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Every 2021 Model Year Cadillac Features Automatic Stop-Start

All 2021 model year Cadillac models, from the CT4 and CT5 sedans, XT4, XT5 and XT6 crossovers as well as the full-size Escalade SUV, feature automatic stop-start technology designed to improve fuel economy and reduce exhaust emissions.

The same thing could very nearly also have been said of Cadillacs of the previous model year, but for one thing: the 2020 Escalade, the last model year of its generation, did not have automatic stop-start available even as an option. On all-new 2021 Escalade, engine automatic stop-start is standard when fitted with either the naturally-aspirated 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline EcoTec3 engine, which produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, or the 3.0L I6 LM2 turbodiesel Duramax, rated at 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque.

Engine auto stop-start disable button in 2020 Cadillac CT5 (bottom right).

Engine auto stop-start disable button in 2020 Cadillac CT5 (bottom right)

Luckily, on all 2021 Cadillac models, auto engine stop-start can be disabled via a button within the vehicle. However, the feature is automatically enabled at every ignition cycle, meaning that those who desire to drive with auto stop-start disabled will have to press the disable button every time they turn on the car. The disable button comes in the form of an “A” with a circle around it.

Auto engine stop-start will begin to be eliminated once the Cadillac begins its EV onslaught, which will start with the Cadillac Lyriq crossover. The Lyriq is set to launch in the first quarter of 2022, nine months ahead of schedule. Automatic stop-start is a technology for internal combustion engines, and the Lyriq – naturally – won’t have one of those.

Cadillac Lyriq show car

The Lyriq is the first of six Cadillac electric vehicles expected to go on sale between now and the end of 2025. The others are two more crossovers called Optiq and Symboliq, an EV version of the Escalade, the Celestiq flagship sedan which will start at $200,000 or more, plus a mysterious model so far referred to only as the “low roof” EV that’s expected to be a cross between a sedan and a coupe.

Cadillac will lead the charge for electric vehicles at General Motors, and the move will raise the proportion of EVs in Cadillac’s line-up from the current 0 percent to 50 percent. It would be equally true to say that the proportion of models with automatic stop-start will drop from 100 percent today to 50 percent.

Projected Cadillac Automatic Stop-Start Availability
ICE / BEV 2021 MY 2025 MY
With Stop-Start Without Stop-Start With Stop-Start Without Stop-Start
Cadillac CT4 ICE x x
Cadillac CT5 ICE x x
Cadillac XT4 ICE x x
Cadillac XT5 ICE x x
Cadillac XT6 ICE x x
Cadillac Escalade ICE x x
Cadillac Lyriq BEV x
Cadillac Optiq BEV x
Cadillac Symboliq BEV x
Cadillac Low-Roof EV BEV x
Cadillac Celestiq BEV x
Cadillac Escalade EV BEV x
Total models 6 12
Total models with stop-start 6 6
Percentage of models with stop-start 100% 50%

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This post was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.

David has been writing about motoring and motorsport since he was 13 and racing since he was 19. He is British, and therefore apologizes for taking up too much of your time.

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Comments

  1. Better buy a Ford power boost hybrid to charge your battery while running gas. This is the wrong direction to go, even for luxury.

    Even the Musk agreed this week that we will need massive electric grid improvements if we plan to increase the number of BEV’s on the road, and doubly so if they include EV trucks and SUV’s. Already California can’t handle the strain of its own AC systems, and NY is starting to experience similar blackouts.
    If everyone is going to start plugging in their cars at night, we are going to need more power plants, transmission lines, beefed up substations, local transformers, everything.

    It took us almost 100 years to build our current grid with most of it being built back in a time when building regulations were significantly laxed. And they think that will take how long?

    At the end of the day the biggest luxury a car can give you is to work.

    Reply
    1. Is that Powerboost coming from the tow truck or they afraid of putting Stop-Start on the vehicles because it will do only one function due to…..

