Little-Known Trick Will Disable Your Engine Auto-Stop-Start System
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Opinions on engine auto-stop-start technology are scattershot: some enjoy the technology and its attempt to increase fuel efficiency, some are indifferent, and the rest downright hate the feature and will go to great lengths to turn the system off at every opportunity, especially in vehicles that don’t offer a way to disable the feature.
We’ve already covered the diverse opinions on the tech and how to disable the feature. But what we haven’t covered is a little-known way to disable the system, and it involves the hood. So, here’s a new tip for those who hate the system.
As it turns out, engine auto-stop-start does not operate if the car is started with the hood open. Moreover, the system remains off even after the hood is closed, effectively disabling the system from functioning until the next key cycle. For those who despise the system, this could be welcomed knowledge.
To take advantage of the workaround, one would need to pop the hood (before starting the vehicle), start the car with the hood open, and then shut the hood. It’s not the most ideal scenario, but it does provide one more option to those with GM vehicles without toggles to disable the engine auto-stop-start system.
In fact, third-party solutions that aim to bypass engine auto-stop-start often take advantage of the open hood workaround What these systems do is wire a timer relay to the hood sensor. When the vehicle is not running or in accessory mode, the relay causes the ECU to “see” an open hood regardless of what the sensor actually reads. Once the car starts, the relay closes, correctly indicating the hood’s status as closed. This prevents the engine auto-stop-start system from operating while guaranteeing that the pesky open hood indicator light disappears with the rest of the warnings that flicker to life upon starting a vehicle with an open hood.
Is this an end-all solution to disabling the engine auto-stop-start system? Of course not. Opening the hood every time you start the car sounds rather laborious. Even so, it’s a nice trick to know just in case your frustration grows with the intrusiveness of some systems.
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The negative of this solution is most GM (and other OEMs) remote engine start programming will not work if the hood is open; the car thinks it could possibly be stolen if it’s running and someone can gain access to the wiring. Far fetched to be stolen this way, but that’s why GM did it. Both my 2010 Cobalt and 2017 Colorado do this which I’ve found out by accident. Try it; leave your hood open and use the key-fob to remote start, or use remote start and then open your hood before turning the ignition on. The engine will either not start at all, or shut off every time. And on the cobalt, it’s even armed the security alarm.
Its more to prevent someone from auto-starting the car by accident while their fingers are poking around the engine compartment really. My 2005 G6 GT won’t auto start with the hood open, or the 4 way flashers activated.
What will they think of next
That makes sense in this millennium world we live in, do anything besides keeping the customer happy.
Now its all about keeping the top dogs and Wall Street happy. The customer is entirely secondary.
Actually here is the reality of the start stop. The reason for it is for or cycle credits to be earned for emissions. It really saves little if any gas. It is a Rube Goldberg tool to make the government happy not wall st.
Cylinder drop and other items are all due to the off cycle credits to make some of the vehicles you want possible.
I am not sure where and why some have a defeat button and others don’t. Odds are it depends on the numbers they are wanting for the credits and if the government will let them have it.
Trust me automakers could do much better without these systems as all they do is complicate and add weight/cost to the vehicles.
The GM one works well or as well as any as some systems at other brands are down right a mess.
I am not a fan of this and I would likely think twice about buying a vehicle with this system. Not due to any fear of failure as they are reliable. Mostly due to the fact that I just hate that drop out and pick up of the engine. It would need a defeat switch.
Note too that Range is making a number of modules now to defeat the system. They plug into the OBD port and can be installed in less than 60 seconds with no cutting or tools requires. It can be remove just as quickly.
I am not mad at GM over this as this is more a government deal and they are just trying to give us what we want and jump though the hoops to do it that they are given.
No they were against the changes as they know they could only be for 4 to 8 years. To change direction and change again would be deathly expensive.
Also most cars are now built to a global standard so a change here changes nothing elsewhere or California.
California is not longer part of this world
California is the only place in the US with any culture. Elsewhere, the only place you might find it is in the yogurt aisle at Wal-Mart
California has essentially seceded from the U.S. without going through the paper work.
It should, but unfortunately has not yet.
He tried to, but it turned into a legal battle with California and a few other “progressive” states.
Auto start-stop is 100% due to CAFE and the value of the credit given to a car manufacturer a vehicle with auto SS that can be disabled by a button is worth much less than a credit for a vehicle with auto SS that cannot be deactivated.
