[bruce dow]

I will start by declaring that I actually like the Idle Stop. I especially like it for long traffic lights, when I activate the Brake Hold feature on my vehicle.

A nudge to the steering wheel restarts the engine, and then away we go... smooth as "buttah".

But ... I acknowledge that there are times when I don't want the engine to stop because I KNOW that I will be moving again in a few seconds. Until today, I had been managing this by gentle feathering of the brake pedal.

Here is what I learned today... (Maybe you guys already know this).

The Idle Stop will not engage if there is steering input. So, you can brake, and just as you come to that final stop, move the steering wheel. The Brake Hold WILL engage, but the Idle Stop will not.

 

[Hunter]

does it work

Does the idle stop actually help conserve fuel. I thought starting the engine used more fuel than idling for a red light?

Hunter

 

[andre12dbsi]

Thanks @bruce dow . I may give that a shot. I actually forced myself to use Idle Stop today. Ever since I had the car I've been shutting it off. I really don't like it but I need to give it a fair shot to see if I can get used to it.
@Hunter , everything I've read across all manufacturers says that it does in fact save fuel.

 

[Hunter]

I'll have to try it after I get tired of jumping the red light!

 

[MTD]

My wife gets in the car and turns the idle stop off for me. Even she hates it as a passenger. Shutting off at a long light I don't mind, so I'll try Bruce's tip.

When I really hate it is rolling to a quick stop at a stop sign, Timmies drive-through's or the worst, pulling into my driveway and it shuts off just as I'm about to put it in park.

 

[bruce dow]

My wife gets in the car and turns the idle stop off for me. Even she hates it as a passenger. Shutting off at a long light I don't mind, so I'll try Bruce's tip.

When I really hate it is rolling to a quick stop at a stop sign, Timmies drive-through's or the worst, pulling into my driveway and it shuts off just as I'm about to put it in park.

When it shuts off in the driveway, just hit the power button. No need to shift to Park.

 

[bruce dow]

Does the idle stop actually help conserve fuel. I thought starting the engine used more fuel than idling for a red light?

Hunter

This is only "logic and opinion", unencumbered by facts and data... but... Idle Stop would save fuel on a long stop, but may have greater costs (starter cycles, startup fuel, etc.) on a very short stop.

I don't know where the break even point would be.

Hence the trick play.

 

[Nascart]

Found that out on day 13 of the idle-stop hostage crisis

 

[bruce dow]

My wife gets in the car and turns the idle stop off for me. Even she hates it as a passenger.

Here are some things that I have learned about the Idle Stop.... When the engine has stopped, how you restart it can greatly influence your experience...


If you go directly from the brake to the gas, prepare for a jerky, awkward start. Reengaging the engine by putting a foot on the gas is unpleasant.

There are a few options for a smoother start.

Both require you to "anticipate" when you want to move, and take action one or two seconds beforehand. (e.g. when the crossing traffic light turns amber, or when the brake lights in the cars ahead of you go out)

1) you can use a small turn of the steering wheel to restart the engine

2) if you are not using Brake Hold, simply taking your foot off the brake will restart the engine.. (you can even put your foot back on the brake, if you want... the engine will stay running if you have not moved)

The secret in both of these cases is to start the engine one second before you apply the gas.

I hope this helps.

 

[Nascart]

Love this from the Honda site about the powertrain:

"V-6 SH-AWD Idle Stop System
To help improve fuel efficiency, TLX SH-AWD models come equipped with a new Idle Stop capability. When the system is active and certain operating conditions are met, the TLX engine will automatically shut off when the vehicle comes to a stop. When the driver releases the brake pedal after a stop, the engine automatically restarts and the TLX is ready to accelerate.

The system is engineered to operate smoothly and seamlessly. When stopped, a special cold storage evaporator in the air conditioning system helps maintain a comfortable cabin temperature even in warm weather. The TLX's active engine mounts help smooth the restart. Idle Stop operation is fully integrated into the operation of the TLX's Brake Hold system and its available Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low Speed Follow."


http://www.honda.com/newsandviews/article.aspx?g=acura&id=7883-en

 

[andre12dbsi]

Yeah. The smoothly and seamlessly part needs work.

 

[Wade]

The secret in both of these cases is to start the engine one second before you apply the gas.

I hope this helps.

Bruce, your last statement would seem to be the key. Around my area your points one and two could be kind of dangerous. We seem to have a lot of people who want to beat the light only to find out that they lost even before they entered the intersection. I always delay at least one full second after the light turns green to make sure that I am not going to get T-boned by someone who wasn't paying attention or thought he could beat it to the intersection before the light turned red. My daughter found out the hard way about the problems with your second point. The car in front of her at a stop light started to go and then for some reason stopped. The result was a rear end collision with MY TSX = not pretty sight. ::crying::

Of course, I don't have to worry because the P-AWS version doesn't have the idle stop.