      Few Operationally Runs Distance…..

      Reply
    2. If we look back you see constant evolution of anti-EV crowds’ arguments and apparently now it comes down to the grid. First it was “EVs never work” then they said needs at least to 200+ miles range then raised to 300+ now they say it must go at least 500 and charged in just thirty seconds even ten minutes charge time is long for busy people like us!

      If the grid needs to a proper overhaul then so be it, upgrade it! You yourself said it; it can’t even handle demands from ACs so it’s clearly rundown and need a touch anyway, i don’t understand why you so upset of improving an essential infrastructure!

      Why you EV truthers don’t admit, you’re against EVs not for any logical reason, it’s all ideological. Political polarization makes you politicize everything and in your mind if you identify as non-left you should be against EVs and every environmentalist effort.

      Reply
  2. ..the towing business will pick up when these EV’s start running out of juice. Batteries don’t last forever. Replacement costs as high as $10,000 dineros. So the “$200,000 caddy can be traded for a mule and a buggy.

    Reply
    1. If I had a $200k car, why would I be in a position to run out of power?, same as 10 mpg RR Phantom running out of gas with probable ICE related problems……

      Reply
      1. You have to get gas generally twice a month. EVs you generally plug in every night. 14x more fueling operations = 14x more opportunities to forget.

        Particularly when EVs start getting adopted by busy families where somebody forgot to plug in last night, the kids are late for school, and there seems to be just enough power…

        Reply
        1. I’ve owned EVs since 2013 and not once have I for gotten to plug in. It’s just like your phone. Get out grab your cord and plug in.

          Reply
        2. Sounds like only the absent minded will suffer.

          Reply
        3. So what does owning a $200k car have to do with it?. Busy families will still stick with ICE until it’s feasible

          Reply
  3. all EVs are stop / start because the electric motors do not run unless the car is moving ,correct ??

    Reply
    1. Right.

      Reply
    2. @motorman:

      Pretty much. A small amount of juice is required to run fans, lights, radio, etc. More for AC, of course. But unlike a gas powered car an electric uses only a tiny amount of its stored energy when stopped in traffic.

      @GEORGE:

      When was the last time you ran out of gas?

      Gas engines don’t last forever either and cost several thousands to replace.

      Battery costs are coming down rapidly, but even now they’re not that costly.

      Do you really think anyone who pays $200k for a car is going to keep it so long that it will need new batteries? And if they do, will the cost of it matter? Especially considering they never spent a dime on gasoline at $3 or so a gallon.

      Reply
      1. I think your a bit off here, George is right about the replacement costs of batteries.
        Batteries literally have a 10 year life or so, ALL batteries have a limited life. YES ICE motors do need replacing but with proper care ICE motors literally can last decades.
        You can take a JUNKYARD ICE motor and repair it(try that with a battery pack) Most ICE motors can be repaired many times for just hundreds of dollars, even a full replacement may only run thousands, battery packs on the other hand will be $10k every time. I have owned 3 or 4 trucks that have all had more than 150k miles and 15 years old and have NEVER need any major work on the motors let alone a replacement. EV’s are pretty much need a new battery every 10 to 15 years most likely. Unless there is some kind of battery designed that never wears out. Batteries will never last as long as a properly maintained ICE engine. IMO

        Reply
        1. Battery packs will not be 10k every time, they are coming down in price, and if a section goes bad in the pack you can with most battery packs open them up and replace it. Many dealerships just don’t bother and want to replace the whole pack. There are already EV repair shops that do proper great jobs in refreshing/restoring packs.

          Also that 10 year deal isn’t a hard deadline. We still have 2011 Volts that have seen little degradation in their range.

          Battery health is dependent on how they are maintained/treated.
          Battery management systems that keep batteries at a proper temp allow the packs to last much longer!

          Reply
          1. The batteries in the Prius were expensive at first now they are cheap and offered by a number of firms.

