Only one thing out of all of what you said that i would like to touch on. Ive worked in the gas industry my entire life so take this as you wish. Stabilizer is a complete waste of money IF you are using it because of ethanol in gas. It does absolutely nothing to help with it, it a long technical explanation but the short version is stabilizer can’t stop the ethanol from absorbing humidity over time.
I recently changed my car's battery and by mistake I bought a wrong one that doesn't support start/ stop function. So I kept disabling the start/ stop by default. Now I found out how lucky I was choosing that wrong battery.... 😁
Those start/stop features are a joke - any benefits gained, either with better fuel economy or less emissions, are completely cancelled out by wear and tear on the engine. But I'm sure the manufacturers don't mind making a bit of extra cash.
The starter is already there regardless of whether or not the car has auto start/stop. How does it add weight? The extra 1's and 0's from the programming?
I hit the button to turn off start/stop in my car without even thinking about it. Becomes second nature after a while. Or sport mode turns it off anyway.
Some engines don’t even use the starter for start/stop feature sometimes. Engine stops at the right crankshaft position, so that the ignition can restart the engine without using the starter. So, there are some smart solutions nowadays. I have been using start/stop feat and have never turned it off. Oil analysis comes up as really good and have never had any issue at almost 80k (mb glc300). Knocking on the wood
ECPP, excellent comments and advice. I do everything you say already. Let me add that engine oil is also a coolant. This is hardly ever mentioned. Engine oil lubricates and removes heat from the engine. Fresh oil cools the engine better than old oil. Old oil gets thick and starts to store more heat in the engine which eventually prematurely damages engine seals and bearings. There is nothing better than fresh oil in your engine at all times. As for the turbo, when i drive it hard, i take the longest route home while driving gently to help it cool. I turn the AC on as well so that the AC fan can help with the cooling. I then let it sit running on the drive way for about 10 minutes before putting it in the garage. Finally, old radiator coolants are actually acids. As the coolant breaks down or wears down over time, it becomes a destructive acid that starts eating the plastic parts of your radiator, water pump seals, while degrading the lubrication of water pump bearings. I am a big advocate for changing radiator coolants every year. Coolants degrade by a certain percentage every year. Radiators and thermostats can last up to 15 - 20 years if you change the coolant every year without fail. I stopped using mid to low grade gas about 15 - 20 years ago in all my cars including my 4 cylinders because i kept having problems with them. I only use 93 octane. No issues since then. And, i only use BP gas. I would rather drive empty than use any other octane rating or gas manufacturer. Also, change your air filter twice a year as a minimum. It does wonders to engine longevity when done with frequent oil changes. Replace transmission fluids every 2 - 2.5 years. People forget that fresh transmission fluid improves gas mileage, in addition to new air filters, by a significant amount. The older your transmission fluid, the worse your gas mileage. Finally, do not let your fuel tank ever go below half tank. You will eventualky damage the primary fuel pump, and the high pressure fuel pump. Any high pressure fluid pumping machine needs the fluid to be at a certain level at all times. Below a certain level, heat build up begins which deteriorates the pumping machine. By the way, old engine oil also damages high pressure fuel pumps. Keep your engine oil as new and as clean as possible at all times. For goodness sake, always allow your car to warm up when you crank it. This allows the oil to reach everywhere inside while allowing the metals to expand to normal operating conditions. The only thing wasted in a warm up is just some gas. Better to waste gas than waste an engine, right?
Thank you so much for your great comment, tbis should definitely help viewers with the right treatment of their vehicles so they can maximize the life of their vehicles.
@@EK-fl8yz i use BP because of their invigorate chemical in the gas. I used to use Chevron with techron which was also good. But i noticed more soot on my spark plugs, which i replace every year on my smaller cars. When i switched to BP, for the last 8 years, no soot has ever formed on my spark plugs. My copper spark plugs are so clean at the end of the year that another car can still use it. If you have a turbo in your car, clean air filter and clean oil can extend the life of your engine and the turbos. Turbos are expensive. A cheap one will run you about $1000 in parts, and you do them in pairs, which means at least 2K in part costs.
@@Omega_SM fuel pumps are subject to the impact of fuel level which impacts fuel pressure. The fuel level also helps cool the fuel pump. As fuel level drops, a pump runs the risk of cavitation, while having less fuel to cool the pump itself. A smaller fuel level will hold more heat produced by the pump. A smaller fuel level means that the pump will suck up more dirt at the bottom of the tank. A fuel tank that never goes below a 50% of the tank, will likely survive as much as 20 years or more. I have never had a fuel pump or an alternator die on me in my entire auto ownership. To save alternators, change your battery evety three years without fail whether the battery works well or not.
I think most people just put gas in and go. Maintenance? Looking under the hood? Only when the car breaks down. DIY maintenance is a lost art. Car manufacturers know this and build disposable vehicles. You can beat the odds with proper maintenance. Not 100%, but fewer problems. Thanks. Good information Mark.
Building disposable vehicles kills your reputation as a good car manufacturer. Than no one buys your crap cars. So your theory is BS or you just buy GM/Ford.
Great information. One bad habit i often see is that many drivers use high revs before the engine has fully warmed up. Impatience is an early killer of engines and transmissions.
I bought a used 2005 TL from a dealer and when driving home on the highway the engine sounded like 4 cylinder. I realized later that someone had used 87 regular. When I reverted back to BJ's 93 octane there was an improvement. But what surprised me most is when I started using top tier gasoline the engine became even more quieter.
It makes also a great difference when pumping at different places. In Germany I once pumped regular Diesel on Shell and realized even though it cost me a few cents more a gallon, my car went comfortably and didn't just have some performance loss coming randomly.
I'm not a huge fan of stop/start but several things should be known about it. Starter wear: Starters are being built to be more robust now. Engine Wear: Most wear occurs on a cold start. Cases in which the stop/start will not engage: If the engine is not warmed up. If the battery voltage is too low or drops too low during the shutoff. If the transmission is not in Drive. If the heat or a/c is running (some cars will still shut off but restart if the temperature gets too cold or hot.) If it hasn't been long enough since it restarted. If the hood is open.
@@twoleftfeet9626 It's called common sense. Common sense isn't a prerequisite but it can come in handy for navigating life. Let me see if I can help lead you down the road to enlightenment. Is there any data to support the theory that stop/start is good for your starter motor? No. So the very best you can hope for is that no harm is done. Logic tells you that the more you use it, the more you wear it out and shorten it's lifespan. Now, if we possess common sense, we are now able to establish that the stop/start function is a bad idea.
The start stop feature is one of the most annoying things ever installed on a car. The other annoying things is when people put the wrong fuel in the tank to save money. I once bought an off lease Audi and had the fuel in the tank checked and found that it was regular gas. I'm not sure if it was the dealer that did that or the guy that leased it before me. I've see drivers at the gas station put regular gas in a Benz and I would say to them, "It requires premium gas" only for them to say, "eh, it's a lease car". Drives me insane.
It also drives me crazy--worse is going to car meets and seeing the idiots that financed more then they can afford and are putting regular gas in a hellcat or M5--in addition to having bald rear tires from showing off.Dude at the local meet last month put 7 dollars of regular gas in a new challenger.I mean that 2 gallons was enough for him to go park it--just laughable.
Good post. We bought a returned from lease Audi last year that replaced a wrecked same model. The new buy ran like relative @ss until we got a couple of tanks of 91 through it. I would bet much dollars it had regular in it when we bought it & likely the previous user put regular in it.
I highly recommend the Autostop Eliminator. It’s a small wiring harness that you attach to the button under your center console and to the vehicle’s wiring harness. Basically it remembers your setting so you don’t have to push the button every time you get in the car. I would always forget until I got to a light and it would drive me crazy. Worth it for saving me a few starts per day! And the convenience of not having to do “pre -flight- drive checks” like I’m a friggin pilot.
Excelente video, mi wife’s 2022 NX 350 came with the feature. I told her to deactivated as soon as she starts the vehicle. In the other hand my 2022 IS 350 F came without it and I’m great full for that.
Good tips, but technology and engineering have improved. Worked with BMW for about 10 years and with the German trainers and race car drivers who themselves are mechanics and engineers. Many of them explained on 2 points that you mentioned that similar to older cars that have turbo timers, a lot of modern vehicles have their own cooling systems that run even after the car is switched off, so running it for 30 seconds after a drive may not be necessary. A good precaution if your brand of car does not do this, but a waste of time if it does. You normally hear a fan running on most luxury models with a turbo for some time long after the engine is switched off for example. The other one was the automatic start/stop function. It can only work to engage if the engine and oil are already at its operating temperature, if not, in most cars it would not be available until that happened as many owners would notice. On BMW models it was designed to save you about 0.1 liters for every 100 liters of gas, which with gas prices today is something. In terms of the starter, it was also explained that for an average starter that had a life of 250,000 starts, an engine that has this feature was designed with 750,000 starts to compensate this, and the reason the off button was there, was if you think your stop and go was excessive actually. Your points are valid and good precautions, but doubt those guys did NOT know what they were referring to. For everything there is a reason and explanation, especially when it comes to German engineering.
You’re welcome. You video post was good and quite refreshing actually. Lots of owners and drivers do NOT know these things when they buy a car and the people that sell them sometimes do, but don’t pass that learning along.
Also if your stop/start stops working it's a good sign your battery is on it's way out. Disables this feature to stop battery drain. Well it does on M5 BMW.
Years ago with the heavy duty diesels, some would actually have a plaque on the dash saying, "idle engine 3-5 minutes before shutdown to avoid turbocharger damage". Excellent video and advise.
@@ntwalipat2 I had an Toyota diesel turbo charged mini van 4wd in Bangladesh, that van kept running few minutes even after remove key from ignition and lock that ,.
@@ntwalipat2 slowly , if in higher gear in manual trans maybe fine but some auto will use lower gear so probably will force turbo charger to work, so better wait 90s -180s to turn off the car especially G-cars
Years ago when I was 16 (Im now 51) I got wonderful advice. When you start your car, wait before putting it in gear. Put the key in the the ignition and turn it to the run position but dont start it. (Not sure how this would work with keyless cars). But wait for all the bells and lights to cycle. Think of it like letting your car boot up. While thats going on, put on your sear belt, close the door, get yourself all situated. After the dash lights and bells are done cycling, then start the engine and wait at least 30-60 seconds before putting it in gear to let all the engine parts get lubricated and ready to handle the load of driving. I see so many people who just start the engine and immediately put it in gear and go and that is horrible to do. My truck is 15 years old and I do this every time I start it.
Great thoughts and I do similar. I k ow many older vehicles I would turn ignition on without starting and you could hear the fuel pump pressure up so starting was more consistent.
30-60 seconds is far too short. Atleast in all the vehicles I have driven, gears are crunchy as hell for a solid 2-3 minutes on cold start. If its already warm because you just drove it then 30 seconds is perfect
For the keyless cars , you have to press the break and hit the button to start the car, but if you get in , and press the start button without your foot on the break , it will start up without starting the engine allowing all the lights and run and get situated.
Wait for the rpm to drop below 1,000. On a cold start it'll stay above this level as it warms things up (it's mostly used to warm the catalytic converter for emissions reasons). It's call the Secondary Air Injection. It's good for gauging when to put the car in gear though.
Very good and informative video for mechanically inclined drivers for the most part, I'm with you all the way up to the last segment or tip. You had mentioned that the vehicles with the start and stop system could be detrimental to your car starter and several minutes of the engine oil falling back down to the crank case which, yes it would normally. However today's modern vehicles that employ a start and stop ECO mode system actually utilize a two starter system. It utilizes a standard starter motor, as well as a high torque starter motor that almost has nearly the same responsiveness when compared to electric car. In other words, there is almost 0 lag from the time when you depress the gas pedal to when the vehicle is moving. Now if you have a hybrid vehicle that employees a start stop system such as Toyota? When the motor stops at a traffic light or when it's in hybrid battery mode. The electric engine oil pump ensures & maintain circulation of the engine oil throughout the vital internal components which also maintains the necessary oil pressure to prevent metal on metal unnecessary premature engine wear and tear. This is where the 100% synthetic engine oil is extremely important. What the average person doesn't know is that when they take your vehicle to a dealership for an oil change then is that the engine oil special usually is the incorrect grade and or only conventional oil when only a synthetic oil can be used like most Japanese engines that are extremely fuel efficient have the lowest viscosity index rating of 0w-16 engine oil which can only be synthetically man made rather than the conventional lowest grade 5w-20 I believe. 0w16 SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE YEAR 2000. YET THE BIG 3 are only now realizing the benefits in fuel efficiency due to its superior flow rate at sub zero temperatures.
Wow the last tip really comforts me cuz I was frustrated why Lexus doesn't have this start/stop function in my ES and IS, but all the German cars have it, now it all makes sense for the reliability haha
@@kevinf.6847 - their hybrids don’t start/stop in the same way/same frequency though. And it’s designed purely for charging the batteries, not for turning off the ICE to save emissions when the vehicle comes to a stop!
@@matthewwood4756 the start stop on hybrids definitely are designed to save gas. When you come to a stop the engine stop and electric motors accelerate the car to a out 25mph. Only if you accelerate hard then gas engine will start immediately.
@@jalee6587 - There are a lot a factors that determine when they run EV only, or in hybrid mode. A hybrid can actually run in full ICE mode only in many circumstances. I used to work for Toyota/Lexus. Hybrid’s are not intended to work in the same way as “engine start/stop”. That was the point I was highlighting.
I found that the Nissan Rogue (2021 thru current 2023) doesn't even have that annoying stop/start feature, how nice is that! Nothing to turn off every time you crank up the vehicle.
One important thing to know is that your car's water temperature is only to warn you of overheating. The gauge you need to look at to see if the engine has warmed-up is the oil temperature. The oil usually takes quite a bit longer to warm up than the water.
@@babuskarashuka8651 An oil temperature gauge is an oil temperature gauge, and an oil pressure gauge is an oil pressure gauge. Two different things. Maybe you haven't seen a an oil temp gauge? My car tells me the oil temp in degrees Celsius, but only has a simple warning light for low oil pressure.
Oil removes @60% of the heat generated by the engine simply by virtue of being directly on the working surfaces,bores,bearings,or by load,lifters,bearings etc.,the incoming air through the air intake provides a cooling effect as does the fuel mixture to a degree,.An oil temp sensor will only measure sump or feed oil just after the pump,oil which will remain cooler up to a point because the relatively small amount of oil travelling around your engine removing heat and therefore getting hot it's self when it's running is then diluted back into cooler sump oil,but the oil at the point of the working surface heats very quickly,even from cold. The coolant system regulates heat indirectly via heat transfer and is not directly connected to working surfaces i.e. friction,or combustion so it's thermal efficiency is lower.coolant is thermostatically controlled to be isolated so that a very small part of it heats first,allowing that part to attain temperature seemingly quicker,sometimes and more commonly now artificially,even more so with selective path systems,thermoplungers and active pumps becoming more common,these measures are not made because the coolant systems can't keep up it's because manufacturers are trying to achieve operating temperature quicker using the cooling system to also assist engine heating until reaching that point.
Thank you for your video! As a person that spent 23 years with a global engineering and environmental company, I would like to know if the actual data on start-stop technology is better for our environment. Have the THCs, CO, and other emissions been significantly reduced by the stop-start technology? What were the analyzer readings with stop-start off versus when it is activated? Catalytic converters use Rhodium as a reduction catalyst, palladium as an oxidation catalyst, and platinum for both reduction and oxidation. They are most optimum at 400 F. What happens when the engine cools down while stopped and then restarted? Is it possible that certain pollutants get bumped out of the catalytic converter prematurely? In other words, does Stop-Start technology potentially cause even more pollution to the environment? Saving a thimble of gas, if that, at a stop light or while sitting in traffic may help MPG ratings. However, I have seen no empirical evidence that convinces me that stop-start is good for our environment.
It’s all a game. Manufacturers are constantly under pressure by our retarded governments to push for more and more strict emissions regulations. So they will do what they can to show on paper hey our vehicle gets 0.000001% better fuel economy. Even if it means the vehicles are being loaded with tech that will hurt the longevity of the cars in the future. The owners can bear the burden of repairs and failures. Governments just want to pretend they’re saving the dolphins.
I have coded out the start / stop feature on my BMW F30 N20 to save the added strain it puts on the timing chain at every start up. Long live the timing chain. Thanks for the great videos 👍
@@r3games1985You’re thinking the Engineer’s don’t know better ? Well….they do. They are just following marching orders from upstairs who is following marching orders from The Great Green Movement. Wake up fella.
@@r3games1985 Some BMW timing chains wear out prematurely. It's a known issue for certain cars. The start stop function on these cars only makes the issue worse. On start-up, the tensioner isn't always pressurized and the timing chain slaps, which wear out the plastic timing guides quicker.
If you drive in a city as I do 90% of the time. The start stop function saves a huge amount of fuel. And in 100,000 miles I have never had any issues. I do however turn it off when edging forward to a set of lights numerous times, I drive in the city so much that I know the sequence of just about all the traffic lights, sad.
Excellent advice on letting the turbo spool down. Best advice I can give anyone buying a new car is change the oil at 3000 miles: new engine has tight tolerances and, as it beds in during the stresses of normal driving, there will be a higher content of metal in the oil regardless of how 'long life' the oil is.
Excellent advices, especially for the auto stop-start which most of people think it is a great thing but it is not. In some countries they start to fine you if your car is not stopped at traffic lights 😵
God-given tips, and thank you. Another tip especially to diesel manuals: Low speed-high gear-full throttle scenario is guaranteed to kill your car. Beautiful car & house
Stop start, first thing I switch off. Here in the UK I found the engine would stop just as I was about to pull away at rounderbouts, the delay I found both offputting and dangerous.
My 2012 Acadia lit up like a Christmas tree a few yrs back, the Red Check light really got my attention. Lucky to have been able to safely park and turn it off within seconds. 50,000 miles with a new water pump now. 160,000 miles original brake pads, 2nd set of struts and shocks, doesn’t burn a drop. Babied it since new. In the back of my mind I worry about the timing chain and the tranny. It’s on its 4th trans fluid change.
I was always skeptical about that auto off/on engine crap. As a tech I can tell you some of these emissions things are doing more damage than anything. Idea is to be good to the environment but hard to do that when it's more financially accessible to buy a whole new car than working or replacing the one you got. What a waste! Thanks EPA
Has anyone ever noticed just how much the cancer rates of skyrocketed since all the emissions regulations went into effect? Anyone ever notice how all the vegetation on the sides of the highways is dead now? 25 years ago, everything was lush and green along many roads.. and cancer rates were quite a bit lower.
@@fadingbeleifscancer rates has been getting higher ever since the industrial revolution, and the people who were around when vehicles were being mainstream are now getting old and the cancer is starting to show so it makes sense that it’ll be a little skyrocket in cancer cases
Mmm, I've got 338.000 miles on my 94 Trans Am I bought new. Engine never been touched. Even the timing chain is original. Runs and sounds like new.Uses no oil.. Only oil it ever had is Castrol GTX 10 30. My new car requires SYNTHETIC, or so the owners manuel states. So I'm using it for that car.
I usually leave the start/stop engaged for regular driving. I do turn it off if I am going through a drive through or some type of line that has lots of stopping. The wear is minuscule and many of us will not own the vehicle long enough for a mechanic to tell you “this is because of you using the start/stop installed by the manufacturer feature too much”
How long is considered a long term owner though. I have extended warranty with mt new Subaru so 7 yrs extended warranty. I plan to keep it for between 7 to 10 years. Is that long ofr mid. I read with auto star stop the car can handle it and it doesn't kill the engine. I don't know cars that well but I would think Iif a vehicle has the feature it should be able to handle ir
Great video. I have a 2021 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium which have a BMW B58 engine. The manual recommends 10k OCI. I live in Las Vegas, and will be changing my oil at 5k. My Supra has 5k, and have already changed the oil 2 times. Oil is cheap. Engine is expensive.
That’s perfect. I worked in Kenya and even on Land Cruisers they changed the oil every 3k due to the bad/sandy air and low fuel quality. That’s why some of the LCs I drove were still running fine with the same engine after 600.000km +
Yup 6k should be your max oil intervals. Do that and the b58 will never see problems. Stage 2 here with 5k intervals 60k miles on it with no problems just wear and tear like brakes, tires and filters
My personal opinion is that each and every tip in this video is perfectly valid particularly the stop-start feature. Sure it's a good idea to reduce the pollution but not destroying the engine as a result. If you start to scratch the cylinders due to oil starvation the result will be more pollution from the engine, less power produced and you will have to drive the vehicle harder with negative effect on the environment. There is a gadget available for a great number of vehicles that actually memorizes the setting so you won't have to turn the stop-start feature off each time you start. Great idea in my opinion.
1. Ethanol ABSORBS water, so don't leave fuel sitting in the tank more than 3 months unused otherwise it forms in the fuel. 2. Cold start wear occurs within the first couple seconds, so just don't rev it hard. Oil residue oil clings to the surfaces anyway, so it isn't metal on metal otherwise your car wouldn't last a year. 3. Yes regular oil servicing is the most important thing you can do to maximise the engine life - and use the good stuff. 4. Yea, yellow\ red lights are there for a reason. 5. It's not about cooling the turbo after a hard run, it's about cooling the engine with some moderate speed before parking up. Sitting still does not cool the turbo very well, the engine oil cools the turbo, so you need to cool the engine by getting air through the rad. If you idle a hot engine, the engine gets hotter at first and fans kick in- like when you do rush hour. 6.The stop\ start advice... the restart does not use the starter motor: When the engine stops at a light, one of the cylinders is left at TDC, and the car restarts by firing the spark plug which turns the engine over- no starter motor needed.
Correct and well said. The only thing I will add is that studies have been done on oil change interval, and mileage degrades oil, time doesn't. If you use synthetic and get 6 months and 6-7K on it, change it. If you get 5 months with only 1-2 K on it, you can wait another 6 months because lab tests show the oil is like new.
Good advice, Mark. I hate auto stop/start. I disabled it on the f-type Jag with one wire to disconnect, but we have a new Genesis GV70 and I haven’t found a way to disable it. My wife and I are both trying to make it a habit to turn it off when we start the car, but we haven’t learned yet.
Thanks for sharing David. It’s like a lot of imposing technologies and codes, they start half way and give you the option for awhile and then phase in the inability to do that later in further designs. Does it have some type of a sport mode? Usually that takes care of it.
@@ECPP yes, in the sport+ mode, but not the sport mode, it will shut off the stop/start, but when the car is restarted it defaults to comfort mode, so in any case we have to remember to turn off the stop/start every time. Its the top end GV70 Sport Plus (3.5L twin turbo) which is kind of a waste since it’s my wife’s car and she doesn’t really care about the extra torque and horsepower.
@@dpvbischoff I heard theres a switch in some bonnets/hoods somewhere that disables start/stop when the hood is up. Its some sort of mechanic protection thing. You may be able to disable it that way.
It does improve fuel efficiency. In fact that the whole reason it was invented. Manufacturers only ever implemented it in the first place because mandated fuel efficiency rules meant they had to stop the engine at lights to meet targets. They would never had spent money developing and implementing the tech if they didn’t need to. They have to use more expensive batteries, and more robust starter motors in order to include the feature, which then increases the sale price, and in this competitive market, they wouldn’t do that unless it helped them reach their emissions targets. That’s also the entire reason you can’t disable it permanently, but can only manually turn it off each trip. If you could turn it off permanently, then it couldn’t be used when testing a cars furl economy, and the manufacturers need that fuel saving to be included in the tests.
Thank you for this informative video. I’m getting my first car this week, and I want to make sure I take very good care of it especially since it is brand new!
Stop / start is not only bad for your car it’s extremely dangerous. Normally when a car fails to start for ANY reason it’s in a safe place. But if the car fails to restart when using stop/start you could be rolling out into a busy intersection with no safe way to move your car out of the way. It’s scary as hell.
I coded it off my car, so it’s the opposite way around and I have to turn it on. The car always turns on with start stop off. Everyone else should look into getting their cars coded so start stop is off when they turn the car on.
One thing I was guilty of when I was younger, using the cheap gas! I thought I was big shit at 25 driving my new leased bmw! But didn’t really have the finances to afford premium gas. The older I got and more knowledge that usually comes with age I figured out the importance of listening to the recommended octane. I’d never make that mistake again. Not only did my car not run near as smoothly but I’m sure the person who had the car after me had some issues to deal with.
For eons i have always had the habit of give the engine those 30 secs to a minute to warm it up somewhat and then dont throttle hard for the next 3-5 minutes until you get the proper working temperature
Great video with lots of helpful advice! I agree you shouldn't use an ethanol blended fuel unless your car is compatible. I live in Thailand and run a Mitsubishi Attrage which is designed to use E20 - a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline. Basically, the internal parts are designed so they aren't affected by ethanol. Many cars over here are designed to run on either E10 (10% ethanol/90% gasoline) or E20, so it's not an issue. I think you'd only need to use a fuel stabilizer to prevent separation if you plan on storing the car for a long time. The only other advice I'd give motorists is to regularly use a fuel system cleaner. I buy a Mitsubishi-branded cleaner but there are plenty on the market like Sea Foam, STP, etc
I totally agree especially about the start and stop "turbo killer". Here in Europe we still pay to access the motorways in some areas: so, after a long run unfortunately could happen to fry the turbo while you stop at the paying machine because you forget to disable the start and stop.
Please look up "turbo after-run pump." You are not killing your turbo by shutting down a hot engine. The electric after-run pump will keep circulating coolant through your turbocharger until the temperature drops to a safe level.
Idk about all stop starts, but most don't use the starter to restart. Most will stop cyl 1 TDC then when ready it will fire that cylinder. Most starters with those systems are brushless so no wear and tear there as far as the flywheel it's possible, but I'm sure they've done extensive testing to mitigate it being an issue for a very long time. Either way I think its stupid and I turn it off lol.
@@ECPP Thank you, I like the real world advice you give, Good, bad or ugly, straight shooter, Mercedes here for 20 years 500,000 miles 3 vehicles, Road raced Motorcycles Professionally as a Privateer in the 80's, speed is intoxicating, just did the BMW thing, but you pay for it, average Joe does, you basically protect the Consumer as an Advocate to keep their eyes open and do their homework, Thanks.
I love your energy! I am looking at buying a new Lexus IS-350. I have a 2004 Toyota Solara V6 with 230K miles and that car just keeps on running. I have had some expense with it. New shocks, struts, control arms, A/C condenser, tie rods, and rack and pinion which I probably got screwed on by some idiot running a tire shop since it went bad after a year and the mechanic replacing it the first time was not good at his work. I will probably try the COSTCO car buying program. I hate buying a new car because they want to add on all kinds of stuff. I don't want an extended warranty because it is a Lexus. I had a 4 cylinder Honda Accord that was great with manual transmission. I should have probably just replaced my clutch and it would have lasted another 100K miles.
I’ve spoken to a lot of mechanics and they said the auto start stop feature is harmless. Even if you’re stuck at a stop light for 2-3 minutes, the lubricity of the oil takes longer than that to go away. And when the engine fires up, those few minutes even in sub zero temps is too short to cool off the oil. Where it annoys me on MB, the feature isn’t very smooth and is very noticeable, which is why I disable it.
I’ve been driving the same Toyota for 15 years, never seen the check engine light on. Didn’t know there were two colours… Anyway, good video! Very informative.
@@CaptainVillanueva1 Another person just commented that in a 100k miles in a camry he's had all kinds of issues, and parts that needed replacing! Cars are machines, and all break down lol! I've had several friends with them, and the Avalon with all kinds of wear and tear problems with less then 100k! Japanese cars do break down as well just cheaper to repair!
@@vaneyjane it amazes me how people can drive an old rusty beater till the end! I like newer cars for their luxury, performance, and updated technology! Not to mention that new car smell, and feeling of having a highly desired vehicle you dream about having! Just my opinion 🤷🙂
He’s right @7:01 not changing you oil frequently enough can blow your turbo… I was going by the manual ie long service intervals and after about 6 years that turbo compeller wheel bearings etc broke in half. Change your oil like every 6k km especially if it’s tuned…
It’s a great subject to touch on. I have a Lexus GS Blackline. It Calls for premium, and I use shell premium which contains dry gas . But I talk to many people who also require premium but never use it . Besides the obvious knocking i recall many decades ago. It’s not as widespread today with these engines. My cousin has always had a new Infiniti G37 , Q50 every 3 years . That engine requires premium . She used regular for all of them in 3 years of driving and returned them one after the other . Maybe she unloads them before there are problems. Or maybe she was right . Is it true or just a farce? I have no clue. But someone bought all her leased cars thinking the car adhered to all the standards prior . Surprise!
I heard that, if your car is turbocharged but not equipped with a supercharger, the premium gas is just a recommendation to achieve the most horsepower. However, it’s not a requirement because the built in computer will automatically adjust the timing to avoid the “pinging” that was known when the timing was manually done through the adjustment of the “points”. The reason you must use premium fuel ( if indicated by the manufacturer) when a car is equipped with a supercharger is that if you use regular fuel and the computer adjusts the “timing” it will throw out the syncing of the supercharger to the engine resulting in expensive damage.
5 years of owning an old turbo diesel and changing oil every 10.000km and not turning off the car after a bit agressive ride the turbo still intact. As i say,respect ur turbo and the turbo will respect u.
I always knew auto start stop was a horrible technology for the engine. It’s on my current vehicle, lucky I have a switch to turn it off. But the second reason I turn it off is because when it engage at a light it locks my steering wheel.. oh hell nahh it just feels really dangerous and it feels exposing. Idk how to explain it
Since the corona curfew and working from home my car sits more than it’s been driven. The regular inspection shows that the AGM battery is still "ok" - more on the bad side than the god side of the meter. So, I'm turning off the auto stop/start to avoid wearing out the battery. The battery is so "ok" that auto start/stop wasn’t available for a long time at all. It came back after a long drive during summer holidays.
The autostop eliminator is available for some models.......definitely worth it. Its just a dongle that goes between the button and the wiring that remembers the last selection, so if you turn it off, it will stay off no matter how many times you drive the vehicle.......but if for some reason you want to turn it on, you can.
Most vehicles that have a sport mode have a default turn off of the Auto stop start as well, I pretty much always drive in sport mode so it's never an issue
Nice video! One more thing, if you have a hybrid and you start out in el mode, then you do an acceleration the cold gas engine goes directly in to max power. Not good! So a good practice is to idle the gas engine a little before start...
I live the UK and drive a Ford Fiesta with a 1litre EcoBoost engine with a turbo. Fortunately my 2015 model has and on/off button for the stop start system so I always drive with the stop start system deactivated. I have never noticed any loss of fuel efficiency when driving. Sadly on most new ICE cars the start stop cannot be over ridden. I use premium unleaded fuel which has less synthetic oil in it. It is higher octane and offers more power and far better mileage. The EcoBoost engine is direct injection so prone to carbon build up over time. Premium fuels have less impurities in the UK to encourage carbon deposits in the cylinders. I also let the engine run for a minute after journeys to help cool the turbo bearings before turning the engine off. Little things which I hope will extend the engine life of the car.
The stop start system is used to squeeze an extra fraction of an mpg to help manufacturers meet mpg standards. Everyone that has the system (including me) hates it. It's hard on the engine and starters and doesn't save enough to be worth it. The default should be OFF and if you want it, push the button to turn it on. Ethanol gas is everywhere, you can rarely avoid it in the USA. It's awful for any vehicle, including lawn mowers and other small engine devices. Ethanol pollutes more and gives about 8% worse gas mileage.
Thanks, you are right on both counts for sure. No value in either of those 2 items. Keeping things simple can actually work and yet manufacturers are not seeing that.. onward and downward I suppose.
I’ve read comments from the guys of Car and Driver online that cars that have that start/stop feature have beefed up parts to handle the wear and tear.
Great tips!...1morev very important obvious one Never ever change the the oil spec recommended by manufacturer There is a reason they recomend the oil they do and remember like fuel, not all oils are created equal
@@BeeRumblin13 The basic architecture of an engine today isn't that much different from 70 years ago, they all have pistons, rod bearings rods, cylinders, etc...maybe your unaware that metal shrinks when cold, and expands when hot. Every engine needs to warm up before hard use. If not, excessive wear will happen , and it will shorten the engines life. I'm going guess that you believe in 10.000 mile oil changes also.
You may talk fast,, but you kept my attention! I learned more from you than any man in my whole life about cars.. Thank You for all this great info and advice!!
I installed an automatic Start/Stop defeat module in my 21 Ridgeline last week... Works perfect.. Next project is to permanently disable the Variable Cylinder Management routine.. I change all lubricants at 1/2 the manufacturers recommended intervals but that is overkill.. All your advice is sound.. That Mercedes of yours is absolutely gorgeous, but I cant deal with the dealer only maintenance and specialty tools required..
Thank you so much Mark for the support and the comment. The Benz is a pretty car but honestly I find it a bit fragile and I had it in the shop to re install a door speaker that popped out.
@@ECPP That’s why I don’t ever own Mercedes again I bought one two years old and anything but trouble now I own Bmw Audi Lexus ram vw no problems at all just regular maintenance hope you’ll enjoy yours with free trouble like your content that’s why I subscribe very informative 👍
@@marks6072 I bought it at the ridgeline store it's called S-VCM Controller - VCM Disabler. I thought this thing was a total slug cause of the eco mode going in and out and all that crap but once I put the muzzle on she rides beautiful.
Auto start/stop is also really bad for turbos in general. There is a reason people used to have turbo timers to allow the turbine time to slow down before shutting the car off.
Mark, the problem with this logic is that +97% of new car purchasers don't keep (or intend to keep) their cars for longer than 4 years, or when the motor plan expires. It's the used car owners that then bear the brunt. Daily drives are seen as disposable. I have always bought 2nd hand and luckily my cars have been OK, but they're the older technology (no stop / start, or Turbo's). I still wait a minute to "warm up" when I start from cold. Ironically the manufacturer's state "Start and drive immediately" . On the Mercedes & Jaguar, how does the Supercharger (remember the Kompressor Merc's) fair against Turbo's ? Turbo's are a pain - but I've actually never heard problems with the Kompressor engines and they've been running since the late 90's.
Great comments and yes I too have usually purchased used vehicles and abuse by the original owner has always been a risk but we did. As far as the superchargers go, the bearing setup is more robust but a supercharger also is directly tied to engine RPM as a vehicle slows done, so does the blower at the same speed ratio while a turbo spins freely and often even getting off throttle, a good turbo continues to spin at high speeds for seconds or more.
With Subaru, if you do a full accelerator press prior to starting, try starting for a couple seconds, then turn off. Now start the vehicle without touching the accelerator pedal and it starts. This pre lubes prior to starting and running the engine. Nice also when you do oil changes.
Well another way to shorten your engine life is by having an engine with a turbo. Reason is you are cramping more air into the engine to make it have more horsepower than it is designed to have this leading to your engine going out way before it is supposed too.
@@ECPP that's true but most people that have a turbo drives them hard. It's kinda like a Dodge hellcat how many people buy one and drives it conservative?
Not sure that’s true - a lot of turbo engines have been designed as turbo engines from the ground up so they’ve always been designed with the extra air in mind
Ridiculous comment. If a turbo engine has been designed to have 250 hp, then that's how many hp it's designed to have. The turbo isn't an afterthought, you big div.
I have now had 3 turbo charged cars. Only one, that I know of, had a factory turbo cooler.. I am the same.. I always turn off the Auto Start and Stop.. It annoys me.. haha
In the US, all gas stations have some mix of ethanol within the fuel. I don't think there is any way around that. At least most gas stations. I tried to find a gas station that did not use ethanol mixes and I couldn't find one.
That’s unfortunate, I know there are still places where we can find straight up gas, but then we have a couple that are largely alcohol. I stay away from those other than maybe a rental.
US companies add ethanol to raise the Octane score. There is no way around it. The best that US drivers can do is to use Tier 1 level gas and avoid buying gas from the likes of Sam’s Club, Walmart, etc. Tier 1 gas includes BP and Shell. You can google “tier 1 gas” to get a proper list of US gas stations.
@@ECPP Since I moved to Iowa in 2004 I've put the 10% ethanol blend in my cars..all Camry's. I've never had any issues. Of course I drive daily. Ethanol does seperate after a period of storage. As mentioned stabilizers are available to add to your fuel tank to slow the separation...the stop start technology just sucks. ..there are many devices available to disable this alleged technology. and some stop start technology can be disabled without buying some dongle. Just look it up on youtube. On my '17 Camry Toyota recommends a 10,000 interval for an oil change..Sey what?! No way I say. I go 5000 miles max..Thanks for posting..love your channel.
Good information, however I will say that newer generation Start/Stop systems don't use traditional armature starter motors with a ring gear. Some examples that come to mind is Mercedes / Volvo. Volvo calls their starter "motor" an "ISG - Integrated Starter Generator. It uses electromagnetism, rather than an actual mechanical starter engaging with a ring gear. These newer start/stop systems are pretty noticeable in smoothness, so if you can barely feel your start/stop system turning on/off, it's most likely something like Volvo's ISG. Lubrication for pistons is obviously important, but generally cross-hatching on the cylinder walls should take care of any start/stop conditions, even after a few minutes of not running. Also consider that the engine will be starting back up and running at a lower-RPM in a closed-loop condition (as opposed to open loop at higher RPMs).
Regarding cold/dry starts. When engine has not been started in a long wile, push accelerator pedal to the floor wile pushing start button. The engine will crank without starting, allowing the oil to circulate. Do this for 5 to 10 seconds before releasing the pedal. Engine should now start and run normally.
Great tips! However, I have never heard that premium fuel is less likely to have ethanol then “regular“ fuel. Do you have any references you can cite to support that assertion?
Thank you much appreciated for your advice and comments. Definitely agree with you on the stop start is causing a lot of wear and tear in the long term for your vehicle.
I think the biggest issue in today's cars is oil burning, The reason for it is engineers at MIT 10 years ago decided if autos used low tension piston rings in engines, they could get better mileage and your engine would run more efficient, but you needed lower viscosity oil also, the draw back was oil changes were far more important, so if people use the oil Percent guage in your vehicle to change oil, you may have 7500 miles and 40 percent life left ,thats way to many miles before axoil change , So you need to change your oil every 5000 miles or less even with the new synthetic oils ,When you use the percent guage for oil changes , it is causing more sludge and carbon in your engines because the oil change interval being extended beyond the oils capabilities making your engine burn oil, so it's more important then ever to change your engine oil sooner then later, so change your engine oil at 5,000 miles or less if you want your newer model engine to last years and not burn oil.
I mix 50/50 aurora white vinegar from no Frills with Petro Canada 87 octane gas. Cost per liter is down to circa $0.65 / Litre. Have been doing this since 2020 no issues on my 2005 4Runner.
I never liked this feature in modern cars. It’s a quick way for manufacturers to meet emission standards at the expense of engine life. The first few firings of the engine at start wreak havoc on the rods and bearings. Why put the engine parts under anymore stress then there needs to be?
It depends on the car. With my AMG Mercedes, it is designed to stop/start. It does not wear out your starter. I used to turn it off but with gas prices during Bidenomics, it’s nice to get 30+ mpg vs. 23 mpg. Yes, it makes that much of a difference.
well there's that to but if the engine stops oil stops being pumped up there and when it starts back up it running dry for a few seconds again like when you first start it up so you get extra wear on the motor with auto start stop tech on it it wears your engine out itself faster as well due to the oil settling out of it on long stops
It’s not a cold start every time it auto stops and starts because the ECM monitors the oil temp and won’t let the temperature fall below where it will damage the engine.
Um - auto stop start is kept in mind when engineering these cars, especially these days... These cars have beefier starters, batteries, and electric oil pumps (along with regular)that run when it's activated... So no, your oil won't drain and cause excessive wear.
@@chachar7458 does that engineer pay for your engine when it dies? Are you going to trust a computer to keep you alive, it only takes one time for it not to work right the fuel saved by these is so small it's a joke.
That's why I buy older 🚗 and keeping PM up as well as putting seafoam into tanks and making sure I put rated fuel rated 88 or 89 for older graded fuel and here it goes from 100+ to 40- n let it run for a minute or 2 before I go anywhere and make sure I put synthetic proper rated oil with changing it every 7k miles and make sure you check the oil every week and making sure you check the antifreeze levels n power steering oil and transmission color and making sure it's all clear of all contaminated products in oils. Keep an eye out on what a vehicle sounds like on normal running conditions.
Thanks but remember some senors in vehicles do glitches as well when they go on then turn off take it into a shop and when they tell you it's nothing to worry about qnd depending on weather they may trip then it turns off it's a tricky subject.
I hate stop start would rather have not auto stop start because of beating up your engine and drive trains I do my agree with that as well that's another reason I look for older cars trucks trucks suvs because of all the tech that will destroy vehicles I'd rather idle a few extra minutes knowing lube is flowing and alternator is changing my system then have a engine shut off and fail to start a stop lights leaving you to call a tow later qnd holding up traffic.
Cool and informative vid!! Question regarding oil change - Audi recommends 10K miles or 1 year, whatever occurs first and the MMI tells you when. Are you saying it should be done more frequently? I would love to do that but it’s so expensive to do….your thoughts? Also, what model Mercedes is that? S63?
@@joehoffrage do it myself. I have an oil extractor which makes it easier since on the A4 the oil filter is easily accessed from the top. Takes me around 20-30 minutes, not including warming up the car.
My 2023 Subaru Outback Touring XT has the on/off engine function. New car has less than 80 miles. Will definitely not use that function! Thanks for the info!!!
Great tips. I always switch off the ‘auto start stop’ too. One question: is there any issue when we switch between the various drive modes ? I usually toggle to Sports, Sports + when not moving. I have switch between Eco & Comfort modes while cruising but not to Sports modes. What do you think?
Some states require an Ethonol blend (typically 10%) during the winter for air quality issues. This is probably not an issue if you have a moderate commute to work. Higher quality gasoline (not necessarily higher octane) have some cleaners and stabilizers so the ethanol blend isn't a big issue .... UNLESS you let your car sits for a long time.
I've found the auto stop is actually worse on gas for me on average. However the oil doesn't dissipate that quickly and the wear and tear is arguably negligible. I just hate the jerk on the motor mounts from starting in drive like that
@@eugenet6632 that’s been true for the last 25 years although you seem to know about it and continue to pay the price for that stupid canister and valve replacement.
This is why we used to install turbo timer on our Japanese turbo charged sports cars. I had a HKS turbo timer installed on both of my RX7, 3000GT VR4 back in the day. But no one does that nowadays.
There's a simple trick that works on most cars to disable the stop start system. The battery positive clamp on most modern cars has the usual thick gauge wire coming off of it, But it will also have a pair of thin cables coming from the plastic casing on the clamp and going to a connector. This is for the battery voltage sensor that's fitted into the clamp unit. If you unplug this then the car has no way of knowing the battery's level of charge, and if it can't tell if there's enough power to restart the car it won't risk enabling the stop start system. Some cars throw up a little error message on the dash (usually just a little stop start "A" logo with a line through it), but most car's don't even do that, and as soon as you reconnect the sensor the error goes again anyway.
Never got a new car so lots of things have been done to it before I purchased it. The car sits on my driveway most of the time. I never drove it more than 3k miles per year. I have the oil change once every 1 or 1.5 years depending on my convenience. I think the car will fail from rust on the parts that is safety related after 15 years and when I sell it, it will be barely over 100k miles.
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Only one thing out of all of what you said that i would like to touch on. Ive worked in the gas industry my entire life so take this as you wish. Stabilizer is a complete waste of money IF you are using it because of ethanol in gas. It does absolutely nothing to help with it, it a long technical explanation but the short version is stabilizer can’t stop the ethanol from absorbing humidity over time.
I recently changed my car's battery and by mistake I bought a wrong one that doesn't support start/ stop function. So I kept disabling the start/ stop by default. Now I found out how lucky I was choosing that wrong battery.... 😁
Which car brand?
Those start/stop features are a joke - any benefits gained, either with better fuel economy or less emissions, are completely cancelled out by wear and tear on the engine. But I'm sure the manufacturers don't mind making a bit of extra cash.
For sure, this tech adds weight, complexity and price. Regulators are implying that this helps the environment.
That’s Obama’s heritage
The starter is already there regardless of whether or not the car has auto start/stop. How does it add weight? The extra 1's and 0's from the programming?
@@irysh9
Are you able to read AND cognitively convert the letters into something else than gibberish?
@@masoudshaghaghi5744 Stop/start technology was installed in some European vehicles in the 80's.
I hit the button to turn off start/stop in my car without even thinking about it. Becomes second nature after a while. Or sport mode turns it off anyway.
You nailed it. I do exactly the same. It almost becomes as common as putting on a seatbelt or even hitting the start button on the car.
Me too
Same 😂
Some engines don’t even use the starter for start/stop feature sometimes. Engine stops at the right crankshaft position, so that the ignition can restart the engine without using the starter. So, there are some smart solutions nowadays.
I have been using start/stop feat and have never turned it off. Oil analysis comes up as really good and have never had any issue at almost 80k (mb glc300). Knocking on the wood
ECPP, excellent comments and advice. I do everything you say already. Let me add that engine oil is also a coolant. This is hardly ever mentioned. Engine oil lubricates and removes heat from the engine. Fresh oil cools the engine better than old oil. Old oil gets thick and starts to store more heat in the engine which eventually prematurely damages engine seals and bearings. There is nothing better than fresh oil in your engine at all times. As for the turbo, when i drive it hard, i take the longest route home while driving gently to help it cool. I turn the AC on as well so that the AC fan can help with the cooling. I then let it sit running on the drive way for about 10 minutes before putting it in the garage. Finally, old radiator coolants are actually acids. As the coolant breaks down or wears down over time, it becomes a destructive acid that starts eating the plastic parts of your radiator, water pump seals, while degrading the lubrication of water pump bearings. I am a big advocate for changing radiator coolants every year. Coolants degrade by a certain percentage every year. Radiators and thermostats can last up to 15 - 20 years if you change the coolant every year without fail. I stopped using mid to low grade gas about 15 - 20 years ago in all my cars including my 4 cylinders because i kept having problems with them. I only use 93 octane. No issues since then. And, i only use BP gas. I would rather drive empty than use any other octane rating or gas manufacturer. Also, change your air filter twice a year as a minimum. It does wonders to engine longevity when done with frequent oil changes. Replace transmission fluids every 2 - 2.5 years. People forget that fresh transmission fluid improves gas mileage, in addition to new air filters, by a significant amount. The older your transmission fluid, the worse your gas mileage. Finally, do not let your fuel tank ever go below half tank. You will eventualky damage the primary fuel pump, and the high pressure fuel pump. Any high pressure fluid pumping machine needs the fluid to be at a certain level at all times. Below a certain level, heat build up begins which deteriorates the pumping machine. By the way, old engine oil also damages high pressure fuel pumps. Keep your engine oil as new and as clean as possible at all times. For goodness sake, always allow your car to warm up when you crank it. This allows the oil to reach everywhere inside while allowing the metals to expand to normal operating conditions. The only thing wasted in a warm up is just some gas. Better to waste gas than waste an engine, right?
Thank you so much for your great comment, tbis should definitely help viewers with the right treatment of their vehicles so they can maximize the life of their vehicles.
Would you elaborate on the "don't let the fuel tank go below half capacity"?
@@Omega_SM yes doesn't make sense
@@EK-fl8yz i use BP because of their invigorate chemical in the gas. I used to use Chevron with techron which was also good. But i noticed more soot on my spark plugs, which i replace every year on my smaller cars. When i switched to BP, for the last 8 years, no soot has ever formed on my spark plugs. My copper spark plugs are so clean at the end of the year that another car can still use it. If you have a turbo in your car, clean air filter and clean oil can extend the life of your engine and the turbos. Turbos are expensive. A cheap one will run you about $1000 in parts, and you do them in pairs, which means at least 2K in part costs.
@@Omega_SM fuel pumps are subject to the impact of fuel level which impacts fuel pressure. The fuel level also helps cool the fuel pump. As fuel level drops, a pump runs the risk of cavitation, while having less fuel to cool the pump itself. A smaller fuel level will hold more heat produced by the pump. A smaller fuel level means that the pump will suck up more dirt at the bottom of the tank. A fuel tank that never goes below a 50% of the tank, will likely survive as much as 20 years or more. I have never had a fuel pump or an alternator die on me in my entire auto ownership. To save alternators, change your battery evety three years without fail whether the battery works well or not.
I think most people just put gas in and go. Maintenance? Looking under the hood? Only when the car breaks down. DIY maintenance is a lost art. Car manufacturers know this and build disposable vehicles. You can beat the odds with proper maintenance. Not 100%, but fewer problems. Thanks. Good information Mark.
That’s bang on and has always been my approach. I try to minimize ownership costs by doing much of my own work too.
Building disposable vehicles kills your reputation as a good car manufacturer. Than no one buys your crap cars. So your theory is BS or you just buy GM/Ford.