 

[MTD]

I tried the steering wheel method earlier today and it works pretty good.

I think the idle stop would be much better however if maybe there was a slightly longer delay before it happened. A second or two longer would eliminate most of my complaints anyway.

Ive also found a great use for the brake hold... line lock lol. Brake hold on, Trac off, Sport+ IDS mode. When the light turns green there is a nice hole-shot because there is no hesitation releasing the brake and transitioning to the gas. The car is REAL quick off the line using this method.

 

[andleigh]

I tried the steering wheel method earlier today and it works pretty good.

I think the idle stop would be much better however if maybe there was a slightly longer delay before it happened. A second or two longer would eliminate most of my complaints anyway.

Ive also found a great use for the brake hold... line lock lol. Brake hold on, Trac off, Sport+ IDS mode. When the light turns green there is a nice hole-shot because there is no hesitation releasing the brake and transitioning to the gas. The car is REAL quick off the line using this method.

There was an entire thread on idle-shutoff in this forum a few months earlier with something like 80 comments so it was a pretty hot topic.

My feeling, as I stated then and still feel now, was that idle-shutoff needed to:
(1) store my enabled/disabled setting from my previous drive
(2) don't turn off my engine for at least 5-10 seconds to eliminate stop sign & left turn surprise shut-offs
(3) add a countdown warning in the small display between my speedometer and tach so I know it's planning to shutoff and can react accordingly

 

[andre12dbsi]

I tried the steering wheel method today as well and I think I could get used to it over time. I'll maybe try it over a tank or two of fuel to see if it makes a difference.

The launch method you talk about sounds promising.....under safe conditions of course.

 

[easyforyu]

There was an entire thread on idle-shutoff in this forum a few months earlier with something like 80 comments so it was a pretty hot topic.

My feeling, as I stated then and still feel now, was that idle-shutoff needed to:
(1) store my enabled/disabled setting from my previous drive
(2) don't turn off my engine for at least 5-10 seconds to eliminate stop sign & left turn surprise shut-offs
(3) add a countdown warning in the small display between my speedometer and tach so I know it's planning to shutoff and can react accordingly

Those would be three very very very good additions to the system.

 

[Northwest]

Individual Driving Needs and Mileage

I faithfully used the idle stop feature during my typical dat-to-day driving and then stopped using it. I went through this cycle several times, each time monitoring L/km. I found no major improvements in fuel efficiency but a major improvement in my relaxation level while driving. The herky jerky, even with some of the tips mentioned for making it smoother and anticipating light changes, was too unpleasant in the type of traffic typical of my day-to-day.

 

[Summest]

Welcome to the Forum!

I faithfully used the idle stop feature during my typical dat-to-day driving and then stopped using it. I went through this cycle several times, each time monitoring L/km. I found no major improvements in fuel efficiency but a major improvement in my relaxation level while driving. The herky jerky, even with some of the tips mentioned for making it smoother and anticipating light changes, was too unpleasant in the type of traffic typical of my day-to-day.

Welcome to the Forum! Glad to see your first posts!

Please tells more about yourself and your TLX.

 

[Buckshot]

Having engines not run unnecessarily is such a great idea; not only will this save huge amounts of fuel globally but absolutely has to be good for the environment. I recall being in Switzerland some 30 years ago and saw signs at intersections requesting motorists to shut off their engines at red lights! I strongly feel this is a great improvement in the automotive field and should be mandatory.

The problem is for the manufacturers to develop systems that can deliver this feature to function with all the real world variables. I can't ever see self-driving vehicles being able to totally replace the judgement of a human being. Determining when idle/stop should NOT activate is a decision only an attentive driver can and should have the ability to make.

I apologize if this suggested override method has been previously described; not the best at searching forums! After a few weeks of ownership, I am quite use to the auto idle/stop feature especially at long red lights however I quickly found it annoying at left turns at an intersection when I don't want the engine off at all; this is a safety issue as far as I am concerned. What works nicely is to have brake hold activated, come to a complete stop and quickly remove your foot from the brake pedal. Auto idle/stop needs the brake pedal to be depressed for about one second in order to activate so it will NOT activate at all. And now that you have brake hold operational, you can continue to move forward in the left turn lane stopping and starting as many times as you want and the engine remains running! Now if only brake hold could be turned on as a preference default.

 

[justintime]

I've learned to use light pressure to avoid idle stop engaging. If you don't press hard on the brake, Idle stop won't kick in. When I push hard on the brake, idle stop and brake hold engage. A few seconds before the light turns green, I very lightly feather the gas pedal. It's enough to start the engine, but not enough to disengage brake hold.