            If there is a market there is competition that lowers price.

            Reply
          2. I said “10 to 15 years most likely”, look a battery will NEVER last as long as an ICE motor

            TODAY there are MODEL T fords that still run, a TESLA battery will never last that long period!!!!!

            Reply
          3. EV’s are not new EV’s were around back when ICE was being developed and ICE won out for the same reason then as now, the batteries are extremely expensive are do not have a very long life compared to ICE and 100 years later the story has not changed much. EV’s are better but still have the same drawbacks(expensive and limited life) compared to ICE.

            PORSCHE is working on cleaner fuels for ICE, what would happen if ICE became as clean as EV??
            If we get a clean Carbon free emission ICE vehicle??? EV’s would become dinosaurs again just like 100 years ago.

            This is why Companies are still building are perfecting ICE, a clean carbon free fuel would be a game changer (E85 is an example, but its too expensive ,E85, bio diesel, natural gas are all carbon free and would put ICE back in the GREEN GAME)

            Reply
            1. Look up the million mile battery and solid state battery tech. It’s around the corner. These will also be drastically cheaper.

              Sorry but ICE days are numbered.

              Reply
              1. LOL so u wont even acknowledge a carbon free fuel for ICE
                but I have to believe in a million mile battery…….. ROFLMAO

                CARBON FREE FUELS LIKE E85, bio diesel and Natural Gas already exist and are being perfected(all the Buses in my town run on Natural Gas for example)
                MY 2012 Chevy truck runs on E85( a carbon free fuel) if they ever get the cost down on any of these alternatives. Thats why ICE motors are still being used and perfected,

                Reply
              2. LOL so u wont even acknowledge a carbon free fuel for ICE
                but I have to believe in a million mile battery…….. ROFLMAO

                CARBON FREE FUELS LIKE E85, bio diesel and Natural Gas already exist and are being perfected(all the Buses in my town run on Natural Gas for example)
                MY 2012 Chevy truck runs on E85( a carbon free fuel) if they ever get the cost down on any of these alternatives. Thats why ICE motors are still being used and perfected,
                ICE motors are a series of smaller components, that can be replaced and repaired much cheaper then EV’s. EV’s are basically a series of big expensive parts( battery and motor) yes its a less complicated system of parts, but it is going to be more expensive to repair and replace( the manufacturers of the components will make sure of those costs, its how business works) If there are less components , those components will become more expensive to maintain a proper profit margin.

                Reply
              3. 1 million miles?
                Diesel powered ICE Semi-Trucks have been doing this for decades….
                Most Diesel are designed with a minimum of 500,000 miles lifespan and 1 million miles is not uncommon

                LOOK THAT UP

                Reply
              4. @Nebula just because you bend over backwards for an electric cars doesn’t mean everybody else thinks the same. In my opinion ICE vehicles will be here for a long time just saying it’s in possible for them to be phased out quickly like some people think when they’ve literally been here for 100 years

                Reply
            2. It depends on how one defines better. To me having an onboard energy convert is superior. As modern cars have many onboard systems that require energy. The ICE powers many systems while getting the advertised range. More solid state components are not better for the earth. We do not recycle circuit boards presently. We only strip what valuable metals that we can. Solid state and lithium batteries will be the same. So more landfills of batteries because they will not last.

              Carbon free is nonsense. If people want carbon free I encourage them to cease to exist and the same for companies that say they will be carbon free. People of the world should also figure out how to plug up volcanos as they emit so much C02 the EU would truly loose their mind. Then again there is no evidence that plant life can’t intake anymore C02. Things grow very well on this planet presently.

              ICE will not go anywhere. Once the stupid politicians realize that there is more behind the scenes of a AC outlet. They will scramble to keep the world running. As people who are smart will reject buying into their new “green” world solutions. As the only thing green about it is the money required for it and the money that certain players will make.

              People are also fleeing the cities. So these EV autonomous boxes will be a joke in the future.

              Reply
              1. Battery recycling is already well underway, there are several companies starting up that will assist with battery recycling and reuse.

                Reply
      2. It is not a small amount of juice to run all of the systems. AC requires a lot of electricity. Think of your own utility bill for your house. Trying turning it off for a month and compare a month with it on. Or just do the math. If people in Canada and the colder American states actually buy EVs they will hate them in the winter time. As electric heat sources require a large sump of energy. This can’t be ignored. LED lights are very efficient so not much juice. Also audio systems depending on the power will draw a lot. Also people are in love with their I devices so those will be plugged in to. Have you ever used a laptop off of the charger and charged a device via USB? It drains the battery fast. Since everyone is lazy and wants all of these additional safety systems that will require more energy. Generating/broadcasting a signal requires energy.

        Assuming proper maintenance a ICE vehicle will outlast the EV vehicle. Retaining the same mileage that the manufacture advertised when it was created. EVs will not be this way. Computers do not return their same performance throughout their lifetime.

        Having an onboard energy conversion source will always be the superior method. Whether that is gasoline, diesel, synthetic fuels, Natural gas, or hydrogen.

        Consumers who actually buy EVs will have to change their driving habits. Maybe no audio, no AC usage, and driving the vehicle like a virgin to make the mileage livable.

        Also your last point is why the world has a problem now. Over consumption is what is the problem. It is a bad mindset. Someone else will have to deal with the useless batteries that no one is talking about recycling.

        Reply
  4. I originally thought that the Stop-Start technology was a revolutionary idea, save fuel, save the environment, who wouldn’t want that?
    Yeah, until I bought a car with it….
    It activates when you don’t want it to – when you pull up to a stop sign and are stopped for a second or two – when you pull up to a stoplight and your A/C is on and it’s 100° outside (so then your A/C’s output drops to maybe 25%) – or when you barely come to a complete stop in a line at the drive-thru/turn-lane/parking lot etc.
    Then, when you think it would activate – stopped at a long stoplight – waiting for a train etc. it doesn’t.
    I have, sometimes, been able to get it to if I push the brake exceptionally hard, but only maybe 30-40% of the time can I get it to work when I actually want it to.

    The car I have (Malibu) does not have the deactivation button, and if it did, having to push it EVERY SINGLE TIME I turn the car on is ridiculous.

    I applaud GM for coming up with revolutionary ways to save fuel and reduce carbon emissions, but the millions spent in the engineering department every month needs to be better monitored and more effort needs to be spent on actual, real-world R&D – this technology is well meaning but very poorly executed and only portrays an ATTEMPT at doing good.

    Reply
    1. Just remember(like adding the deactivation button) this is new technology and GM will make it better.
      R&D is fine but the real world has to test it too, once GM or other Car makers have time to perfect this technology, I am sure it will be become less of an annoyance and more revolutionary . Give it time to be perfected and refined. Think about the Automatic transmission, in the past five years car makers have gone from 6 to 10 gears as an example and they sure have made them better. The 10 speed auto is way better than the old 6 speed because its taken time to refine them in the real world. Anyway give it a chance, there are so many new systems in cars now and they do take time to refine , R&D is great but the real world is the true test of these systems.

      Reply
    2. David C: You are 100% correct. I had a 2014 Malibu. Car was great. Loved it and it did get fantastic MPG on the highway. However, I traded it in after only 6 months because of two things. First and mostly due to the start/stop. Like you said, if I could have deactivated it, I would have and would have kept the car a lot longer. Second reason? The lower front air dam was so low that I couldn’t pull in/out of any drive without it scraping and making a lot of noise.

