.

We've run a HPI check on it and realised it's not three years old yet so still under warranty. This could be usefull especially as the selling garage is quite away from us. So I guess worst case either the battery or something else is faulty it may well not cost us anything to repair.

Happy Days

If the Stop/Start system is defective, the message Error Stop Start will be shown in the Maxidot display

 

 

Conditions for the automatic engine shut down (stop phase)

› The gearshift lever is in Neutral.

› The clutch pedal is not depressed.

› The driver has fastened the seat belt.

› The driver's door is closed.

› The bonnet is closed.

› The vehicle is at a standstill.

› The factory-fitted towing device is not electrically connected to a trailer.

› The engine is at operating temperature.

› The charge state of the vehicle battery is sufficient.

› The stationary vehicle is not on a steep slope or a steep downhill section.

› The engine speed is less than 1200 1/min.

› The temperature of the vehicle battery is not too low or too high.

› There is sufficient pressure in the braking system.

› The difference between the outdoor- and the set temperature in the interior is not too great.

› The vehicle speed since the last time the engine was switched off was greater than 3 km/h.

› No cleaning of the diesel particle filter takes place » page 23.

› The front wheels are not turned excessively (the steering angle is less than 3/4 of a steering wheel revolution).

 

Conditions for an automatic restart (start phase)

› The clutch is depressed.

› The max./min. temperature is set.

› The Defrost function for the windshield is switched on.

› A high blower stage has been selected.

› The START STOP button is pressed.

 

Conditions for an automatic restart without driver intervention

› The vehicle moves at a speed of more than 3 km/h.

› The difference between the outdoor- and the set temperature in the interior is too great.

› The charge state of the vehicle battery is not sufficient.

› There is insufficient pressure in the braking system.

 

If the driver's seat belt is removed for more than 30 seconds or the driver's door is opened during stop mode, the engine must be started manually with the key. 

Every car I have owned the batteries have lasted 8 years so I am hoping this one will be the same.

Edward

Stop Start has never been fitted to the Roomster..From I have heard its a nightmare anyway, so something I`m grateful not to have

Stop Start has never been fitted to the Roomster..From I have heard its a nightmare anyway, so something I`m grateful not to have

How so?

Stop Start has never been fitted to the Roomster..From I have heard its a nightmare anyway, so something I`m grateful not to have

I have Stop-Start on my Citigo Elegance....21 months from new, and never had one single problem. So, I don't know where the idea of "nightmare" comes from!

Stop Start has never been fitted to the Roomster..From I have heard its a nightmare anyway, so something I`m grateful not to have

Stop start is fitted on the diesel Roomster Greenline according to the brochure, I had one as a courtesy car and never noticed it working but I spent all my time moaning about how slow it was upto the tsi. Given the over 6K difference in list price you would have to do a lot of miles to make a saving.

I have Stop-Start on my Citigo Elegance....21 months from new, and never had one single problem. So, I don't know where the idea of "nightmare" comes from!

Have a look round various makes forums..plenty of anti views on stop start..all there to be read!!

Edited 28 February, 201511 yr by paully

no problems with stop / start on my GLII in nearly 3 years or swmbo's citigo greentech in 18 months

 

got used to it, normal driving doesn't realy save fuel, but in commuter traffic it is noticeable the saving on mpg

 

takes a while to get used to and gain confidence the car will restart, but neither of ours has ever failed to restart

Hi guys, well the car I originally put a deposit on was a Greenline and it had the error message about start stop. We had nagging doubts about the car and also about the car dealer. We have since cancelled the car and placed an order for the special offer tsi.

I have read all kinds of reports on the internet about start stop and the heavy duty batteries. Chances are we only read about negatives when things have gone wrong. I would say people only write about problems and when there is nothing wrong don't post about when things are going well.

What problems did you read?

One in partucular was a bloke with one of the bigger skodas, once battery had got below a certain level in its life span it stopped the stop start from working. Battery was still working well enough for the rest of the car just not upto the stop start. The batteries are some kind of heavy duty and cost an arm and a leg and were dealer part only at that point.

Chances are the Roomster we looked at would of been fine once used daily again.