Yesterday I stopped at a junction approximately 20 seconds from a cold start, on a warm day and the aircon was working well. The engine then  stopped. Then 20 seconds later it stopped again at traffic lights. My normal experience has been that the car needs to be used for a considerable mileage before the system kicks in. Does the warm weather and the fact I drove over 250 miles the other day affect the operation?

Edited 1 June, 20179 yr by gregoir
Spulling error

11 minutes ago, gregoir said:

Does the warm weather and the fact I drove over 250 miles the other day affect the opeation?

Fully charged battery from previous days driving and warm coolant from high ambient temperature?

 

I've had start/stop work within 1/2 mile of home in cooler March days.

Owner Manual tells you exactly the various reasons that inhibits it etc.

Vehicle interior more than 9*oc difference from setting on the heater can be one, and with the warm weather that is less likely.

But then when the car is 'Stopped' and A/C on it can start up sooner than you might have expected, even with a full battery that covered a fair few miles.

My manual p. 190 does not tell me anything exactly about the system. Only three  general statements about engine temperature, battery state and air conditioning operation. My opinion is that the engine was not warmed up, although the under bonnet temperature  may have been high , the battery would not have been fully charged so soon after a cold start and the interior had not yet been cooled to the temperature I wished. Further information is that the stop start was not so enthusiastic a few miles later, when the aircon was still working well. Just interested in other peoples experiences.

I find it generally too enthusiastic.  My cuts in even before the wheels stop rolling, making junctions very dangerous in my opinion.

 

First thing I do when starting the car is turn the Stop/Start off.

Hate the ruddy system. Disabled mine via VCDS. I can still switch off manually if stopped for long periods.

 

Which happens maybe once a year due to where I live 

I've not had the car long, but I find stop/start works almost immediately from cold...

 

...on the occasions when I have forgotten to switch it off.

I've had my car for a week, stop-start works at the first traffic lights, less than 3min from my house.

 

With my DSG, I've found brake pressure plays a part. I was keeping the engine running by my usual driving style of holding the car with just enough brake pressure. I can then consciously stop the engine by applying more brake pressure after stopping.

 

It's easy to get the feel on the brake peddle: pass a certain point, the engine stops; at a certain range, the engine doesn't stop and the car is still hold by the brake.

1 hour ago, wyx087 said:

I've had my car for a week, stop-start works at the first traffic lights, less than 3min from my house.

 

With my DSG, I've found brake pressure plays a part. I was keeping the engine running by my usual driving style of holding the car with just enough brake pressure. I can then consciously stop the engine by applying more brake pressure after stopping.

 

It's easy to get the feel on the brake peddle: pass a certain point, the engine stops; at a certain range, the engine doesn't stop and the car is still hold by the brake.

Exactly how I use it.  Great system perfectly judged IMO. 

I find it a bit too keen but like others can control it with brake pressure. What pi55es me off though is when I get home I stop and reverse into my drive - at which point it cuts the engine even though I make the transition from drive to reverse quickly.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by Eltezz

The most commonly used switch in my car 

 

9 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

The most commonly used switch in my car 

 

 

Agreed.

 

First think I do - start the car, switch off S/S, engage D, drive off.

 

 

4 minutes ago, Coops said:

 

Agreed.

 

First think I do - start the car, switch off S/S, engage D, drive off.

 

 

 

I think this is a mantra I'm gonna have to learn...

Do you really find it slows you down that much? The restart is very quick in my experience – the engine is usually running again before I've even got the gear lever all the way into first! Admittedly though, I'm not always trying to pull away from every traffic light at Warp Factor 5.

 

Perhaps it's different with the DSG box?

Today was even cooler at 17C and the engine still stopped within 15 seconds of a cold start. I find I tend to put it into gear(manual) too quickly as the engine starts. A bit smoother engagement if I wait until the engine is up to speed, traffic queues permitting.

The system just seems to have become much keener on stopping after a recent long run in warm weather. Five days on and its still behaving that way.

Thanks for your views.

There was a distinct change in the behaviour around MY16, my S/S does not behave like the earlier Octavia 3s I drove. However it has slightly better emissions figures so I guess more aggressive S/S is one of the ways they achieved it.

 

On the earlier ones I could control it with the brake no problem. On this one it is still moving when it cuts, on any down hill there is no amount of brake pressure that will hold the car and keep it running.

 

It does actually get in the way, especially when you are slowing down to go again it often cuts as you need to go and the car can jump quite hard.

 

One thing to keep in mind, the bite point that keeps the engine running is suspiciously close to the point that the (DSG) clutches engage. With S/S deactivated that point is where the car sits at 1000rpm with a bit of feeling of it pulling, press a bit harder on the brake and it drops to 700rpm and no pulling.

 

Not that I can actually do it in mine, but I did think if you keep holding it on gentle brake pressure the clutches are trying to engage at that point. If you keep the engine running with the brake you may be keeping it at the point the clutches bite and that would not be a good thing.

 

I am another one that just switches it off. I would disable it but occasionally, very occasionally I find it useful.

2 hours ago, flybynite said:

One thing to keep in mind, the bite point that keeps the engine running is suspiciously close to the point that the (DSG) clutches engage. With S/S deactivated that point is where the car sits at 1000rpm with a bit of feeling of it pulling, press a bit harder on the brake and it drops to 700rpm and no pulling.