      But my more recent experience is with the Volvo line where I work. Mazda (thankfully) doesn’t use the start/stop, but they do have a cylinder deactivation feature that will shut off 2 of the 4 cylinders when at a stop. You can still feel it, but nothing as bad as the start/stop feature. Now let’s talk about Volvo! Terrible system and just like you said, it will not function when you think it would. Yet it will shut off at the most stupid and inopportune times. Nothing more frustrating than when you are in heavy LA traffic and inching forward in hopes of dashing through an opening when turning left only to have the stupid thing shut off and then shudder when it turns back on. However, you just lost the needed time to make the turn. Thankfully they have a switch to turn it off and it will stay off!

      Reply
  5. The start stop is not a big deal as long as GM continues to include the shut off button.

    Rube Goldberg items like this and the displacement on demand are all done for better EPA numbers in mpg and emissions.

    A good number of the engines we have today would not be if not for these odd technologies.

    In the real world you see little gain but in testing these tricks work and help keep V8 and V6 engines still viable.

    No these are not save a tree tech they are to make numbers in controlled testing.

    As for EV models they will work and if they run out of power it is not the cars fault it is the driver just as it is with the many ICE models out of fuel every day.

    If you hate EV at least have a legitimate b@#$h. Also cut the hate as ICE is not going to vanish in ten years. It will be here at least 30 years and more. The only places with out will be the odd ball places like California. Only a national act would kill them anytime soon. Something to think about when you vote.

    I am an ice fan but the ignorance on EV models by some kill me. They are coming and we all need to be informed and informed correctly. It makes the future a lot easier to accept.

    Reply
    1. The future is not written in stone, if ICE gets a carbon free fuel, EV’s will again be relegated to the past.

      Think about it, remember Fluorocarbons?? We still have Hairspray and spray paint right, they changed the propellant to a carbon free formula. There are many companies working on an alternate propellant for ICE, a carbon free fuel that will not harm the environment.

      Reply
      1. They also have been working on a cure for cancer just as long too.

        Right now the most progress is in EV models and they are the only thing viable as an alternative. Fuel cells are next but they have a number of major issues to resolve and may on,y be viable in fleet use. I know I have driven one already.

        The actual truth is ICE and gasoline as we know it is not going away. It is going to be here and people as they can will migrate to EV as it gets cheaper but a good number will remain with ICE.

        The real change to ICE is compression ignition engines. Mazda and GM already have them. We just need better fuels to really take advantage of them.

        The future will be a mix of things but regulations and advancements still favor EV and ICE as we know it.

        The wild card here is development cost? ICE cost are continuing to climb and are not expected to get cheaper. But EV will become cheaper as more are built just as any other electrical item like a phone, TV or computer.

        Often the price of the electronic drops then stabilizes. Then they bring more to it at that price. $2300 lap tops today cost the same but are much more faster and capable than similar models from 10 years ago.

        The drawing card here for MFG is that prices on parts like batteries will drop. Less workers will be needed to build cars with less parts and much less expensive federal testing. This will add more profits at a similar price s continuing riding cost with less profits.

        Reply
  6. Start/stop = Junk! My 2018 Equinox had it, killed the battery, burnt the battery cable, cost me $600 to fix!

    Reply
    1. Dan,

      I’m not sure I follow? How did the start/stop kill the battery and burn the cable? Not saying it didn’t. Just asking how or if you know that was what caused it for sure. I hate the start/stop feature, but I’ve never heard of it doing something like that.

      Reply
  7. Useless technology. It just causes more wear on certain parts. It is similar to this whole so called “green” push for cars. No one will see the power plants in their back yard or how bad it is mining for lithium. Or that batteries are going to pile up in landfills. In the USA most places do not even recycle regular batteries. It is out of sight out of mind in a landfill so who cares.

    The beauty in all of this is that, people can protest with their hard earned dollars. If one does not like or support something just don’t buy it. The market will adapt like always.

    Reply
    1. Oh stop it. I hate these systems too but get real.

      These systems operate generally with few issues. They do not wear parts out sooner as they are designed with parts to do this work.

      As for recycling I’f there are tons of batteries with valuable elements available they will be recycled before the car is scrapped and they will be.

