Does anyone like the auto start/stop feature???

Originally Posted by bakmigm

Yes. I've grown to love this feature. Sometimes when it doesnt turn off, e.g if interior is still hot, it makes me realize how much gas I'm wasting. The only time it bothers me is when the stop light turns green as soon as it turns off. BMW can certainly improve the shudder. It's especially rough when you stop for too long and perhaps battery is low and it starts on its own.

+1 I love this feature on my car.. the wait for stop lights here often is around 2-3 minutes (and basically it only needs 4 seconds to start saving gas).

Either way, I don't see A.S.S. go away. They have it in Europe for over a year now (I believe 2 years or so already), more and more cars are getting it and in several years it will be a normal thing for everyone really.

The acronym for the auto start stop is ASS, how approperate

Well, I don't like it and I currently don't even own a BMW. The point is that features like ASS and RFT are a big turnoff to potential buyers - and many people won't even bother with a test drive due to these issues. I have owned several BMW's in the past - most recently a E60 535XI just under 2 years ago. I'm looking for a new car in September, and I'm not sure if I will even consider a 535.

Originally Posted by alex_c

No big deal. Just reprogram your settings with E-sys to remember the last state of the switch. That way, if you set it off, it will remain off forever.

I did it to mine, and it is on only when I want it to.

My 2012 stays off full time now after I took it to the dealer for service and asked them if there was a way to have off be the default setting.

I much prefer having it off by default and having the option to turn it on if I so chose.

The feature is quite annoying. I'm glad it can be switched off.

Even James May didn't like it and decided to switch it off in his M5 review. If ASS isn't for captain slow, it shouldn't be for anyone.

I'd be curious as to how much gas it really saves. The real gas consumption is accelerating away from a stop. I think it would have to sit for a long time to effect mileage enough to be worth it.

One question I have had - I assume the A/C quits blowing cold air - is this correct? BTW, I'm glad the 550 does not have it yet.

Originally Posted by jjsC6

I'd be curious as to how much gas it really saves. The real gas consumption is accelerating away from a stop. I think it would have to sit for a long time to effect mileage enough to be worth it.

One question I have had - I assume the A/C quits blowing cold air - is this correct? BTW, I'm glad the 550 does not have it yet.

It saves quite a bit of gas if you sit in Houston traffic. Or DC traffic. Or LA traffic. Etc. If you don't sit in traffic, it's plain annoying.

I've had two loaners with it and enjoyed having it around town, not so much on the highway stop and go. It was nice to see the MPG number not move at all while at a light.

Yes, it does turn off the compressor. However, the air is still cold. If the cabin temp gets too warm, the engine will restart.

You guys realize that the most friction and wear are put on your engine when you are starting it. Also you are beating the hell out of your battery and starter.

I hope you guys are leasing, because the resale will drop like a rock. Good luck.

Originally Posted by ThoreauHD

You guys realize that the most friction and wear are put on your engine when you are starting it. Also you are beating the hell out of your battery and starter.

I hope you guys are leasing, because the resale will drop like a rock. Good luck.

The friction is when the engine has been sitting cold and the oil has pretty much settled into the pan. Not really an issue when the engine has only been off for a minute or two. As to the starter and battery, I have read several articles on the subject. Indications are that the starter has been beefed up enough to handle the load. As others have said, this is not really as new as we in the U.S. seem to think it is. Here from one article I found, not to mention that Toyota has sold millions in hybrids.

Stop-start isn’t new – VW introduced it on its ‘Umwelt’ Golf back in 1991.

But, more recently, the BMW Group has popularised such systems, selling over half a million stop-start BMWs and Minis since 2006, and many more makers are now bringing the technology to market.

Originally Posted by ThoreauHD

You guys realize that the most friction and wear are put on your engine when you are starting it. Also you are beating the hell out of your battery and starter.

I hope you guys are leasing, because the resale will drop like a rock. Good luck.

...And it does not beat the hell out of the battery because heavy instantaneous loads for short periods don't take much total energy. If it did, then the start/stop idea would be self defeating since the starting energy has to be put back in when the engine is running. As it stands, the amount that the starter takes is equal to about 3 - 4 seconds of power used at idle. Not to mention that the battery is expressly designed to provide power to impulse loads and does this better than most other things it is called upon to do in a car.

BMW use AGM batteries in our vehicle, it has a higher capacity and the a higher charge efficiency rate:

"Original BMW Battery with AGM technology.
Full power for your BMW and our environment.
In order to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, not only are intelligent vehicle and engine concepts required but so are innovative battery technologies. The Original BMW Battery with AGM Technology (AGM stands for 'Absorbent Glass Mat') is ideally suited to meeting the constantly growing energy requirements. The battery's increased performance capacity allows it to sustain important BMW EfficientDynamics measures like the Auto Start Stop function. These batteries are also maintenance-free and can be stored for long periods of time. The absorbent glass mat protects from corrosion and internal short circuits. The makes the Original BMW Battery with AGM Technology stronger and more durable than regular batteries – even at extreme temperatures. The acid in a battery with AGM technology is bound up 100% in glass fibre fleece mats for optimum recyclability and low environmental risk in the event of accidents. Original BMW Battery with AGM Technology – so your BMW always gets all the energy it needs, when it needs it.

Note: When your vehicle has already been fitted with AGM technology ex works, your battery must never be replaced with another technology. The power consumption of a calcium battery is too slow to be used in these vehicles.