CAFE refers to fuel consumption. Stop start systems are designed primarily to reduce emissions of unburnt fuel during idle.
I agree & the Rube Goldberg example is spot on.
The only point I’d debate is not being mad at GM, or more correctly, not being mad at all the manufacturers for not growing a set of testicles and pushing back on this whole farce.
I don’t have any idea what this “technology” has cost the manufacturers & which cost has subsequently been passed on to the consumers has amounted to, but I would make the argument that more emissions could have been “saved”, less fuel wasted, and millions of consumers dollars saved if something as simple as more efficient timing of stop lights was implemented.
Think about it; when was the last time you drove through a small town and didn’t get held up at a red light. I drive almost daily through a town with 3 traffic lights and I can count on 1 hand the amount of times I have driven straight through town on “all green” even when I’ve been the 1st vehicle in line at the 1st red light. If you believe this is merely by coincidence, or just bad luck, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
Small towns don’t want you driving straight through town; they want you stopped & looking at the ads for coffee, milk, beer, donuts, etc etc.
The point I’m trying to make is the mfr’s should have realized that in this “game” they’re all on the same team and made the point to the gov’t that the ROI in emissions saved vs dollars spent would have been much higher if the focus would have been on the “low hanging fruit” instead of technology that very few like or trust.
Just my .02 & you’re mileage may vary
why not ban drive thru windows. that would save more gas and reduce more emissions than anything.
Can you imagine how many times the engine could restart just at a drive thru window? I’ll never buy a car with such idiotic “technology”.
That would only happen a few times because the system will not activate if the battery voltage drops too low or a minimum time hasn’t elapsed since it was last activated.
Thanks! That makes sense. My husband said the same but to hear it again…. well, he was right. Dang it! 😂
Mine had stopped doing the SS & I thought maybe it was because I’d turned it off so much, the car finally got the point. 🙄🤣
I asked WHY (explicative) is it doing it again?
He said because my battery was just replaced.
And? 🤷🏼♀️
Before the new battery It didn’t have enough voltage to keep kicking it on.
😤
Ditto
It is my understanding that as soon as the EPA tried to implement a granule of this plan that someone sued and the judge said, “Nope the EPA is not allowed to change the mileage standards back 🤯 insanity.”
Thanks for the input! I have a 2019 Chevy EQUINOX, 1.5 TURBO. It’s a great vehicle but the START-STOP is ridiculous! All GM vehicles should have a disable switch like FORD. I do disable my START STOP by shifting into “L” ( LOW) and by using the auto-shift I advance the transmission to “6”……..this disables Start-Stop until you shut down or go to another gear,
Neither my wife or I have confidence in the system especially when making a left turn into traffic. Between things like start stop and the crazy pricing of GM vehicles, GM may lose a 73 year old lifetime customer. BTW………..my best friend traded his 2015 Equinox on a new HONDA CRV (without start-stop). And the CRV is made in AMERICA………not MEXICO!!!!!!!
And the CRV is “assembled” in AMERICA.
And the profits went to a Japan.
Just the other side of that 2 bit coin.
And not only do the Car’s prophets go back to Japan, most of the parts are from Japanese only suppliers in the “inner circle”. Try to be an American auto part supplier and get business with a Japanese company; near impossible.
FYI: “Prophets” are soothsayers or fortune tellers. I think what you are referring to are “profits” ( financial gains )
When so call foreign companies transfer profits from the USA to their country, they generally lose millions in the monetary exchange.
Call your broker. You can buy all of the Honda, Toyota, Nissan. Mitsubishi, and Subaru (formerly Fuji Heavy Industries) that you want. Not ALL of the profits go back to Japan.
Another comment-maker talked about the Japanese “inner circle” of suppliers. Same thing. You can buy all the Bridgestone/Firestone etc stock you want. For cars made here, most of those “inner circle” outfits are hiring Janes and Joes, while “American” companies hire Pedro and Maria.
For my money, seeing Jane Fileclerk and Joe Forklift having a job, spending their pay in my home town is far more important to me. Their money stays here. I don’t care who writes the paycheck.
We have a Malibu with the 1.5, and it hasn’t failed us yet. One of my coworkers just got an XT4 with a 2.0 with start-stop, but says he’s getting used to it. What they COULD do is program it like BMW, and let the engine run for 5 seconds, in case you’re at a stop sign, or another short stop.
The other side of that is they could add a short-range electric motor option that would get you going while the motor starts.
There is always the option of maintaining awareness of start-stop, and then purchasing models without those engines. Easier said than done, as you won’t typically understand the impact of it until you’ve lived with it for a while.
As far as I know, none of the Camaro engines, including the 2.0, use start-stop. One more reason to buy a Camaro and enjoy life a little.
I test drove 2 escapes in different states when auto stop firs came out big in 2018, both salesmen “warmed the car up” for me and disabled stop start.
I never knew I had it until I left the dealership, got a mile duwn the road and the damn thing cut off on my.
I opened the door to check the engine, fortunately traffic was light. And as I exited the vehicle, the engine sprang back to life because I let my foot off the brake. One of the most shocking experiences of my life and scared me to death. I wanted to take the car back right then and I should have but the dealership closed at 930 and we were there til 10 finishing paperwork.
Ignorance is often a source of fear. American society is currently permeated by it.
You mention stop-start with a motor and battery configuration. While the Prius has been stomped to death for being a so-called “tree-hugger” car, that’s exactly how a Prius works…electric motor for minor movements and I.C.E. for driving. Motor shuts off while not in use, both standing still and coasting. While very complicated, its simplicity is commendable. AND, DON’T let anyone give you crap about their batteries giving out quickly. Their dependability is very well documented worldwide. PLUS, a Prius is a “drivers” car, not meant to sit. Any car with NiMh batteries are meant to drive often. Lithium batteries are very much immune to this but are also more delicate to temperature. this saving gas thing has gone a bit far. As another mentioned, GET RID of ALL drive-thru’s. PERIOD! How lazy can humans get?!? Finally, there is no real solution to all of this. We have developed a global petroleum culture. Oil is virtually everything, not just car fuel. We have painted ourselves in a VERY tight corner with very wet, slow drying, poison paint. Electric cars are the LEAST of our worries. A very hard collapse is in the scope. There is no way “we” are going to get out of it without some pretty severe sacrifice and pain. We’re not going to the moon, Mars or anywhere. We’re stuck HERE. Reality has a way of ultimately scaring us awake…usually too late.
Totally agree. The human apes are totally screwed. If you want to see the future of the US, it will be a mix of Mad Max and Walking Dead.
This guy was a true prophet:
XXhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdSi9NW5u3E&ab_channel=RetroManiac
oil is what gave you the cushy lazy lifestyle you have today, along with improving the lives of billions. You should bow down and pray for thanks in front of a barrel of oil. OK heading to the drive through to pick up lunch quickly so I can get back to work and be productive!
Most Equinoxes are made in Canada.
I own the 2019 Equinox as well. Installed a no stop switch I bought on Azon. I actually like driving my car now.
😮 There’s a thing for that?!
Headed to Amazon site!
Or just buy a car that has a button to defeat the system.
How about buying a Mazda in the U.S. because they don’t have the engine stop/start (iStop) technology? Wouldn’t it be a novel thing for the car companies to give the customers what they want? How about making the engine stop/start technology an option when buying a car, so no button would ever need to be pushed? I remember when the customers were always right.
Come on fellas, are you really going to let something so minor influence your buying decision? It’s pretty easy to wire a switch or momentary button to that hood position sensor. If you find yourself in rush hour traffic, it would be easy enough to just quickly shut off the engine and restart it when you are a a complete stop to enable it.
I think the point is: one should not have to wire a button in, or so some other thing to make the car drive in a manner that is safe, or in a manner to which one is accustomed. This is just another nanny-state piece of nonsense from agencies that better know what is good for us.
I’m old. I recall cars for the 1974 model year that had a seat belt interlock system that prevented starting the car unless the belt was fastened. This lasted until congress went home for summer recess. The general public raised hell to a degree not often seen. The 1975 model year cars did not have the interlock. I disconneted the one in my brand new 1974 Opel Manta. General Motors and several other manufacturers told us that doing so would run the battery down. It didn/t
I’m lucky, my 19 Cruze has the disable switch. Works great.
Where is it located?
I really hate to scare you, but I heard yesterday that the Cruze is probably the worst car ever built by Chevy. At least the disable switch works. But my vote for worse Chevy would go to the Vega.
Hey! I had four of them and they were fine
Well except that the sheet metal pieces were strong spot welded together there was more surface to rust faster causing the strength to drop rapidly
Or you could just flip the transmission in neutral while stopped. This works.
