Safe Speed Forums

The other day, when waiting at the lights an X5 pulled up next to me, a short while later as the lights changed I heard the starter operate for a few turns before the vehicle pulled away.

It was a "11" plate and I am guessing that it is one of those vehicles with a "Start/Stop" system installed.

Nowww, I imagine that in heavy rush hour stop/start driving a vehicle like this might have the starter operate more times in a single journey than mine might in a month! What is more, a quick call to the local suppliers suggests that there is nothing particularly special about this starter. It is the same part number as is used on a wide range of BMW models since the mid noughties and the price doesnt suggest that it is in any way a special heavy duty one either!

How long are the starters likly to last suffering this abuse? What about the wear on the ring gear? Is this yet another one of those cases where the operational costs of the technology are going to far outweigh any conceivable savings in fuel?? (But it looks good on paper!)

Even worse, A stuck starter in the driveway or the car park is a nuisance, A stuck starter in L3 of the M25 16:45Hrs on a Friday afternoon is going to be bloody lethal!

If I ever end up with a vehicle with a system like this I think one of the first things I will be doing is trying to find a way of dissabling it!

D

_________________
"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

I've got this, but you can turn it off (on each journey) if you want.

I would assume they have taken durability into account otherwise it will be storing up many future problems.

You get used to it, to be honest, although sometimes I've felt it is too keen to turn the engine off despite a heavy electrical load (headlights, fan, heated rear window etc). In those circumstances I have sometimes used the manual override. On the other hand, sometimes it doesn't turn the engine off, and sometimes it decides to turn it back on again after a minute or so stationary.

Of course the kind of driver who never takes the car out of gear or applies the handbrake when stationary will never notice s/he has it in the first place

I would expect that within two or three years most new cars will have it because of pressures to reduce emissions.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

_________________
"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

You can assume that most will last until the warranty runs out.

Yeah, just been driving one this last couple of days as it happens! Quite unnerving at first, but it seemed to fire up again handily enough.

Not all of them use a starter. The smaller ones use the alternator and start the engine via the belt on the bottom pulley. As Dusty says, the "bottom line" is that the manufacturer will have to make it last for at least the warranty period. If they tend to die just outside it, that won't do his all-important residual values much good, so it's a tricky balancing act. To be honest, it's not clear how they develop the products after the initial design period. Take dual mass flywheels, for instance. They're famously troublesome (and expensive) on many different makes of vehicle. How can several different manufacturers make the same mistakes? When we get them failing at 60,000 miles, on multiple vehicles, you really ahve to ask "did they only ever do 50,000 miles on their development vehicles"? All I can think of is that the original designs are tested and validated but then the "bean counters" step in and decide that they can save a fortune by buying a particular component or assembly from China...

...which saves a fortune...for a while!

Yes, I think mine does that.


If they start dying at six or seven years old it will still do their reputation a lot of harm - and I think it's a reasonable assumption that a major car manufacturer won't knowingly build cars with major components that are of limited durability.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed