Engine restart when unattended.

[tdiplayer]

Hi, Yesterday I parked up and the engine stopped running due to its stop/start function. I returned to the car after a couple of hours to find that the engine had restarted by itself and had probably been running most of the time, whilst unattended.  I only noticed it because the fuel consumption readout had dropped from about 38 mpg to 12 mpg. Just wondered if anybody else has experienced the same situation. It has happened to me before but I just ignored it, thinking that it was just down to my error. (Skoda Octavia 1.4 SEL 2016). 

Edited 30 April, 2017 by tdiplayer

[Mike97]

No idea how that would happen unless maybe you stopped and it shut down and you just left it like that with the ignition and key still in and radio or something still on causing a drain but then you need to push the clutch to re start? I would get it checked out asap.

[tdiplayer]

Thanks for your input. The car has KESSY so I hadn't left key in the ignition. For the moment I intend disabling stop/start when I leave the car parked up.

[Auric Goldfinger]

It's economical whilst stood though, 12 mpg, 

 

 

Edited 30 April, 2017 by Auric Goldfinger

[jagdad]

I reckon somebody jumped in and took it for a good thrashing - Hence 12mpg! 

[tdiplayer]

That brought a smile to my face...

[Boundy123]

I'm pretty sure it should require a manual restart if the drivers door is opened when the engine has stopped via start/stop. Mine will restart on its own if I'm stopped for to long and the climate control kicks in, it will run until the temperature has been met then will shut down again but I'm pretty sure if I open the drivers door I get a message on the maxidot saying restart manually 

[tdiplayer]

I will now check to see what happens when  I open the drivers door after the engine has cut out via the stop/start. You may have put me on the right track for further investigation. Thanks.

[Miz]

Hi,

 

My last Octavia had KESSY, took me a while to get used to the idea of having to switch the car off (press the KESSY button) even though the engine had stopped, never had it restart though, just normally got messages about switching the lights off.

 

 

[moley]

Should the engine be able to restart when the key is not present at the car?

[SuperbTWM]

Is the door microswitch working?

[Gabbo]

Stop/Start should definately be cancelled if the drivers door is opened.

My first thought would be like TWM that the door switch is not working & the car doesn't detect it is open.

You should be able to tell this quite easily if the interior light comes on when you open the door & there is a display on the Maxidot showing which door is opened when the ignition is on.

 

StopStart cannot start the engine if the car is stopped & left in gear.

Leaving it parked in gear is also advisable on the Octavia as there are several issues of the handbrake not holding the car when parked & it rolling forwards/backwards.

 

Also, when you lock the car with kessy (or the key) the igintion should automatically be switched-off if you did not already turn off the ignition with the button Inside.

 

 

If you didnt climb out of the window & leave the car unlocked then I think I trip to the dealer would be advisable.

[tdiplayer]

Thanks for your detailed reply Gabbo. I am pretty sure that I did not lock the car door when I left it (normally the door is locked when left parked). This may be the reason the engine automatically self started after being left unattended for a while. In future I will be disabling the auto stop/start system when leaving the car parked.  

[Gabbo]

3 minutes ago, tdiplayer said:

Thanks for your detailed reply Gabbo. I am pretty sure that I did not lock the car door when I left it (normally the door is locked when left parked). This may be the reason the engine automatically self started after being left unattended for a while. In future I will be disabling the auto stop/start system when leaving the car parked.  

 

Opening the door should also disable StopStart automatically, the engine should not be able to restart without the driver pressing the start button again.

This is easy to test it is working.

Drive around & let the engine stop by StopStart. Then open the drivers door.

You should hear a "bing" from the instrument cluster & the maxidot should display a message "Manual Restart Required".

 

In normal useage conditions, StopStart should not be able to restart the engine when the driver is not sat in the seat.

[tdiplayer]

I have already tried this test. If the door is opened after the engine has stopped, (via automatic stop/start system) there is no warning bong. The dot matrix display shows that door is open and also states that the lights will be switched off after 30 minutes. I will now visit my local dealer to find out about the lack of any warning sound relating to open door when engine is in standby mode.  Thanks again for your input.

[SuperbTWM]

Interesting, I wonder if its some kind of software bug.

