ECO on or off

[EmilysDad]

I find it 'disconcerting' when my engine stops & I'm not expecting it and IMHO it doesn't re-start fast enough when you want to nip out at a junction so when I remember, I press ECO as a start the car.
So does any one use one of .... (just asking )

 

[Crispian]

I've got into the habit of turning it off as soon as I start the car.
It does nothing for the longevity of several parts of the car,only for emissions quotas.

 

[EmilysDad]

I've got into the habit of turning it off as soon as I start the car.
.....

A week & a bit since I bought it, I still need the ECO light as a reminder to switch it off

 

[rorywquin]

Eco makes a lot of sense when stopped in traffic and a traffic lights etc. In some countries in Europe, it is law to turn off the engine while at traffic lights, level crossings etc.

It can be really annoying when trying to inch my car into the garage ....however - if every car in the UK had it and used it it would help the environment.

 

[rorywquin]

I've got into the habit of turning it off as soon as I start the car.
It does nothing for the longevity of several parts of the car,only for emissions quotas.

How do you (or MR Average driver) use your car - probably drive to work, park, drive home? If so, it will probably outlast you!

Think of the millions of delivery vehicles out there making dozens of stops every day!

 

[goldy]

I turn mine off when I start the car.

 

[Crispian]

How do you (or MR Average driver) use your car - probably drive to work, park, drive home? If so, it will probably outlast you!

Think of the millions of delivery vehicles out there making dozens of stops every day!

Solely for carrying two large dogs around in comfort.
I have a van for work(kitchen installer) and a tvr for when the weathers nice.

I can't see the point of having it on the Mercedes (E350 bluetec) as the emissions it throws out are pretty much zero

 

[Srdl]

If I know I am about to have to make a quick move into traffic, then I turn mine off but otherwise it doesn’t bother me. Have never had a problem inching into the garage either.

 

[Tony Dyson]

My car is generally kept outside overnight and throughout all this winter, since the first cold snap the ECO function has been unavailable for the very first drive, it has been disabled by either or all the engine coolant, external or cabin temperatures, or windscreen misting, only when the above parameters have been met and the engine is manually stopped and restarted does the ECO function then activate with the green or amber ECO dash indicator and the green LED on the on/off button.

Controlling it isn’t a problem for me, if I’m in slow stop/start moving traffic and it gets annoying I just turn it off, at junctions or roundabouts when you need to be more responsive I just lift my foot off the brake a little to start the engine while the brake is still effective for a fast response when needed. As an added function, the changing colour of the ECO dash indicator is actually giving you a running commentary of your battery condition so as long as it spends more time indicating green, fully charged, it is a good indicator of your battery condition and in my case this would be the one in the boot.

 

[ajlsl600]

Eco makes a lot of sense when stopped in traffic and a traffic lights etc. In some countries in Europe, it is law to turn off the engine while at traffic lights, level crossings etc.

It can be really annoying when trying to inch my car into the garage ....however - if every car in the UK had it and used it it would help the environment.

have you calculated the carbon damage to the environment of making/transporting/ fixing the pts that will be replaced well before normally required due to this system, bet there is nothing in it. except for the pts/labour dept.

 

[rorywquin]

If I know I am about to have to make a quick move into traffic, then I turn mine off but otherwise it doesn’t bother me. Have never had a problem inching into the garage either.

Mine switches the engine off every time I brake (inching into the garage) then switches on as I release the brake. I now just turn it off when parking in the garage (if not in S or S+ mode )

 

[rorywquin]

have you calculated the carbon damage to the environment of making/transporting/ fixing the pts that will be replaced well before normally required due to this system, bet there is nothing in it. except for the pts/labour dept.

At a high level, 1 van transporting parts for say 400 cars vs the savings in pollution of the 400 cars - I'm pretty sure our EU cousins, who make the rules, will have investigated.

What studies have been done on the increased wear and tear you are referring to?

 

[rorywquin]

Solely for carrying two large dogs around in comfort.
I have a van for work(kitchen installer) and a tvr for when the weathers nice.

I can't see the point of having it on the Mercedes (E350 bluetec) as the emissions it throws out are pretty much zero

Fuel consumption with an idling engine sitting in traffic is one reason and every little bit (of reduced pollution) helps....(off sets what your van & TVR are spitting out ). I do find the ECO annoying but try to persevere with it.

 

[EmilysDad]

ECO might be a good idea if it let the car idle for perhaps 10 or 15 secs before switching the engine off.

 

[ajlsl600]

At a high level, 1 van transporting parts for say 400 cars vs the savings in pollution of the 400 cars - I'm pretty sure our EU cousins, who make the rules, will have investigated.

What studies have been done on the increased wear and tear you are referring to?

E U cousins making the rules is,in my view about where all the aggro lies. but to your other point , starters for just 1 example, bang em in 100 times more often they wear out faster,no ?and consume various resources that had to be excavated, processed, transported around the world . ,and thanks to stop start will need replacing again, considerably more often, engines will have to be removed more often to replace ring gears,there is more. stop start was just a cheap effort by makers to appease fat cats in the EU and other places the same fat cats are likely to have a five fold more detrimental effect on emissions than you or i, procrastinating their way around the EU on aircraft for example . and i DONT trust anyone running the EU to have much other than self interest at heart, come to that our own lot in Westminster are no better.
for me if some are happy with stop start ,fair enough, no complaint about that from me, i dont see it as other than a simple way to be SEEN doing something,when in reality it probably achieves very little. just ban fossil fuels from cities ,i never go to any anyway, unless i am looking for the real carbon beast ,airport. then i use train or bus anyway..

 

[mickx]

Like others, turn it off as soon as I start the car...

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

I do hate the Stop/Start system from a wear and tear point of view and always turn it off on start-up but I’m sure if I lived in a heavily polluted urban area I would persevere with it there are parts of the UK where Nox levels are much higher than they should be and if we travel in those areas we should try and do as much as we can to mitigate the situation

 

[gianton]

Same here, I turn it off right after I start the car.

 

[rorywquin]

E U cousins making the rules is,in my view about where all the aggro lies. but to your other point , starters for just 1 example, bang em in 100 times more often they wear out faster,no ?and consume various resources that had to be excavated, processed, transported around the world . ,and thanks to stop start will need replacing again, considerably more often, engines will have to be removed more often to replace ring gears,there is more. stop start was just a cheap effort by makers to appease fat cats in the EU and other places the same fat cats are likely to have a five fold more detrimental effect on emissions than you or i, procrastinating their way around the EU on aircraft for example . and i DONT trust anyone running the EU to have much other than self interest at heart, come to that our own lot in Westminster are no better.
for me if some are happy with stop start ,fair enough, no complaint about that from me, i dont see it as other than a simple way to be SEEN doing something,when in reality it probably achieves very little. just ban fossil fuels from cities ,i never go to any anyway, unless i am looking for the real carbon beast ,airport. then i use train or bus anyway..

I just don't buy into all the conspiracy theories that say the car is going to need repair sooner and the ECO does nothing. However it is not something I dwell on - if/when the car needs repair, I'll get it done but I suspect that with the mileage I do, I will be in a hole in the ground before my car needs repair.

 

[rorywquin]

I do hate the Stop/Start system from a wear and tear point of view and always turn it off on start-up but I’m sure if I lived in a heavily polluted urban area I would persevere with it there are parts of the UK where Nox levels are much higher than they should be and if we travel in those areas we should try and do as much as we can to mitigate the situation

Is there a higher % of delivery vans breaking down (starter motors???) because of all the start stop they do?

The average commuter car with ECO, almost certainly does a fraction of starts/stops that a delivery vehicle does.