Sitting at traffic lights going into town and I seem to find the stop/start very intrusive so I turn it off so my question is When in heavy ish town traffic whilst sitting at traffic lights do you leave the gear lever in (D) drive or move it to (N) neutral.

Just asking as I remember when I was younger the common rule of thumb was to move it to (N) neutral.

If you're not using start stop and it's night time you may as well knock it in N and save the retinas of the driver behind you. Personally I leave start stop on and leave it in D, if start stop worked in N I'd use it

Can't see a problem with start/stop with dsg. Stop using brake pedal as normal, then release pressure on the pedal slightly and engine starts again.Or don't stop so abruptly in the first place

Can't stand start-stop and where I live you never stop long enough for it to make any fuel saving anyway, so it's always off. I may turn it on in traffic jam situations.

 

Usually put the DSG into N when stopped for any length of time. One advantage of this is if you do get rear-ended it won't also knacker the box.

Or don't stop so abruptly in the first place

Sorry There's another way to stop ?

Yep,its called rear ending the car in front

Sometimes I put it in neutral with start/stop on, unless I`m on a hill  If you slightly release the pressure it keeps the engine rev on 1000rpm until you let it go so where is the fuel saving  :p 

Don`t you guys feel that sometimes when the engine stops and it restarts it`s not really smooth and it shakes the car like it want to jump out from the engine bay, more often when the A/C is on. I don`t really want to replace the engine/gearbox mounts way too early...

I'm no fan of start-stop myself, but I'm trying now to get a better feeling on the breaking pedal to control the system this way.

I have noticed though that when breaks are full on and A.S.S. (automatic start stop) is off the engine is idling on 800rmps, which is the actual idling speed. When I have the system active and keep the breaking pedal half-way pressed to keep the engine on, the rpms are around 1000 (as mentioned above). For me the conclusion is that maybe it's not the best way to go / not the way it was meant to be operated. Fact that engine is spinning 200rpm faster, in automatic gearboxes means that the clutch may be already partly engaged. Not good news at all.

Im with you when Im in quick moving stopped traffic I also turn stop start off and nock it into N, Around town I just leave it on.

I'm no fan of start-stop myself, but I'm trying now to get a better feeling on the breaking pedal to control the system this way.

I have noticed though that when breaks are full on and A.S.S. (automatic start stop) is off the engine is idling on 800rmps, which is the actual idling speed. When I have the system active and keep the breaking pedal half-way pressed to keep the engine on, the rpms are around 1000 (as mentioned above). For me the conclusion is that maybe it's not the best way to go / not the way it was meant to be operated. Fact that engine is spinning 200rpm faster, in automatic gearboxes means that the clutch may be already partly engaged. Not good news at all.

I agree, we ought not have to worry about what the clutch/engine is doing, or how much brake pressure to apply to avoid the engine stopping. Just turn off the wretched ASS as soon as you start the engine, then select N if you have to stop for more than a few seconds.

Im with you when Im in quick moving stopped traffic I also turn stop start off and nock it into N, Around town I just leave it on.

I love the concept of quick moving stopped traffic, but I know what you mean

Look at the M25 and you'll find it.

I switch off the start/stop as soon as the ignition is switched on - hate it! Before getting DSG I wondered why BMs, Mercs etc were sitting on their brakes when at a standstill then learned why. I tend to put the box in 'N' when stopped for more than a few seconds, much as I would have taken the car out of gear on a manual to save the clutch.

I would be happier with the stop start, if you could select neutral and take your foot off the brake WITHOUT the engine restarting.

My previous car had DSG but no stop start, I always selected neutral at a standstill, just to protect the clutches in the gearbox.

Mine is always in D rarely I put it in N. Safer to have your foot on brake in D if you get rear ended. 

Well whilst in heavy stop start traffic in eco mode I have took to putting it in neutral and applying the handbrake but I also seem to have developed the situation where I am looking how the traffic is moving and turning the stop start on and off depending how long I am going to be sat still for.