[andyvee]

Even with KESSY you are supposed to turn the ignition off, not just walk away from the car with the ignition still turned on ............

 

Basically, from what I can gather from the above posts you walked away from your car with the ignition still turned on and didn't lock it either? Did you leave the keys in the car as well?

[tdiplayer]

Thanks for you comments! The only thing I failed to do was lock the door,this is not normal practice but on this occasion I erred. Pushing the stop/start button when the engine is on stand by only served to restart the engine, it does not fully shut it down. The keys were in my pocket...not left in the car...lol. It may be that there is some malfunction in the "Open Door"  audible warning sound or it is  possible that this is not a feature on my car. I hope to resolve this issue in the coming few days. 

[bigjohn]

I don't have KESSY but do have stop/start

 

This weekend I had to stop the car (engine turned off by stop/start) and opened the drivers door to get out to enter a gate key code. When I got back into the car a message popped up to "start the car manually"

[encephalopathy]

the warning chime can be disabled via VCDS/OBDeleven - perhaps this was done by a previous owner

i disabled the seatbelt warning chime on mine which was fine until the drivers seat base needed replacing under warranty because it was creaky - the mechanics couldn't work out why the seatbelt chime didn't work after they had reconnected everything.......

[Gabbo]

14 hours ago, tdiplayer said:

Thanks for you comments! The only thing I failed to do was lock the door,this is not normal practice but on this occasion I erred. Pushing the stop/start button when the engine is on stand by only served to restart the engine, it does not fully shut it down. The keys were in my pocket...not left in the car...lol. It may be that there is some malfunction in the "Open Door"  audible warning sound or it is  possible that this is not a feature on my car. I hope to resolve this issue in the coming few days. 

 

I did a test on my car last night (with Kessy).

Once the car has stopped via StopStart I can open the door & close the door & the car will restart without manual input. (StopStart is not disabled).

 

But, if I open the door AND unplug the seat belt then StopStart is disabled -> "Start Engine Manually".

Once the car detects that the key is outside, there is also a loud & fast "bong" from the Maxidot & a message which says "Warning: Ignition Turned On".

 

Once I lock the door, the ignition is automatically switched off.

[conn]

2 hours ago, Gabbo said:

 

I did a test on my car last night (with Kessy).

Once the car has stopped via StopStart I can open the door & close the door & the car will restart without manual input. (StopStart is not disabled).

 

But, if I open the door AND unplug the seat belt then StopStart is disabled -> "Start Engine Manually".

Once the car detects that the key is outside, there is also a loud & fast "bong" from the Maxidot & a message which says "Warning: Ignition Turned On".

 

Once I lock the door, the ignition is automatically switched off.

Exactly that.

There is a minor difference I have encountered though. If you break on decending slope, engine turns off, you unplug your seatbelt and then let off the break, it will tell you to Start Engine Manually. But since the car starts to go down hill, it will restart it self regardless - probably safety stuff to gain power steering and breaks.

Otherwise you have to do manual restart.

[andyvee]

On 01/05/2017 at 18:31, tdiplayer said:

Thanks for you comments! The only thing I failed to do was lock the door,this is not normal practice but on this occasion I erred. Pushing the stop/start button when the engine is on stand by only served to restart the engine, it does not fully shut it down. The keys were in my pocket...not left in the car...lol. It may be that there is some malfunction in the "Open Door"  audible warning sound or it is  possible that this is not a feature on my car. I hope to resolve this issue in the coming few days. 

I don't understand what you mean by 'engine is on stand by' - your ignition is either on or off, even with KESSY. There is no 'standby'.

 

In my car, when you have come to a stop, applied the handbrake etc. and put into Park (it may differ with a DSG) you then press the Stop/Start button to turn off the ignition. This does not start the engine again unless your foot is on the brake pedal (probably the clutch in a manual). Are you actually turning the ignition off?

[JohnnyType2]

On 5/2/2017 at 08:01, encephalopathy said:

the warning chime can be disabled via VCDS/OBDeleven - perhaps this was done by a previous owner

i disabled the seatbelt warning chime on mine which was fine until the drivers seat base needed replacing under warranty because it was creaky - the mechanics couldn't work out why the seatbelt chime didn't work after they had reconnected everything.......

 

i cant find any instructions for VCDS to do this. can you enlighten me?