How long are you stationary before the engine quits? If it’s a short light , you could stop early and creep.
I actually dislike the fact the the engine starts when you put the car in neutral and when you unbuckle your seat belt. If you don’t want the engine to shut off ease up on how hard you press on the brake pedal. Easy enough!
If you are at a stop sign at the same time as a police officer, let’s see if you can get away with not putting a hard stop at that stop sign.
The iStop/ESS already wears out the engine at every start, wears out the starter, and wears out the battery. Let’s add the transmission to the list of things to wear out.
My 2017 Caddy XT-5 has this stop-start function .. It is a bit annoying but not a huge inconvenience .. I use this method to get around it . When the function activates itself after a complete stop , I quickly take my foot OFF the brake then reapply the brake again . I have found the system will not reactivate until its next cycle when you stop again .. I have also found that driving in a Manual mode will prevent the feature from activating . It never hurts to experiment and you won’t damage anything ..
In general it all depends on how you apply the brake. Pure and simple. The engine will stay on if you apply gentle, limited force to the brake pedal. I dislike the fact that the engine will run forever as I’m siting in a drive-thru. A result of other throwing a fit over nothing. Bummer
If you dislike the engine running when at a drive thru, then shut it off like I do sometimes. Viola, problem solved without auto stop start.
there are over 17 sensors that have to work in unison to make this system work.
I foresee a lot of engine lights on, as my vehicle ages and many of these sensors are specifically for the stop start system only.
It baffles the brain why GM would put something so ridiculous in a car or truck, suv! Common sense tells you are not going to save any gas and only make more pollution! Do you know there is an extra battery on board for that stuff. So as these cars get on in age JUST MORE REPAIR COST! Oh yay dealers love more profit from repairs, that could be one reason they put garbage like that in their cars the dealers are complaining they do not make enough money from their new car sales!
Again it is because of off cycle emissions credits that automakers earn.
Read and learn.
https://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Off-Cycle-Credits_ICCT-White-Paper_vF_20180327.pdf
Government is pushing manufacturers to do it. The F-150 has had start stop for years because of it. Read the comments here, there are ways to keep the engine from shutting off.
PONDERING, What if we disconnected the small battery for the stop/start that would possibly work if a dash light did not stay on?.
Don’t forget, you can always unscrew a dash light bulb 👍😜
It will be a losing battle, states will pass laws on overriding the ASS feature until someone real important is killed or a massive death auto accident occured because of it. Since living in Florida for 30 years, car batteries do not last in this extreme heat and almost everyone I had failed is almost immediate. It happened to me a few days ago. So as thousands of cars at stop lights, there will be many people getting out of their vehicle to push the car of pop the hood and will get slammed by passing vehicles.
Maybe when someone is kill that works for the EPA that encourages ASS is killed , they will think differently. We’ll need a new casualty item, dead car battery syndrome.
I had a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu and really liked the car except for the auto start/stop feature. In fact, it was so bad (IMO) that I kept the car about 10 months and traded it because I hated it so much (start/stop, not the car). What I hated to most was when attempting to turn left on a busy street and creeping forward a little at a time. The system would constantly shut off and then have to re-start immediately. Very annoying. The second bad thing I noticed was if I was carefully pulling into a parking spot. That Malibu had a very low rubber air deflector under the front bumper that would catch easily on a curb or anything higher than 4 inches. So if I was pulling into a spot and barely moving forward, the system would sometimes shut off the engine. Ended up trading the car on a more budget-friendly Chevrolet Spark Electric.
When buying my 2018 Buick Encore, I really wanted to engine with more power. However, that only came with the start/stop feature, so I went with the lower HP/Torque engine and it’s just fine.
Good job Dan. Big brother got you to do exactly what THEY wanted you to do, NOT what made you happy! You’ve been conned.
I’ll soon be driving my new 2021 Durango R/T.. the last of the V8s as Mad Max put it, with the ASS permanently disabled using a piece of McGuyver’s aluminum foil. 😂
What an appropriately named feature.😂😂😂😂
Totally understand the need for stop/start given the government standards. However the fact that my v6 2019 Buick Regal GS still has the feature active when in GS or Sport mode is a design flaw or grosse oversight. What is the point of stop/start for fuel economy when you have the transmission and awd set to its most aggressive state.
it’s totally stupid, unless you drive in a ton of stop and go traffic
The workaround for our 2018 Traverse is even easier than this. Put the transmission in “L” then toggle or manually push the + symbol up to 9 ( 9th gear)then drive like normal. The issue is though you have do this after every restart. But much less complicated than the hood.
Thanks for the info on the stop start. I tried going to L6 on my 2019 equinox and it works great. If I always do this in urban driving will it hurt the engine or transmission in any way?
what the hell is all the complaining the system works and is not a inconvenience it helps with emissions and mpg –lets put on our big boy pants
Works when I park my car. Turns off engine then turns back on so I can turn it off again because I am parking. Stupid as it gets. Engine stops at every Stop sign only to restart half a second later when I go. Stupid again.
Wow saving so much fuel and saving the environment . You’re an idiot .
I always wear my big girl pants but I hate it because we travel a lot & our dog goes with us. If we leave our 2020 Buick Enclave running & get out to eat our dog could die because the engine cuts off in 10-20 minutes letting car become hot enough to kill my dog. I have to go to car every 10 minutes & restart it.
You eat your dog?
Vic
🤣🤣🤣
Great advise from Tom G, the TRUE whiner who might not be inconvenienced by the feature or have had his family almost killed by the feature, as we actually rolled into traffic while the motor was shutoff.
I see, when the brains were handed out, you received a membrane, instead. I’d rather waste a few pennies in wasted gasoline, than to wear out my engine, starter, and battery at every stop/start event, which will be a lot most costly.
GM see’s a cash cow down the road when all the components of start stop break. The tree huggers see this as saving the world………..
So the 2020 GMC ACADIA will have a disable switch………….why couldn’t GM do what Ford has done with a disable switch on all their vehicles???
Don’t tell me you will get used to it…………..that’s a sad excuse for GM.
If your wife runs around on you………….you will get used to it……………..don’t worry be happy!
Arminius (me) explained a system that works flawlessly in Cadillac forums for my XT5. The GM charging system reads system voltage through a wire and fuse on top of the + battery terminal to evaluate the capacity of the battery to handle start/stop when the car is started. I put a 120 ohm resistor in place of the fuse so the “Intelligent Battery System” only observes 11.5 volts. My circuit includes a starter type relay that immediately shorts the resistor out of the circuit when the ignition is turned on so the charging system can work normally. This is the 3.6 V6. Start/stop is akin to excrement smeared on the steering wheel and my “free to experimenters system” cleans it right up.
Go to http://www.smartstartstop.com You can buy a small plug in that fits under the hood, takes less than three minutes to install and defeats start stop.
I don’t own the company just passing on what I learned by doing an internet search.
I believe for around $140, I can get rid of the annoyance in my 2019 Equinox!!!!!!!!!!
That is way to much money for a little resistor / sensor. I’d buy one for $50, but not $140!
Obviously, this is not an annoying enough issue for you. Price is fair and worth every penny for most people. I would have paid more. What do you think a new starter will cost you?
It’s way more then a resistor. There’s a couple transistors, 555 timer most likely, 2 capacitors, and a circuit printed out on a board. Some guy spent time designing this, finding the harness, and build them. worth every penny for those who don’t want stop start and can’t make their own bypass.
On the Mazda, just unscrew the switch by the hood latch, move it out of the way, and the iStop (i.e. Engine Stop/Start) is disabled.
Wayne, trust me when I say the money is worth it considering it is plug and play without any damage to the existing vehicle wiring and its easily removed if you need to go in for warranty service. When you consider the special connectors that are required to interface the circuit, the waterproof enclosure the electronics are built into so you wont have any issues with moisture and the life time warranty smartstartstop that comes with and you cant beat it. Plug it in a problem is gone, I will bet GM will change the way this works in order to circumvent this bypass especially now that TRUMP is gone and there is nothing to protect us from the nimrods at the epa. Actually you might want to get one soon, heck the government will probably shut the company down siting some new regulation. Now is someone comes up with a non OBD plug in solution to prevent the 6/4 fuel management and i will be
a very happy camper.
Mike,
I see your post is 2.5 years old. I was JUST thinking the same… Bidumbs govt has probably shut it down but bet your star I’m going to search for it!
Did this on my wife’s 2017 Buick Envision and totally changed how I felt about the car. Luckily my 2020 XT5 came with a disable switch on the dash an hitting that button is part of every cranking procedure.