Mine is always in D rarely I put it in N. Safer to have your foot on brake in D if you get rear ended.

True. Safer to have the Handbrake on when stationary. If rear ended less chance of the car spinning.

Mine is always in D rarely I put it in N. Safer to have your foot on brake in D if you get rear ended. 

I disagree, if you have your foot on the brake and are rear ended it is possible to damage your  foot and ankle if the force is significant.

 

It's better to have your feet flat on the floor.

The DSG clutches are designed in such a way that they default to the disengaged position. This is a safety feature so that if anything in the release system fails, it won't be in gear

The whole point of an auto is just to let it do its own thing.

 

Mine stays in D from the start & goes into P at the end. If I can see the next stop in slow traffic is just a few seconds then  I just don't press so hard on the pedal & the engine keeps running. Other than that the s/s works well for me.

 

I bought an auto for ease of driving. If I wanted to put the car into neutral, play around with the handbrake etc like some ppl in this forum then I'd have bought a manual & saved some money.

I'm no fan of start-stop myself, but I'm trying now to get a better feeling on the breaking pedal to control the system this way.

I have noticed though that when breaks are full on and A.S.S. (automatic start stop) is off the engine is idling on 800rmps, which is the actual idling speed. When I have the system active and keep the breaking pedal half-way pressed to keep the engine on, the rpms are around 1000 (as mentioned above). For me the conclusion is that maybe it's not the best way to go / not the way it was meant to be operated. Fact that engine is spinning 200rpm faster, in automatic gearboxes means that the clutch may be already partly engaged. Not good news at all.

 

Yes, on the one time in a thousand I get the car to stop without the engine cutting, I get the feeling the clutches are only partly disengaged, the higher idle rpm and the fact that the car feels like it is actually pulling against the brake make me think it is not a good idea in the long term and maybe one of the reasons they have made it more difficult to do on later cars.

 

Most trips I do in this machine the car is not up to temp for it to activate, occasionally catches me out right at the end. I tend to turn it off when i can remember, back on for the odd time I actually find it useful.

I don't have any issues with stop start technology, I think that all you need is to anticipate the traffic ahead and if stopped at a red light, just release the brake pedal when the yellow/amber light shows so that you go straight away when the lights are green.

It's not that difficult to do.

Can't see a problem with start/stop with dsg. Stop using brake pedal as normal, then release pressure on the pedal slightly and engine starts again.Or don't stop so abruptly in the first place

Mine is far too sensitive for that, the brake pedal position for the engine to restart has the clutch biting and trying to move forward slightly.  Any further pressure on the brake to pedal to stop the forward motion and the engine stops.  Literally the setup is stopped with a +/- 0.01mm pedal movement tolerance.

I don't have any issues with stop start technology, I think that all you need is to anticipate the traffic ahead and if stopped at a red light, just release the brake pedal when the yellow/amber light shows so that you go straight away when the lights are green.

It's not that difficult to do.

 

I agree, with the much-suggested anticipation, it can work in a lot of situations and long queues up to long interval traffic lights is one of them. 

 

However it cuts when I stop to reverse park, often when you are trying to do it in busy traffic. It cuts on a blind junction when you have to stop the car right in the line or edge out to see, often the wheels are still turning and it cuts as you are trying to accelerate into a gap in the traffic.

 

There are a lot of occasions where you need to stop momentarily, a good dab on the brakes at slow speed because something has come flying round the corner will cut the engine just as you are accelerating to pull out behind it, it is not pretty sometimes.

 

As I said the OFF button works for me, but as the system does not kick in for most of the driving this thing does, TBH I often forget until something like the above happens.

 

It is a system designed for the idling sections of the emissions tests, if it was designed to reduce emissions in real life it would be designed to work better in real life.

One time I had the ASS kick-in at a T-junction where I was pulling out from a lane onto a fast A-road with poor visibility. I had the stereo on loud and didn't know the engine had stopped. Not nice having the extra second of nothing happening after making the decision to pull out.