Yeah, disposable cars that cost an absolute fortune.
Great information. One bad habit i often see is that many drivers use high revs before the engine has fully warmed up. Impatience is an early killer of engines and transmissions.
You are absolutely right and goes to the cold engine. That’s where damage happens most often.
Killer? This is just false. If that was truly the case then they would just have a limp mode or rev limiter until it reaches temp.
@@jonb2437 we are talking about long term effects. Turbos will also get damaged much faster.
So new engines need to warm up? I call b.s. Maybe 20 years ago they did.
@@BeeRumblin13 they're not specifically talking about "warming up"... they're referring to pushing high revs before the car is at full operation temp.
I bought a used 2005 TL from a dealer and when driving home on the highway the engine sounded like 4 cylinder. I realized later that someone had used 87 regular. When I reverted back to BJ's 93 octane there was an improvement. But what surprised me most is when I started using top tier gasoline the engine became even more quieter.
It can make a difference on high strung engines
It makes also a great difference when pumping at different places. In Germany I once pumped regular Diesel on Shell and realized even though it cost me a few cents more a gallon, my car went comfortably and didn't just have some performance loss coming randomly.
@@natas12rm what is combustion ratio?
High compression ratio requires premium. 4 cylinder or anything can have a high compression ratio.
Your 2005 Acura was meant to run on 87 octane. If you had misfires that was not the 87 octane fuel.
@@7sins979 Acura tl are premium gas only it even said it on the gas cap.
I'm not a huge fan of stop/start but several things should be known about it.
Starter wear: Starters are being built to be more robust now.
Engine Wear: Most wear occurs on a cold start. Cases in which the stop/start will not engage:
If the engine is not warmed up.
If the battery voltage is too low or drops too low during the shutoff.
If the transmission is not in Drive.
If the heat or a/c is running (some cars will still shut off but restart if the temperature gets too cold or hot.)
If it hasn't been long enough since it restarted.
If the hood is open.
Exactly this. There isn't any data to support the theory that stop/start damages the engine
@@twoleftfeet9626 It's called common sense. Common sense isn't a prerequisite but it can come in handy for navigating life. Let me see if I can help lead you down the road to enlightenment.
Is there any data to support the theory that stop/start is good for your starter motor? No. So the very best you can hope for is that no harm is done. Logic tells you that the more you use it, the more you wear it out and shorten it's lifespan.
Now, if we possess common sense, we are now able to establish that the stop/start function is a bad idea.
@@prestonian1066 You have provided zero proof other than word salad.That was no help whatsoever.
@@twoleftfeet9626 It couldn't be clearer.
If you’re not an expert,,don’t pretend that you
The start stop feature is one of the most annoying things ever installed on a car. The other annoying things is when people put the wrong fuel in the tank to save money. I once bought an off lease Audi and had the fuel in the tank checked and found that it was regular gas. I'm not sure if it was the dealer that did that or the guy that leased it before me. I've see drivers at the gas station put regular gas in a Benz and I would say to them, "It requires premium gas" only for them to say, "eh, it's a lease car". Drives me insane.
I totally agree, sort of a poor design and my feelings would be hurt if it disappeared.
Start/stop is absolutely ridiculous and has no place in fuel cars. I'll never buy a car where this crap is always on.
It also drives me crazy--worse is going to car meets and seeing the idiots that financed more then they can afford and are putting regular gas in a hellcat or M5--in addition to having bald rear tires from showing off.Dude at the local meet last month put 7 dollars of regular gas in a new challenger.I mean that 2 gallons was enough for him to go park it--just laughable.
Good post. We bought a returned from lease Audi last year that replaced a wrecked same model. The new buy ran like relative @ss until we got a couple of tanks of 91 through it. I would bet much dollars it had regular in it when we bought it & likely the previous user put regular in it.
@@khronin
They can afford the car but not the maintenance that goes with it! Bad medicine
I highly recommend the Autostop Eliminator. It’s a small wiring harness that you attach to the button under your center console and to the vehicle’s wiring harness. Basically it remembers your setting so you don’t have to push the button every time you get in the car. I would always forget until I got to a light and it would drive me crazy. Worth it for saving me a few starts per day! And the convenience of not having to do “pre -flight- drive checks” like I’m a friggin pilot.
Haha that’s fair I will have to check into that
Cant you just code it?
I’m sure it will void any warranty. We can thank that idiot AOC and her “green new deal” foolish attempt to save the planet. 🙄
Brilliant! Just got my first car with autostop and I hate it. Going to look into this solution! Thanks!
I installed this. About half an hour worth of work after I messaged them and found out I was trying to connect it wrong. I love it.
Excelente video, mi wife’s 2022 NX 350 came with the feature. I told her to deactivated as soon as she starts the vehicle. In the other hand my 2022 IS 350 F came without it and I’m great full for that.
Good tips, but technology and engineering have improved. Worked with BMW for about 10 years and with the German trainers and race car drivers who themselves are mechanics and engineers. Many of them explained on 2 points that you mentioned that similar to older cars that have turbo timers, a lot of modern vehicles have their own cooling systems that run even after the car is switched off, so running it for 30 seconds after a drive may not be necessary. A good precaution if your brand of car does not do this, but a waste of time if it does. You normally hear a fan running on most luxury models with a turbo for some time long after the engine is switched off for example. The other one was the automatic start/stop function. It can only work to engage if the engine and oil are already at its operating temperature, if not, in most cars it would not be available until that happened as many owners would notice. On BMW models it was designed to save you about 0.1 liters for every 100 liters of gas, which with gas prices today is something. In terms of the starter, it was also explained that for an average starter that had a life of 250,000 starts, an engine that has this feature was designed with 750,000 starts to compensate this, and the reason the off button was there, was if you think your stop and go was excessive actually. Your points are valid and good precautions, but doubt those guys did NOT know what they were referring to. For everything there is a reason and explanation, especially when it comes to German engineering.
Thank you very much for the insightful comment and definitely thanks for the support.
You’re welcome. You video post was good and quite refreshing actually. Lots of owners and drivers do NOT know these things when they buy a car and the people that sell them sometimes do, but don’t pass that learning along.
Also if your stop/start stops working it's a good sign your battery is on it's way out. Disables this feature to stop battery drain. Well it does on M5 BMW.
Be real they are designed to break and to have very costly repairs .
Longevity is not a trait associated with German engineering...
Years ago with the heavy duty diesels, some would actually have a plaque on the dash saying, "idle engine 3-5 minutes before shutdown to avoid turbocharger damage". Excellent video and advise.
I always did this with my 2007 Audi A4 2.0tfsi even though was never told to do so.
What if you drive slowly for 5 minutes before you arrive at your destination? Could that play the same role?
@@ntwalipat2 as long as u don’t hammer it yeah.
@@ntwalipat2 I had an Toyota diesel turbo charged mini van 4wd in Bangladesh, that van kept running few minutes even after remove key from ignition and lock that ,.
@@ntwalipat2 slowly , if in higher gear in manual trans maybe fine but some auto will use lower gear so probably will force turbo charger to work, so better wait 90s -180s to turn off the car especially G-cars
Years ago when I was 16 (Im now 51) I got wonderful advice. When you start your car, wait before putting it in gear. Put the key in the the ignition and turn it to the run position but dont start it. (Not sure how this would work with keyless cars). But wait for all the bells and lights to cycle. Think of it like letting your car boot up. While thats going on, put on your sear belt, close the door, get yourself all situated. After the dash lights and bells are done cycling, then start the engine and wait at least 30-60 seconds before putting it in gear to let all the engine parts get lubricated and ready to handle the load of driving. I see so many people who just start the engine and immediately put it in gear and go and that is horrible to do. My truck is 15 years old and I do this every time I start it.
Great thoughts and I do similar. I k ow many older vehicles I would turn ignition on without starting and you could hear the fuel pump pressure up so starting was more consistent.
30-60 seconds is far too short. Atleast in all the vehicles I have driven, gears are crunchy as hell for a solid 2-3 minutes on cold start. If its already warm because you just drove it then 30 seconds is perfect
@@menace2society00Yes what he said is the bare minimum vs schmucks that don't wait at all
For the keyless cars , you have to press the break and hit the button to start the car, but if you get in , and press the start button without your foot on the break , it will start up without starting the engine allowing all the lights and run and get situated.
Wait for the rpm to drop below 1,000. On a cold start it'll stay above this level as it warms things up (it's mostly used to warm the catalytic converter for emissions reasons). It's call the Secondary Air Injection. It's good for gauging when to put the car in gear though.
Very good and informative video for mechanically inclined drivers for the most part, I'm with you all the way up to the last segment or tip. You had mentioned that the vehicles with the start and stop system could be detrimental to your car starter and several minutes of the engine oil falling back down to the crank case which, yes it would normally. However today's modern vehicles that employ a start and stop ECO mode system actually utilize a two starter system. It utilizes a standard starter motor, as well as a high torque starter motor that almost has nearly the same responsiveness when compared to electric car. In other words, there is almost 0 lag from the time when you depress the gas pedal to when the vehicle is moving. Now if you have a hybrid vehicle that employees a start stop system such as Toyota? When the motor stops at a traffic light or when it's in hybrid battery mode. The electric engine oil pump ensures & maintain circulation of the engine oil throughout the vital internal components which also maintains the necessary oil pressure to prevent metal on metal unnecessary premature engine wear and tear. This is where the 100% synthetic engine oil is extremely important. What the average person doesn't know is that when they take your vehicle to a dealership for an oil change then is that the engine oil special usually is the incorrect grade and or only conventional oil when only a synthetic oil can be used like most Japanese engines that are extremely fuel efficient have the lowest viscosity index rating of 0w-16 engine oil which can only be synthetically man made rather than the conventional lowest grade 5w-20 I believe. 0w16 SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE YEAR 2000. YET THE BIG 3 are only now realizing the benefits in fuel efficiency due to its superior flow rate at sub zero temperatures.
Wow the last tip really comforts me cuz I was frustrated why Lexus doesn't have this start/stop function in my ES and IS, but all the German cars have it, now it all makes sense for the reliability haha
But i wonder the hybrid cars automatically start/stops all the time, is that taking a toll on the engine?
@@kevinf.6847 - their hybrids don’t start/stop in the same way/same frequency though. And it’s designed purely for charging the batteries, not for turning off the ICE to save emissions when the vehicle comes to a stop!
@@matthewwood4756 thanks Matt! Super helpful
@@matthewwood4756 the start stop on hybrids definitely are designed to save gas. When you come to a stop the engine stop and electric motors accelerate the car to a out 25mph. Only if you accelerate hard then gas engine will start immediately.
@@jalee6587 - There are a lot a factors that determine when they run EV only, or in hybrid mode. A hybrid can actually run in full ICE mode only in many circumstances. I used to work for Toyota/Lexus. Hybrid’s are not intended to work in the same way as “engine start/stop”. That was the point I was highlighting.
Stop/start default is really really irritating, and what is as irritating is forgetting to switch off the default
I agree
What is that? Stop/ Start what? My Tacoma doesn't have that button I've never heard of it?
I found that the Nissan Rogue (2021 thru current 2023) doesn't even have that annoying stop/start feature, how nice is that! Nothing to turn off every time you crank up the vehicle.
@@ofcbob6391buy a manual. They don’t have start/stop lol
@@crispyone2564 they do have start/stop, gearbox has nothing to do with it
One important thing to know is that your car's water temperature is only to warn you of overheating. The gauge you need to look at to see if the engine has warmed-up is the oil temperature. The oil usually takes quite a bit longer to warm up than the water.
Thanks for sharing
Its not oil temperature its an oil pressure gauge.
@@babuskarashuka8651 An oil temperature gauge is an oil temperature gauge, and an oil pressure gauge is an oil pressure gauge. Two different things. Maybe you haven't seen a an oil temp gauge? My car tells me the oil temp in degrees Celsius, but only has a simple warning light for low oil pressure.
@@MrSonicAdvance I have never seen one before I am in the USA and none of the cars or trucks I drive have temperature only pressure.