 

Not that I can actually do it in mine, but I did think if you keep holding it on gentle brake pressure the clutches are trying to engage at that point. If you keep the engine running with the brake you may be keeping it at the point the clutches bite and that would not be a good thing.

 

Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to investigate.

 

As you said, it's not good to keep the clutch at biting point while waiting for traffic. Though I suppose the 6 speed wet-clutch DSG will probably be better wearing than a dry-clutch 7 speed.

2 hours ago, flybynite said:

There was a distinct change in the behaviour around MY16, my S/S does not behave like the earlier Octavia 3s I drove. However it has slightly better emissions figures so I guess more aggressive S/S is one of the ways they achieved it.

 

On the earlier ones I could control it with the brake no problem. On this one it is still moving when it cuts, on any down hill there is no amount of brake pressure that will hold the car and keep it running.

 

It does actually get in the way, especially when you are slowing down to go again it often cuts as you need to go and the car can jump quite hard.

 

One thing to keep in mind, the bite point that keeps the engine running is suspiciously close to the point that the (DSG) clutches engage. With S/S deactivated that point is where the car sits at 1000rpm with a bit of feeling of it pulling, press a bit harder on the brake and it drops to 700rpm and no pulling.

 

Not that I can actually do it in mine, but I did think if you keep holding it on gentle brake pressure the clutches are trying to engage at that point. If you keep the engine running with the brake you may be keeping it at the point the clutches bite and that would not be a good thing.

 

I am another one that just switches it off. I would disable it but occasionally, very occasionally I find it useful.

Interesting.

 

Mine is a 2014 (14), although almost a '64 plate (MY15?).

 

S/S is very well judged as I said earlier. 

 

Has it really been tweaked since - i.e. to be more aggressive - to improve consumption?  If so, this would seem to be an error on Skoda's part. 

 

Even if a car drives beautifully once up to speed, low speed driving / stop-start driving in traffic / parking-speed manoeuvring is a huge part of driving & enjoying a car depends on these areas being delivered smoothly & easily. 

 

 

4 hours ago, Coops said:

 

Agreed.

 

First think I do - start the car, switch off S/S, engage D, drive off.

 

 

 

I do the same but do re-enable it if the lights have just changed to red and I know I'm gonna be sat there for a few mins.

 

Definitely gets used a lot this button though, especially with DSG, as you either have to creep or fully pump the brake which knocks the engine off if start/stop is left enabled. Can be annoying in slow moving traffic or approaching some roundabouts.

Back to 12C today and stop start did not work even when driving for 4 miles. Seems to like the sunnier weather before it comes out to play with me.

As someone said earlier, my 14 plate vRS TDI manual SS was fine. However on my 66 plate vRS TDI Manual it cuts in too early for my liking when the car is still moving causing loss of power steering, servo assist brakes etc.

I actually think this is quite dangerous and wondered if it is a flaw that needs rectified by the Dealership?

Other than that I just try and switch it off when I remember.

Engine didn't stop this morning at my first traffic light either. Temperature definitely plays a big part.

 

 

I did some investigation on the brake holding technique, flybynite is right:

Stop-start off: Fully press brake: 700-800 rpm, release brake a bit: 1000rpm

Stop-start on: Fully press brake: engine off. light pressure on brake: 1000rpm. slightly more pressure on brake: engine drops to 800rpm and stops.

 

So I will not be holding the car at 1000rpm using the brakes to prevent stop-start from enabling, it appears to be holding at clutch biting point ready for you to go.

 

 

From a cold start, first roundabout less than 30 seconds from my house and if I stop the stop/start kicks in before car has actually stopped.  terrible if road clears and you go to accelerate and there's a second pause before engine restarts and you get drive again.

 

Awful system.

 

Trying to keep the system from auto stopping by holding the brake pedal in just the right position is terrible.  literally creeping forward with groaning noises or the moment you stop by feathering the brake pedal down a bit 1mS later and the engine stops.

 

The 2 things I hated on my Octy was the stop start and eco mode.  Never getting another.

4 minutes ago, Sheldon.Cooper said:

The 2 things I hated on my Octy was the stop start and eco mode.  Never getting another.

 

Interesting. I understand the first as that is obviously what this thread is about. But the eco mode? Surely you have to actively turn that on, so why hate it? Simply don't turn it on instead? Or am I missing something?

 

Just curious as to why you dislike the car so much based on these two items...

20 minutes ago, Eltezz said:

 

Interesting. I understand the first as that is obviously what this thread is about. But the eco mode? Surely you have to actively turn that on, so why hate it? Simply don't turn it on instead? Or am I missing something?

 

Just curious as to why you dislike the car so much based on these two items...

I think that the reference to the eco mode is related to the DSG models, not manual variants, I must admit I love the eco mode as I'm commuting between 40 to 56 miles each way depending on where I chose to lay my head for the night.

 

On the stop start issue, it does grind my banana's from time to time, depends when it kicks in. For example, if I pull up at home ready to reverse on the drive, it normally stops there only to have to start again as I select reverse. Pointless in my opinion, but if I'm say at traffic lights and will be for a few minutes or more then I completely agree.

 

I think some selective button pressing is going to be in order going forward.