The benefits at a glance:
• Superior performance compared to calcium batteries
• Maintenance-free, permanent capacity stability and long operating life
• Excellent functioning at low or high temperatures
• Can be charged and discharged easily
• 100% acid binding for optimum recyclability
• Low risk of corrosion and internal short circuits
• Exceptional protection from acid leaks and deflagration
• Secure starting of engines with high starting voltage requirements"

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/par...new_parts.html

It's one of the BIGGEST annoyances on the new models. The fact that you can't turn it off permanently is a major disappointment. One member summed it up nicely: "If I wanted a golf cart, I would have bought a golf cart."

Originally Posted by w5lx

It's one of the BIGGEST annoyances on the new models. The fact that you can't turn it off permanently is a major disappointment. One member summed it up nicely: "If I wanted a golf cart, I would have bought a golf cart."

Well said.

Originally Posted by w5lx

It's one of the BIGGEST annoyances on the new models. The fact that you can't turn it off permanently is a major disappointment. One member summed it up nicely: "If I wanted a golf cart, I would have bought a golf cart."

No test drive?

I hate it. It definitely puts unneeded wear and tear and stress on the engine. Got to find someone in the Boston area to code for me.

What a god awful feature. Took my 2011 535IX M-Sport in for an oil change yesterday and they gave me a new 528IX as a loaner. At first I forgot it had the auto start/stop until the engine chugged to a stop at the first light. Reminded me of a rented Prius I drove a couple of years ago. Tried it for another two miles until I gave up and turned it off. Then all through the day I had to remember to turn it off everytime I started the car, annoying.

Also, the 4 cylinder engine in this car really sucks. Sorry, no other way to put it. It has absolutely zero power on the freeway. Might as well been driving my Dad's old Buick. Totally took all joy out of driving a BMW. All you need is to take a test drive in this car to make you want to spend the extra money for something like a M-Sport. Getting my car back again was like night and day.

I picked up my third carbon black bimmer a couple weeks ago. I had a 2000 M5, a 2010 535i M sport, and now a 2013 535i M sport. Love the color!!! (obviously). The 2013 model feels larger than the 2010 model due to longer wheelbase. The auto start stop feature is weird, however; I haven't decided whether I like it or not. After I learned how to shut it off by pushing in the "off" feature below the start button, I felt more in control. Now I leave the feature activated depending on what kind of driving I'm doing. If few stops along the route and not much traffic, I leave it on. If lots of stops, I turn it off. Since I lease a new car every three years, I'm not concerned about wear and tear on the ignition or other parts, per se. I'm interested in seeing what the feature yields in terms of gas mileage compared to the 2010 535i I had previously which averaged about 19.2 MPG on average (I don't drive on long trips).The freaky thing about the feature is when you come to a stop sign and try to avoid having the engine stop by not coming to a complete standstill (which of course is illegal); you can prevent stalling by turning the steering wheel slightly or hitting the break a little harder....it gets to be a game between you and the car!! I'll probably end up going to the dealer and having the feature disabled.

I'm concerned that BMW is moving away from producing drivers' cars and moving towards having cars drive themselves!!!

I don’t really have a problem with auto start/stop but then again I don’t love it either. When I see its going to be a possible issue I just kick the shifter into sport mode and it doesn’t shut off. When I leave my neighborhood in the mornings I do that so it doesn’t shut off at the stop signs.

I’m all for anything that will help on gas mileage. Not because of the couple of pennies I save a year but because some overzealous politician who lives in an area where you can never go over 40 MPH will try to legislate smaller, no fun engines again just to meet some unrealistic gas mileage standard. There are too many kill-joys in DC.

Originally Posted by 530CE

I don’t really have a problem with auto start/stop but then again I don’t love it either. When I see its going to be a possible issue I just kick the shifter into sport mode and it doesn’t shut off. When I leave my neighborhood in the mornings I do that so it doesn’t shut off at the stop signs. . . .

I agree with your take on AS/S, but unless you really want to go into Sport mode, wouldn't it be just as easy to push the AS/S disable button under the engine Start/Stop button when starting up?

I usually use the DS mode to keep the engine on when I run into traffic in a intersection taking a left turn where a little more accelaration comes in handy.

If ASS really bothers you that much, take it to the dealer and tell your CA that you want the Last User mode update where it'll remember if your ASS was on or off.

Personally for me I got used to it after about a month and have learned to adjust when to lift off the brakes at a stop light. Plus it saves gas and seeing as how CA now has the highest gas prices in the nation nearing $5/gal (AVERAGE) I'm liking ASS better.

Originally Posted by AutoUnion

They should have left it only on the 528i. 535i and 550i should not have the stupid stop/start

The 550 doesn't have it yet. Not sure why but glad it's not there.

Originally Posted by jimpal

I agree with your take on AS/S, but unless you really want to go into Sport mode, wouldn't it be just as easy to push the AS/S disable button under the engine Start/Stop button when starting up?

I suppose I could but I use Sport mode a lot anyway due to all the hills around here so I'm moving the shifter back and forth anyway. There are some conditions it's appropriate and others its not. I think if I shut it off I wouldn't bother to reach up and turn it on when it would be of value.
My car is 5 months old and I'm pretty used to it. This is my 9th and so far hands down favorite BMW

Originally Posted by 530CE

My car is 5 months old and I'm pretty used to it. This is my 9th and so far hands down favorite BMW

My 2012 535xi is only my 5th BMW, but also my favorite.

Having the dealer reprogram before I pick up my car. The default will be off.