Oil removes @60% of the heat generated by the engine simply by virtue of being directly on the working surfaces,bores,bearings,or by load,lifters,bearings etc.,the incoming air through the air intake provides a cooling effect as does the fuel mixture to a degree,.An oil temp sensor will only measure sump or feed oil just after the pump,oil which will remain cooler up to a point because the relatively small amount of oil travelling around your engine removing heat and therefore getting hot it's self when it's running is then diluted back into cooler sump oil,but the oil at the point of the working surface heats very quickly,even from cold. The coolant system regulates heat indirectly via heat transfer and is not directly connected to working surfaces i.e. friction,or combustion so it's thermal efficiency is lower.coolant is thermostatically controlled to be isolated so that a very small part of it heats first,allowing that part to attain temperature seemingly quicker,sometimes and more commonly now artificially,even more so with selective path systems,thermoplungers and active pumps becoming more common,these measures are not made because the coolant systems can't keep up it's because manufacturers are trying to achieve operating temperature quicker using the cooling system to also assist engine heating until reaching that point.
Thank you for your video! As a person that spent 23 years with a global engineering and environmental company, I would like to know if the actual data on start-stop technology is better for our environment. Have the THCs, CO, and other emissions been significantly reduced by the stop-start technology? What were the analyzer readings with stop-start off versus when it is activated?
Catalytic converters use Rhodium as a reduction catalyst, palladium as an oxidation catalyst, and platinum for both reduction and oxidation. They are most optimum at 400 F. What happens when the engine cools down while stopped and then restarted? Is it possible that certain pollutants get bumped out of the catalytic converter prematurely? In other words, does Stop-Start technology potentially cause even more pollution to the environment?
Saving a thimble of gas, if that, at a stop light or while sitting in traffic may help MPG ratings. However, I have seen no empirical evidence that convinces me that stop-start is good for our environment.
Great points John, yes I really have wondered similar and not sure if the payback is worth the troubles
only the vote for me people benefit from things that mean nothing...
It’s all a game. Manufacturers are constantly under pressure by our retarded governments to push for more and more strict emissions regulations. So they will do what they can to show on paper hey our vehicle gets 0.000001% better fuel economy. Even if it means the vehicles are being loaded with tech that will hurt the longevity of the cars in the future. The owners can bear the burden of repairs and failures. Governments just want to pretend they’re saving the dolphins.
I have coded out the start / stop feature on my BMW F30 N20 to save the added strain it puts on the timing chain at every start up. Long live the timing chain. Thanks for the great videos 👍
Cheers
Do you think this random person on youtube knows more about the car than the engineers who designed it? Get real.
The people putting in the laws don’t know jack, it’s not the car designers fault law makers like to make our lives more difficult. @@r3games1985
@@r3games1985You’re thinking the Engineer’s don’t know better ? Well….they do. They are just following marching orders from upstairs who is following marching orders from The Great Green Movement. Wake up fella.
@@r3games1985 Some BMW timing chains wear out prematurely. It's a known issue for certain cars. The start stop function on these cars only makes the issue worse. On start-up, the tensioner isn't always pressurized and the timing chain slaps, which wear out the plastic timing guides quicker.
Always take good care of your vehicle every single time, especially the engine and the transmission. Thank you very much.
Absolutely right Mark. Have a great weekend
Yep, drive so you don't feel the shifts too much and the trans will last...
If you drive in a city as I do 90% of the time. The start stop function saves a huge amount of fuel. And in 100,000 miles I have never had any issues. I do however turn it off when edging forward to a set of lights numerous times, I drive in the city so much that I know the sequence of just about all the traffic lights, sad.
Thanks for sharing. It definitely will save some gas in the long run
Excellent advice on letting the turbo spool down. Best advice I can give anyone buying a new car is change the oil at 3000 miles: new engine has tight tolerances and, as it beds in during the stresses of normal driving, there will be a higher content of metal in the oil regardless of how 'long life' the oil is.
Absolutely agtee
I've always done that for the first 50k then every 6k after that.
For new vehicles I would change it at 1k, but that’s just me.
I change oil in bmw 530d at 8k. Genuine oil and filters and always used premium fuel. 190k without a single issue.
@@barryblack7384 that's the way to do it 👍
Excellent advices, especially for the auto stop-start which most of people think it is a great thing but it is not. In some countries they start to fine you if your car is not stopped at traffic lights 😵
True there are too many restrictions
I totally agree to the last tip.I think that causes more problems to the engine.thank you for the tips
cheers
God-given tips, and thank you. Another tip especially to diesel manuals: Low speed-high gear-full throttle scenario is guaranteed to kill your car. Beautiful car & house
Thank you very much for the comment and for the support.
Stop start, first thing I switch off. Here in the UK I found the engine would stop just as I was about to pull away at rounderbouts, the delay I found both offputting and dangerous.
Cheers
My 2012 Acadia lit up like a Christmas tree a few yrs back, the Red Check light really got my attention. Lucky to have been able to safely park and turn it off within seconds. 50,000 miles with a new water pump now. 160,000 miles original brake pads, 2nd set of struts and shocks, doesn’t burn a drop. Babied it since new. In the back of my mind I worry about the timing chain and the tranny. It’s on its 4th trans fluid change.
All great tips. Additional one from my mechanic, Brake Fluid should be changed every 2-3 years as it absorbs water (moisture).
Yes agreed
@@ECPP Transmission fluid, change that for longevity. Nobody is doing that, and car dealership doesn't want you to touch it.
Also transmission oil service.
I was always skeptical about that auto off/on engine crap. As a tech I can tell you some of these emissions things are doing more damage than anything. Idea is to be good to the environment but hard to do that when it's more financially accessible to buy a whole new car than working or replacing the one you got. What a waste! Thanks EPA
You are totally right. What a ridiculous design.
Has anyone ever noticed just how much the cancer rates of skyrocketed since all the emissions regulations went into effect? Anyone ever notice how all the vegetation on the sides of the highways is dead now?
25 years ago, everything was lush and green along many roads.. and cancer rates were quite a bit lower.
@@fadingbeleifscancer rates has been getting higher ever since the industrial revolution, and the people who were around when vehicles were being mainstream are now getting old and the cancer is starting to show so it makes sense that it’ll be a little skyrocket in cancer cases
That blue of the MB is gorgeous. Thank God for 0W-20 and 5W-20 for cold starts. Synthetic oil is superior to conventional oil in many ways.
Thank you very much
Mmm, I've got 338.000 miles on my 94 Trans Am I bought new. Engine never been touched. Even the timing chain is original. Runs and sounds like new.Uses no oil.. Only oil it ever had is Castrol GTX 10 30. My new car requires SYNTHETIC, or so the owners manuel states. So I'm using it for that car.
@@johnfranklin5277 yes
It looks like a sapphire!
I usually leave the start/stop engaged for regular driving. I do turn it off if I am going through a drive through or some type of line that has lots of stopping. The wear is minuscule and many of us will not own the vehicle long enough for a mechanic to tell you “this is because of you using the start/stop installed by the manufacturer feature too much”
That’s true, for short term owners it really does not matter much but for those who keep their vehicles longer then it is a great tip.
How long is considered a long term owner though. I have extended warranty with mt new Subaru so 7 yrs extended warranty. I plan to keep it for between 7 to 10 years. Is that long ofr mid.
I read with auto star stop the car can handle it and it doesn't kill the engine. I don't know cars that well but I would think Iif a vehicle has the feature it should be able to handle ir
Great video. I have a 2021 Toyota GR Supra 3.0 Premium which have a BMW B58 engine. The manual recommends 10k OCI. I live in Las Vegas, and will be changing my oil at 5k. My Supra has 5k, and have already changed the oil 2 times.
Oil is cheap.
Engine is expensive.
You bet 100 percent. That’s how I see it and my mechanic says the exact thing.
That’s perfect. I worked in Kenya and even on Land Cruisers they changed the oil every 3k due to the bad/sandy air and low fuel quality. That’s why some of the LCs I drove were still running fine with the same engine after 600.000km +
Make sure they don't change only half of the oil.🎉 😂
Yup 6k should be your max oil intervals. Do that and the b58 will never see problems. Stage 2 here with 5k intervals 60k miles on it with no problems just wear and tear like brakes, tires and filters
My personal opinion is that each and every tip in this video is perfectly valid particularly the stop-start feature. Sure it's a good idea to reduce the pollution but not destroying the engine as a result. If you start to scratch the cylinders due to oil starvation the result will be more pollution from the engine, less power produced and you will have to drive the vehicle harder with negative effect on the environment. There is a gadget available for a great number of vehicles that actually memorizes the setting so you won't have to turn the stop-start feature off each time you start. Great idea in my opinion.
1. Ethanol ABSORBS water, so don't leave fuel sitting in the tank more than 3 months unused otherwise it forms in the fuel. 2. Cold start wear occurs within the first couple seconds, so just don't rev it hard. Oil residue oil clings to the surfaces anyway, so it isn't metal on metal otherwise your car wouldn't last a year. 3. Yes regular oil servicing is the most important thing you can do to maximise the engine life - and use the good stuff. 4. Yea, yellow\ red lights are there for a reason. 5. It's not about cooling the turbo after a hard run, it's about cooling the engine with some moderate speed before parking up. Sitting still does not cool the turbo very well, the engine oil cools the turbo, so you need to cool the engine by getting air through the rad. If you idle a hot engine, the engine gets hotter at first and fans kick in- like when you do rush hour. 6.The stop\ start advice... the restart does not use the starter motor: When the engine stops at a light, one of the cylinders is left at TDC, and the car restarts by firing the spark plug which turns the engine over- no starter motor needed.
Thanks
6 - depends on the car, but that is definitely the more elegant solution used by some manufacturers
I'd think having 1 piston being used to start the reciprocating motion of an engine would be VERY HARD ON THAT PISTON, THE ROD, AND ROD BEARING.
Correct and well said. The only thing I will add is that studies have been done on oil change interval, and mileage degrades oil, time doesn't. If you use synthetic and get 6 months and 6-7K on it, change it. If you get 5 months with only 1-2 K on it, you can wait another 6 months because lab tests show the oil is like new.
Good advice, Mark. I hate auto stop/start. I disabled it on the f-type Jag with one wire to disconnect, but we have a new Genesis GV70 and I haven’t found a way to disable it. My wife and I are both trying to make it a habit to turn it off when we start the car, but we haven’t learned yet.
Thanks for sharing David. It’s like a lot of imposing technologies and codes, they start half way and give you the option for awhile and then phase in the inability to do that later in further designs. Does it have some type of a sport mode? Usually that takes care of it.
@@ECPP yes, in the sport+ mode, but not the sport mode, it will shut off the stop/start, but when the car is restarted it defaults to comfort mode, so in any case we have to remember to turn off the stop/start every time. Its the top end GV70 Sport Plus (3.5L twin turbo) which is kind of a waste since it’s my wife’s car and she doesn’t really care about the extra torque and horsepower.
@@dpvbischoff I heard theres a switch in some bonnets/hoods somewhere that disables start/stop when the hood is up. Its some sort of mechanic protection thing. You may be able to disable it that way.
Isolate / take out the fuse if it is only used for that purpose.
I always said when the start/stop function came out it was bad for your starter and no gains in fuel efficiency.
I always shut mine off in my Cadillac
It does improve fuel efficiency. In fact that the whole reason it was invented. Manufacturers only ever implemented it in the first place because mandated fuel efficiency rules meant they had to stop the engine at lights to meet targets. They would never had spent money developing and implementing the tech if they didn’t need to. They have to use more expensive batteries, and more robust starter motors in order to include the feature, which then increases the sale price, and in this competitive market, they wouldn’t do that unless it helped them reach their emissions targets. That’s also the entire reason you can’t disable it permanently, but can only manually turn it off each trip. If you could turn it off permanently, then it couldn’t be used when testing a cars furl economy, and the manufacturers need that fuel saving to be included in the tests.
Hybrid cars start/stop the engine way much more than yours, they are the best seller now.
Very informative video! I just turned off my Auto stop/start. I’ve always found it annoying anyway 😂👏🏾
Same here
Thank you for this informative video. I’m getting my first car this week, and I want to make sure I take very good care of it especially since it is brand new!
You bet
Stop / start is not only bad for your car it’s extremely dangerous. Normally when a car fails to start for ANY reason it’s in a safe place. But if the car fails to restart when using stop/start you could be rolling out into a busy intersection with no safe way to move your car out of the way. It’s scary as hell.
I coded it off my car, so it’s the opposite way around and I have to turn it on. The car always turns on with start stop off. Everyone else should look into getting their cars coded so start stop is off when they turn the car on.
Yes, the lawsuit is bound to happen.
HUH? Have you ever had a car with start/stop tech? your car is not rolling anywhere. Goodness!
