For driving on urban roads, using the automatic start stop function can indeed save fuel, as there are more signal lights. Waiting for a red light takes tens of seconds or even more than a minute, and the mileage has increased, adding up to a long waiting time for the red light. If the vehicle stalls and does not burn fuel during these times, it will save a lot of fuel, and urban roads can save 5% -10% of fuel. Not only can it save fuel, but it can also reduce environmental pollution. Automatic start stop is a relatively useful configuration. Someone has raised a question, saying that the engine wears the most when the vehicle starts, and it always automatically shuts down and starts again, which inevitably greatly increases the number of starts. Will this affect the engine's lifespan? Can it be a fuel saving exchange at the expense of engine life?

The answer is that it will not affect the engine life. Any design or configuration, the engine life is the first consideration, and the manufacturer's design engineers will not sacrifice the engine life in order to save fuel, which will not be worth the loss. Other cars can travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers without any problems, while my own car needs to be overhauled after driving hundreds of thousands of kilometers, which will affect the brand quality of my car and cause a bad reputation. Nowadays, the lifespan of the engine is already very long, without any special reasons. It is only natural wear and aging, and can basically be used for several hundred thousand kilometers without major repairs.

The engine wears heavily when it first starts, referring to being in a cold state. When the car cools down, the oil temperature is low first, and it also flows back into the oil pan, resulting in suboptimal lubrication conditions. Secondly, the lack of optimal fit clearance between various components can also lead to increased wear. So, if the car cools down and ignites for a period of time before stalling, waiting for the car to cool down before igniting, repeating this process will increase engine wear. The automatic start stop function of the vehicle, when started, is under hot vehicle conditions, and the water temperature has already reached normal operating temperature. There is no problem with oil lubrication, and there is no problem with the clearance between various components. After starting, there is no need to inject more fuel to warm up the car, which is the same as normal operation, so there will be no additional wear on the engine.

The only difference is that the number of times the starter operates increases, and the number of times the battery is discharged with high current increases, which will have an impact on the lifespan of the starter and battery. However, these two components are different from those used in regular cars and have been strengthened to support frequent work without damage in a short period of time. However, once it is damaged, the replacement price is also higher. For example, a regular battery costs a few hundred yuan, and a start stop battery costs over 1000 or 2000 yuan to fix, which is more expensive.

Therefore, when using the automatic start stop function, there is no need to worry about it affecting the engine life, and there is no need to worry about the lifespan of the starter and battery. They are all accessories used for automatic start stop and have a very long lifespan. Just care about whether it saves fuel, this is a design specifically designed to save fuel and reduce emissions. Some driving conditions are not suitable for automatic start stop, such as driving on highways or in areas with few traffic lights in the suburbs. This function can be turned off, and there is basically no difference in fuel consumption. Some people also don't like the car always turning off and then starting, feeling uncomfortable and can be turned off. For most car owners driving in urban areas, this feature is still quite useful, as it can have a significant effect on fuel consumption over time. Otherwise, the manufacturer would not have spent a lot of money installing such a feature on the car. So if the vehicle has this function and the driving route is also suitable, use it as needed, and don't be influenced by others and think it's not good.

From: WONDEE Autoparts

2023-8-30