I have been experiencing issues of my car stalling at roundabouts/traffic lights when engine restarts following a stop.  It seems to be a bit random and difficult to reproduce but the frequency of events is increasing.  This morning, it happened at a very busy roundabout.  It stalled, restarted automatically and then stalled again a few times.  The cars behind me were giving me some grief.  I then selected neutral and restarted the engine manually.  It stalled again but worked on the second attempt.

Basically, I have lost all confidence in the stop-start system and now have to turn it off.  Has anyone successfully resolved this?  Could it be that I need a new battery?  The battery is from new (8.5 years ago).

I had that happen to me once, in the past 7 yrs - stalled when start stop tried to turn the engine on.

Turns out battery was the culprit.

Never had it otherwise.

I certainly had mild running issues with my octavia 2.0 tdi that a charge of the battery helped solve.  If you have access to a charger that would be my first step.  Give it some juice then drive it for a few days to check.  If it helps then maybe a proper battery swap is on the cards.  Are you doing enough mid+ length trips to get power into the battery?

Thanks for the replies.  I think after 8.5 years, I can treat it to a new battery.  Any reco on a good make?  Not sure whether to pay a bit more for Bosch.  I know you have to buy the start-stop model. 

5 hours ago, MarkyG82 said:

I certainly had mild running issues with my octavia 2.0 tdi that a charge of the battery helped solve.  If you have access to a charger that would be my first step.  Give it some juice then drive it for a few days to check.  If it helps then maybe a proper battery swap is on the cards.  Are you doing enough mid+ length trips to get power into the battery?

Definitely doing enough mid-length trips.  52 mile round commute at least 3 times a week.

51 minutes ago, plasma99 said:

Thanks for the replies.  I think after 8.5 years, I can treat it to a new battery.  Any reco on a good make?  Not sure whether to pay a bit more for Bosch.  I know you have to buy the start-stop model. 

 

Varta come recommended on here often.  Don't forget to recode it.  A single digit change in serial number is enough.  All it does is tell the car there is a new battery and to charge it appropriately.  Some have reported the car killing a new battery if not recoded.  Not all though but not worth taking the risk IMO.

Varta A7 if AGM, as well as changing the BEM code you’ll need to change from 68ah to 70ah or whatever the new one is

 

Regarding the stalling is it auto? I had this a few times few years back and never happened since after changing original  rear discs and pads, coincidence hmm

Edited 3 December, 20241 yr by Danoid

3 hours ago, Danoid said:

Varta A7 if AGM, as well as changing the BEM code you’ll need to change from 68ah to 70ah or whatever the new one is

 

Regarding the stalling is it auto? I had this a few times few years back and never happened since after changing original  rear discs and pads, coincidence hmm

It is an auto but I’ve had the same rear brakes for some time.  Changing the BEM code - I guess I’ll need some accessories to do that?

3 hours ago, plasma99 said:

Changing the BEM code - I guess I’ll need some accessories to do that?

 

Yes, u'll need VCDS or OBDEleven.

 

Quite understand the concern when the SSA causes the vehicle to stall.  It happened to us some years ago when an upper level Range Rover decided to get intimately involved with ‘Harriet’s’ rear end when I had her stall after automatically re-starting at some traffic lights.  Otherwise with a less than optimum charge in the battery she will decline to activate SSA.

It's interesting that stop start is still functioning if the battery is poor. The system normally inhibits stop start unless the battery is holding enough charge for it.

That is how I first knew my original EFB battery was on the way out, The stop start very rarely occured.

I changed to a Varta AGM and can also recommend them too. My stop start functionality immediately returned after the battery swap.

Mine never deactivated start-stop.  It just didn’t work properly - sometimes stalled on restart.  It’s been ok since I changed the battery but have only run it for a week so far.  I’m still nervous about it - it’s a system that needs to work 100% of the time else it’s not safe to activate at all.

Does it happen also when starting the car for the first time or only during stop/start events?

 

One easy thing to check is the battery terminals are tight and don't show signs of oxidation around the inside.

If the terminals are loose they can cause problems starting but this would normal occur for any kind of starting not just stop/start

2 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

Does it happen also when starting the car for the first time or only during stop/start events?

 

One easy thing to check is the battery terminals are tight and don't show signs of oxidation around the inside.

If the terminals are loose they can cause problems starting but this would normal occur for any kind of starting not just stop/start

No issues starting from cold.  It was Just restarts from stop.  If I had to add a factor it would be that it tended to occur after a lot of urban driving and long waits at traffic lights.  
 

Ok so far with new battery.  The whole process of restart seems faster, smoother and more efficient.  Probably psychological effect.