@@Huskerfan69 Even if it doesn’t you are still stuck on the highway in traffic, not good.
@@frankcoffey true, but it isn't life threatening
One thing I was guilty of when I was younger, using the cheap gas! I thought I was big shit at 25 driving my new leased bmw! But didn’t really have the finances to afford premium gas. The older I got and more knowledge that usually comes with age I figured out the importance of listening to the recommended octane. I’d never make that mistake again. Not only did my car not run near as smoothly but I’m sure the person who had the car after me had some issues to deal with.
Which gas are you using now
For eons i have always had the habit of give the engine those 30 secs to a minute to warm it up somewhat and then dont throttle hard for the next 3-5 minutes until you get the proper working temperature
Nice
Great video with lots of helpful advice! I agree you shouldn't use an ethanol blended fuel unless your car is compatible. I live in Thailand and run a Mitsubishi Attrage which is designed to use E20 - a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline. Basically, the internal parts are designed so they aren't affected by ethanol. Many cars over here are designed to run on either E10 (10% ethanol/90% gasoline) or E20, so it's not an issue. I think you'd only need to use a fuel stabilizer to prevent separation if you plan on storing the car for a long time. The only other advice I'd give motorists is to regularly use a fuel system cleaner. I buy a Mitsubishi-branded cleaner but there are plenty on the market like Sea Foam, STP, etc
Seaform is bs
I totally agree especially about the start and stop "turbo killer". Here in Europe we still pay to access the motorways in some areas: so, after a long run unfortunately could happen to fry the turbo while you stop at the paying machine because you forget to disable the start and stop.
Absolutely. Great to turn it off in cases like that.
Ouch!
Turbos need to run for a while to cool down
But you know that SS system don't turn engine if turbo isn't cooled down? Also it wont turn engine off if it's cold for example.
Please look up "turbo after-run pump." You are not killing your turbo by shutting down a hot engine. The electric after-run pump will keep circulating coolant through your turbocharger until the temperature drops to a safe level.
Idk about all stop starts, but most don't use the starter to restart. Most will stop cyl 1 TDC then when ready it will fire that cylinder. Most starters with those systems are brushless so no wear and tear there as far as the flywheel it's possible, but I'm sure they've done extensive testing to mitigate it being an issue for a very long time. Either way I think its stupid and I turn it off lol.
You are absolutely right
Always cooled the Turbo on 430i, sold it and bought a 17' Lexus ES350, sweet ride, Thanks Mark
Thanks a lot for watching
@@ECPP Thank you, I like the real world advice you give, Good, bad or ugly, straight shooter, Mercedes here for 20 years 500,000 miles 3 vehicles, Road raced Motorcycles Professionally as a Privateer in the 80's, speed is intoxicating, just did the BMW thing, but you pay for it, average Joe does, you basically protect the Consumer as an Advocate to keep their eyes open and do their homework, Thanks.
Yep I always turn off the auto stop feature on my car. It’s a no brainer. It’s also annoying.👍
I agree
I love your energy! I am looking at buying a new Lexus IS-350. I have a 2004 Toyota Solara V6 with 230K miles and that car just keeps on running. I have had some expense with it. New shocks, struts, control arms, A/C condenser, tie rods, and rack and pinion which I probably got screwed on by some idiot running a tire shop since it went bad after a year and the mechanic replacing it the first time was not good at his work. I will probably try the COSTCO car buying program. I hate buying a new car because they want to add on all kinds of stuff. I don't want an extended warranty because it is a Lexus. I had a 4 cylinder Honda Accord that was great with manual transmission. I should have probably just replaced my clutch and it would have lasted another 100K miles.
Same with turbos on aircraft engines!
The manual states to idle for 3 minutes before shutdown, for lubrication and cooling
Thanks for sharing. That’s exactly why they do that too. Cooling.
I’ve spoken to a lot of mechanics and they said the auto start stop feature is harmless. Even if you’re stuck at a stop light for 2-3 minutes, the lubricity of the oil takes longer than that to go away. And when the engine fires up, those few minutes even in sub zero temps is too short to cool off the oil.
Where it annoys me on MB, the feature isn’t very smooth and is very noticeable, which is why I disable it.
I’ve been driving the same Toyota for 15 years, never seen the check engine light on.
Didn’t know there were two colours…
Anyway, good video! Very informative.
Thank you very much. Yes some vehicles make reliability look effortless.
Classic Toyotas. Those things can run for decades if takes care of properly. Good luck getting that out of any newer BMW
@@CaptainVillanueva1 Another person just commented that in a 100k miles in a camry he's had all kinds of issues, and parts that needed replacing! Cars are machines, and all break down lol! I've had several friends with them, and the Avalon with all kinds of wear and tear problems with less then 100k! Japanese cars do break down as well just cheaper to repair!
I just retired my 2001 camry. 450k kms. Would have kept going for 200k more but the frame rotted :( I wish they'd stop using so much road salt
@@vaneyjane it amazes me how people can drive an old rusty beater till the end! I like newer cars for their luxury, performance, and updated technology! Not to mention that new car smell, and feeling of having a highly desired vehicle you dream about having! Just my opinion 🤷🙂
He’s right @7:01 not changing you oil frequently enough can blow your turbo… I was going by the manual ie long service intervals and after about 6 years that turbo compeller wheel bearings etc broke in half. Change your oil like every 6k km especially if it’s tuned…
It’s a great subject to touch on. I have a Lexus GS Blackline. It Calls for premium, and I use shell premium which contains dry gas . But I talk to many people who also require premium but never use it . Besides the obvious knocking i recall many decades ago. It’s not as widespread today with these engines. My cousin has always had a new Infiniti G37 , Q50 every 3 years . That engine requires premium . She used regular for all of them in 3 years of driving and returned them one after the other . Maybe she unloads them before there are problems. Or maybe she was right . Is it true or just a farce? I have no clue. But someone bought all her leased cars thinking the car adhered to all the standards prior . Surprise!
I heard that, if your car is turbocharged but not equipped with a supercharger, the premium gas is just a recommendation to achieve the most horsepower. However, it’s not a requirement because the built in computer will automatically adjust the timing to avoid the “pinging” that was known when the timing was manually done through the adjustment of the “points”.
The reason you must use premium fuel ( if indicated by the manufacturer) when a car is equipped with a supercharger is that if you use regular fuel and the computer adjusts the “timing” it will throw out the syncing of the supercharger to the engine resulting in expensive damage.
5 years of owning an old turbo diesel and changing oil every 10.000km and not turning off the car after a bit agressive ride the turbo still intact. As i say,respect ur turbo and the turbo will respect u.
cheers
I always knew auto start stop was a horrible technology for the engine. It’s on my current vehicle, lucky I have a switch to turn it off. But the second reason I turn it off is because when it engage at a light it locks my steering wheel.. oh hell nahh it just feels really dangerous and it feels exposing. Idk how to explain it
Nice. Thanks for sharing, but you are right, they really are poor designs that go against the life of the car.
Since the corona curfew and working from home my car sits more than it’s been driven. The regular inspection shows that the AGM battery is still "ok" - more on the bad side than the god side of the meter. So, I'm turning off the auto stop/start to avoid wearing out the battery. The battery is so "ok" that auto start/stop wasn’t available for a long time at all. It came back after a long drive during summer holidays.
Great points indeed
The autostop eliminator is available for some models.......definitely worth it. Its just a dongle that goes between the button and the wiring that remembers the last selection, so if you turn it off, it will stay off no matter how many times you drive the vehicle.......but if for some reason you want to turn it on, you can.
That sounds like a total win. Great to have the option and it should default off.
Most vehicles that have a sport mode have a default turn off of the Auto stop start as well, I pretty much always drive in sport mode so it's never an issue
Yup! Got one on my JL Wrangler and never looked back. I hate Auto Start/Stop.
@@ECPPdoes this void warranty? I assume you’d know the answer 😅
I use pennzoil ultra platinum 0w-20 and BG moa. Change every 4000 miles. 21 tacoma.
Nice video! One more thing, if you have a hybrid and you start out in el mode, then you do an acceleration the cold gas engine goes directly in to max power. Not good! So a good practice is to idle the gas engine a little before start...
I live the UK and drive a Ford Fiesta with a 1litre EcoBoost engine with a turbo. Fortunately my 2015 model has and on/off button for the stop start system so I always drive with the stop start system deactivated. I have never noticed any loss of fuel efficiency when driving. Sadly on most new ICE cars the start stop cannot be over ridden. I use premium unleaded fuel which has less synthetic oil in it. It is higher octane and offers more power and far better mileage. The EcoBoost engine is direct injection so prone to carbon build up over time. Premium fuels have less impurities in the UK to encourage carbon deposits in the cylinders.
I also let the engine run for a minute after journeys to help cool the turbo bearings before turning the engine off. Little things which I hope will extend the engine life of the car.
The stop start system is used to squeeze an extra fraction of an mpg to help manufacturers meet mpg standards. Everyone that has the system (including me) hates it. It's hard on the engine and starters and doesn't save enough to be worth it. The default should be OFF and if you want it, push the button to turn it on. Ethanol gas is everywhere, you can rarely avoid it in the USA. It's awful for any vehicle, including lawn mowers and other small engine devices. Ethanol pollutes more and gives about 8% worse gas mileage.
Thanks, you are right on both counts for sure. No value in either of those 2 items. Keeping things simple can actually work and yet manufacturers are not seeing that.. onward and downward I suppose.
I’ve read comments from the guys of Car and Driver online that cars that have that start/stop feature have beefed up parts to handle the wear and tear.
Great tips!...1morev very important obvious one
Never ever change the the oil spec recommended by manufacturer
There is a reason they recomend the oil they do and remember like fuel, not all oils are created equal
I do agree 100 percent
Revving a cold engine is one of the biggest contributors to premature engine wear.
True, that’s not good
and pollution
In 1995
@@BeeRumblin13 The basic architecture of an engine today isn't that much different from 70 years ago, they all have pistons, rod bearings rods, cylinders, etc...maybe your unaware that metal shrinks when cold, and expands when hot. Every engine needs to warm up before hard use. If not, excessive wear will happen , and it will shorten the engines life. I'm going guess that you believe in 10.000 mile oil changes also.
@@johnfranklin5277 yep, you can change technology all you want but you cant change physics.
You may talk fast,, but you kept my attention! I learned more from you than any man in my whole life about cars.. Thank You for all this great info and advice!!
START/STOP is one of the worst things ever put onto new cars. In heavy traffic jams it just kills the engine with such many lubrication interruptions
Absolutely right. It was a horrible design in all account.
Stop/Start feature......made my Ford Edge go through 3 batteries in 3 years...glad I now have a Mazda
I installed an automatic Start/Stop defeat module in my 21 Ridgeline last week... Works perfect.. Next project is to permanently disable the Variable Cylinder Management routine.. I change all lubricants at 1/2 the manufacturers recommended intervals but that is overkill.. All your advice is sound.. That Mercedes of yours is absolutely gorgeous, but I cant deal with the dealer only maintenance and specialty tools required..
Thank you so much Mark for the support and the comment. The Benz is a pretty car but honestly I find it a bit fragile and I had it in the shop to re install a door speaker that popped out.
@@ECPP
That’s why I don’t ever own Mercedes again I bought one two years old and anything but trouble now I own Bmw Audi Lexus ram vw no problems at all just regular maintenance hope you’ll enjoy yours with free trouble
like your content that’s why I subscribe very informative 👍
I did the same on my 21 ridgeline as soon as I bought it I put it in, next to the vcm muzzler now it drives like it suppose too
@@xPhantom1786 Awesome… where did you buy your VCM muzzler?
@@marks6072 I bought it at the ridgeline store it's called S-VCM Controller - VCM Disabler. I thought this thing was a total slug cause of the eco mode going in and out and all that crap but once I put the muzzle on she rides beautiful.
Auto start/stop is also really bad for turbos in general. There is a reason people used to have turbo timers to allow the turbine time to slow down before shutting the car off.
You are totally right. Only sheeples believe the hype from the OEMs that it does not hurt anything g
Mark, the problem with this logic is that +97% of new car purchasers don't keep (or intend to keep) their cars for longer than 4 years, or when the motor plan expires. It's the used car owners that then bear the brunt. Daily drives are seen as disposable. I have always bought 2nd hand and luckily my cars have been OK, but they're the older technology (no stop / start, or Turbo's). I still wait a minute to "warm up" when I start from cold. Ironically the manufacturer's state "Start and drive immediately" . On the Mercedes & Jaguar, how does the Supercharger (remember the Kompressor Merc's) fair against Turbo's ? Turbo's are a pain - but I've actually never heard problems with the Kompressor engines and they've been running since the late 90's.