      Now if you want to piss and moan do it on the fact companies have to add these systems to meet government numbers on test that really don’t work in real daily driving.

      Things like start stop and displacement on demand can not be measured in the real world. They earn what is called off cycle credits that reward them a predetermined credit as to what they think it will improve.

      Yet in real world things like displacement on demand add little just as this start stop unless you are in non moving LA traffic for long periods of time. The guy in podunk KY will see no gain just as 90% of everyone else.

      Reply
  8. with the libs in charge of EPA look for more of this to make driving a ICE car to be a pain in the a-s so you buy a EV

    Reply
    1. motorman, should we all stick with the 70’s and keep breathing in massive amounts of pollution while the earth implodes?

      I don’t like the start/stop either, but come on. Time to retire that worn out excuse.

      Reply
      1. i am 86 years old and breathed all that pollution and even contributed to a lot of it as i owned just about every hi per car that GM ever built including 11 new corvettes. spent my youth and middle aged at a lot of race tracks as a race engine builder breathing in all that pollution and i am a lot healthier than my friends close to my age who smoked. more people die from the results of smoking than auto pollution. let us do away with smoking because 400,000 people in the USA die every year from the results of smoking.

        Reply
        1. @motorman: It sounds like you have led a very nice life filled with lots of fun. But back to the comments, I can agree that smoking is terrible and the world would be a better place without it. But saying that you are 86 and breathed in a lot of pollution does not make it what we should keep doing. Don’t take me wrong, I’m a true motor head and love my cars. But I also want me children to be able to breathe in better air. I want less people to die from pollution related stuff. I’d love to see our world do everything we can to preserve it and make it a better place while allowing those of us who loved cars/car related stuff to do our hobby responsibly.

          Reply
          1. dan, the air today is 100 times cleaner than it was 60 / 70 years ago when people were still burning coal to heat their homes. i remember the snow was black from the soot. you can only make things so clean till cars are going to get so expensive the costs out weight the results. like i posted above stop people from smoking and it will save more lives. do you think that the taxes the govt collects from tobacco is the reason they don’t do it ??

            Reply
            1. Brings back memories of the coal truck pulling up. A steel framed canvas bucket was loaded from the trucks chute and carried on the back of the delivery man which he carried to the chute to the coal room.
              About 20 trips to the ton, which is what we used each winter along with firewood and anything else that burned. Within a few days of a fresh snowfall the landscape was black with soot. Ah the good old days. lol

              Reply
  9. It’s completely unacceptable for a start-stop to be re-enenabled at every ignition cycle. Does anybody understand how annoying that would be? Not to mention eventually having to replace the button because it’s worn out.

    If you want to include start-stop and enable it by default, that’s fine. But if you want to turn it off it should stay off. I know somebody with a BMW that supports start-stop but it actually stays off.

    Reply
    1. If you could turn it off by default, GM would lose Greenie points in CAFE. They already lose some by having a disable button at all. I already turn off my tire monitor warning every start, so it isn’t that big a deal.

      Reply
  10. I haven’t read all the comments to this article but according to GM one of the reason for the expansion of their EV product line is cost and range. With the Ultium battery technology they have reduced the cost of battery along with increased range. I think expected range is around 400 miles for many of their EV’s. And remember, these are what’s called pouch style batteries. A style that provides a lot of advantages. Then, remember, if you get your costs down on the batteries; which is more complex: an ICE or EV? Plus, with their ‘skateboard’ platform, GM is able to easily provide a variety of vehicles. Then, for Class 7 & 8 EV trucks, GM will be a supplier of their Hydrotec fuel cell technology; but that’s a topic for another day.

    Reply
  11. Guess i will wait until a decent looking Cadillac returns like the stylish Coup DeVille in a beautiful 2 door Hardtop. “No piller”. With georgous wheel covers and white wall tires.

    Reply

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