Great comments and yes I too have usually purchased used vehicles and abuse by the original owner has always been a risk but we did. As far as the superchargers go, the bearing setup is more robust but a supercharger also is directly tied to engine RPM as a vehicle slows done, so does the blower at the same speed ratio while a turbo spins freely and often even getting off throttle, a good turbo continues to spin at high speeds for seconds or more.
Those Kompressor engines were bulket proof. I saw one the other day with 270,000 miles. The supercharger has never been serviced in its entire life.
With Subaru, if you do a full accelerator press prior to starting, try starting for a couple seconds, then turn off. Now start the vehicle without touching the accelerator pedal and it starts. This pre lubes prior to starting and running the engine. Nice also when you do oil changes.
Exactly
I would add that a BLINKING check engine light is an indication of a multiple misfire. Nothing to play around with!✅
✊🏿
For sure, that’s. Fix now scenario.
Yes agree with the start/stop bring a pain....always switch it off.
Well another way to shorten your engine life is by having an engine with a turbo. Reason is you are cramping more air into the engine to make it have more horsepower than it is designed to have this leading to your engine going out way before it is supposed too.
But it also depends on how hard it’s driven
@@ECPP that's true but most people that have a turbo drives them hard. It's kinda like a Dodge hellcat how many people buy one and drives it conservative?
Not sure that’s true - a lot of turbo engines have been designed as turbo engines from the ground up so they’ve always been designed with the extra air in mind
Ridiculous comment. If a turbo engine has been designed to have 250 hp, then that's how many hp it's designed to have. The turbo isn't an afterthought, you big div.
@@chachar7458 well get you a BMW with twin turbo and see how long it last. You will be crying at about 100 thousand miles. Bet my pay check on it.
I have now had 3 turbo charged cars. Only one, that I know of, had a factory turbo cooler.. I am the same.. I always turn off the Auto Start and Stop.. It annoys me.. haha
In the US, all gas stations have some mix of ethanol within the fuel. I don't think there is any way around that. At least most gas stations. I tried to find a gas station that did not use ethanol mixes and I couldn't find one.
That’s unfortunate, I know there are still places where we can find straight up gas, but then we have a couple that are largely alcohol. I stay away from those other than maybe a rental.
US companies add ethanol to raise the Octane score. There is no way around it. The best that US drivers can do is to use Tier 1 level gas and avoid buying gas from the likes of Sam’s Club, Walmart, etc. Tier 1 gas includes BP and Shell. You can google “tier 1 gas” to get a proper list of US gas stations.
@@ECPP Since I moved to Iowa in 2004 I've put the 10% ethanol blend in my cars..all Camry's. I've never had any issues. Of course I drive daily. Ethanol does seperate after a period of storage. As mentioned stabilizers are available to add to your fuel tank to slow the separation...the stop start technology just sucks. ..there are many devices available to disable this alleged technology. and some stop start technology can be disabled without buying some dongle. Just look it up on youtube. On my '17 Camry Toyota recommends a 10,000 interval for an oil change..Sey what?! No way I say. I go 5000 miles max..Thanks for posting..love your channel.
@@ECPP I live where you can buy ethanol free gas. It's expensive.
@@ramonmalaya8451Tier 1? Do you mean Top Tier gas?
Good information, however I will say that newer generation Start/Stop systems don't use traditional armature starter motors with a ring gear. Some examples that come to mind is Mercedes / Volvo. Volvo calls their starter "motor" an "ISG - Integrated Starter Generator. It uses electromagnetism, rather than an actual mechanical starter engaging with a ring gear. These newer start/stop systems are pretty noticeable in smoothness, so if you can barely feel your start/stop system turning on/off, it's most likely something like Volvo's ISG.
Lubrication for pistons is obviously important, but generally cross-hatching on the cylinder walls should take care of any start/stop conditions, even after a few minutes of not running. Also consider that the engine will be starting back up and running at a lower-RPM in a closed-loop condition (as opposed to open loop at higher RPMs).
Much appreciate the info. Thanks for sharing
Mazda has that on their non-turbo engines. I got the turbo instead so my engine stays on all the time while running it.🤔
You bet, thanks for sharing
Regarding cold/dry starts. When engine has not been started in a long wile, push accelerator pedal to the floor wile pushing start button. The engine will crank without starting, allowing the oil to circulate. Do this for 5 to 10 seconds before releasing the pedal. Engine should now start and run normally.
Great tips! However, I have never heard that premium fuel is less likely to have ethanol then “regular“ fuel. Do you have any references you can cite to support that assertion?
In Maine we have a bunch of super unleaded non ethanol places, but not a single one that doesn't blend ethanol in regular, and mid grade!
@@germanengineering204 i think you can’t avoid ethanol in California.🥲
Thank you much appreciated for your advice and comments. Definitely agree with you on the stop start is causing a lot of wear and tear in the long term for your vehicle.
I think the biggest issue in today's cars is oil burning, The reason for it is engineers at MIT 10 years ago decided if autos used low tension piston rings in engines, they could get better mileage and your engine would run more efficient, but you needed lower viscosity oil also, the draw back was oil changes were far more important, so if people use the oil Percent guage in your vehicle to change oil, you may have 7500 miles and 40 percent life left ,thats way to many miles before axoil change , So you need to change your oil every 5000 miles or less even with the new synthetic oils ,When you use the percent guage for oil changes , it is causing more sludge and carbon in your engines because the oil change interval being extended beyond the oils capabilities making your engine burn oil, so it's more important then ever to change your engine oil sooner then later, so change your engine oil at 5,000 miles or less if you want your newer model engine to last years and not burn oil.
Absolutely. Oil changes are cheaper than rebuilding your engine.
I mix 50/50 aurora white vinegar from no Frills with Petro Canada 87 octane gas. Cost per liter is down to circa $0.65 / Litre. Have been doing this since 2020 no issues on my 2005 4Runner.
You can code out stop / start feature so I doesn’t happen for modern Mercedes and BMW
Nice. And I know on the F Type , people pull a jumper and it goes away too. Junk feature.
@@ECPP That’s right 😊
I never liked this feature in modern cars. It’s a quick way for manufacturers to meet emission standards at the expense of engine life. The first few firings of the engine at start wreak havoc on the rods and bearings. Why put the engine parts under anymore stress then there needs to be?
It depends on the car. With my AMG Mercedes, it is designed to stop/start. It does not wear out your starter. I used to turn it off but with gas prices during Bidenomics, it’s nice to get 30+ mpg vs. 23 mpg. Yes, it makes that much of a difference.
Nice, sounds like a win
My biggest worry with the auto stop is the starter wearing out.
well there's that to but if the engine stops oil stops being pumped up there and when it starts back up it running dry for a few seconds again like when you first start it up so you get extra wear on the motor with auto start stop tech on it it wears your engine out itself faster as well due to the oil settling out of it on long stops
Do you think this random person on youtube knows more about the car than the engineers who designed it? Get real.@@raven4k998
It’s not a cold start every time it auto stops and starts because the ECM monitors the oil temp and won’t let the temperature fall below where it will damage the engine.
Um - auto stop start is kept in mind when engineering these cars, especially these days... These cars have beefier starters, batteries, and electric oil pumps (along with regular)that run when it's activated... So no, your oil won't drain and cause excessive wear.
@Omar I’ve read the same thing and I also posted similar response on here to see if that’s the general consensus but apparently not! 😐
@@marvelvsdc6611 People are ignorant. Stop start systems are engineered into cars, they're not afterthoughts, don't worry about them.
@@chachar7458 👍🏼
@@chachar7458 does that engineer pay for your engine when it dies? Are you going to trust a computer to keep you alive, it only takes one time for it not to work right the fuel saved by these is so small it's a joke.
Would you recommend a bypass for a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe?
That's why I buy older 🚗 and keeping PM up as well as putting seafoam into tanks and making sure I put rated fuel rated 88 or 89 for older graded fuel and here it goes from 100+ to 40- n let it run for a minute or 2 before I go anywhere and make sure I put synthetic proper rated oil with changing it every 7k miles and make sure you check the oil every week and making sure you check the antifreeze levels n power steering oil and transmission color and making sure it's all clear of all contaminated products in oils. Keep an eye out on what a vehicle sounds like on normal running conditions.
Thanks but remember some senors in vehicles do glitches as well when they go on then turn off take it into a shop and when they tell you it's nothing to worry about qnd depending on weather they may trip then it turns off it's a tricky subject.
I hate stop start would rather have not auto stop start because of beating up your engine and drive trains I do my agree with that as well that's another reason I look for older cars trucks trucks suvs because of all the tech that will destroy vehicles I'd rather idle a few extra minutes knowing lube is flowing and alternator is changing my system then have a engine shut off and fail to start a stop lights leaving you to call a tow later qnd holding up traffic.
Cool and informative vid!! Question regarding oil change - Audi recommends 10K miles or 1 year, whatever occurs first and the MMI tells you when. Are you saying it should be done more frequently? I would love to do that but it’s so expensive to do….your thoughts? Also, what model Mercedes is that? S63?
The Mercedes is a C300.
I do every 5k on my A4. Don't trust 10k for the longevity of the car
Do you guys do your own or dealer? I would go to dealer so $250 at least
@@joehoffrage do it myself. I have an oil extractor which makes it easier since on the A4 the oil filter is easily accessed from the top. Takes me around 20-30 minutes, not including warming up the car.
I change my oil every 5-6K miles.
My 2023 Subaru Outback Touring XT has the on/off engine function. New car has less than 80 miles. Will definitely not use that function! Thanks for the info!!!
Thanks for sharing
Great tips. I always switch off the ‘auto start stop’ too. One question: is there any issue when we switch between the various drive modes ? I usually toggle to Sports, Sports + when not moving. I have switch between Eco & Comfort modes while cruising but not to Sports modes. What do you think?
Nice
@@ECPP you didn’t answer his question
@@ECPP the fuck , answer
@@nipunsharma5351 lol right
@@nipunsharma5351 he didn't read your comment.. Haha
Some states require an Ethonol blend (typically 10%) during the winter for air quality issues. This is probably not an issue if you have a moderate commute to work. Higher quality gasoline (not necessarily higher octane) have some cleaners and stabilizers so the ethanol blend isn't a big issue .... UNLESS you let your car sits for a long time.
There's usually a dipstick behind the wheel.
Me
@@ECPP LOL
I've found the auto stop is actually worse on gas for me on average. However the oil doesn't dissipate that quickly and the wear and tear is arguably negligible. I just hate the jerk on the motor mounts from starting in drive like that
The another tip is right on your gas cap- do not top off. It will ruin your car fuel system
Cheers
@@eugenet6632 that’s been true for the last 25 years although you seem to know about it and continue to pay the price for that stupid canister and valve replacement.
This is why we used to install turbo timer on our Japanese turbo charged sports cars. I had a HKS turbo timer installed on both of my RX7, 3000GT VR4 back in the day. But no one does that nowadays.
That does help to keep them lasting longer
There's a simple trick that works on most cars to disable the stop start system.
The battery positive clamp on most modern cars has the usual thick gauge wire coming off of it, But it will also have a pair of thin cables coming from the plastic casing on the clamp and going to a connector. This is for the battery voltage sensor that's fitted into the clamp unit. If you unplug this then the car has no way of knowing the battery's level of charge, and if it can't tell if there's enough power to restart the car it won't risk enabling the stop start system.
Some cars throw up a little error message on the dash (usually just a little stop start "A" logo with a line through it), but most car's don't even do that, and as soon as you reconnect the sensor the error goes again anyway.
Great! Thanks for sharing
Wow. Great share. Thanks
Well in my case the check engine stays on, I'd rather throw the car in L9, and insure your check engine doesn't stay on untill I really need it.
@@cdsorvinyl What car's that on mate?
@@Reman1975 - A 2019 Chevy Blazer
Never got a new car so lots of things have been done to it before I purchased it. The car sits on my driveway most of the time. I never drove it more than 3k miles per year. I have the oil change once every 1 or 1.5 years depending on my convenience. I think the car will fail from rust on the parts that is safety related after 15 years and when I sell it, it will be barely over 100k miles.
That’s fair