Mazda CX-5 Forums
Technical Section => Engine/Transmission/Powertrain/Exhaust => Topic started by: BigAl on October 05, 2016, 01:09:16 pm
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Something I've just realised. Since I had my 2nd service (1 year, just over 23k miles) done I'm pretty sure that the i-stop has not been cutting the engine out as it normally would. It's definitely not switched off... It may be connected to the cooler weather, but that wouldn't explain it during normal driving? Anyone else had this?
Alan
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Well for me, it seems pretty closely linked to how much I have the A/C switched on (since that frequently reduces the amount it switches the engine off). First thing in the morning when it's damp and/or frosty, I find I need the A/C to stop the windows getting steamed up - so i-stop has reduced effect. Later in the day when it's no longer 'hot' I find I tend to switch the A/C off and hence i-stop comes into use a lot more. Other than that, I've not noticed any significant change.
Personally I'm a big fan of i-stop and I'm sure it's saving me money. I deliberately changed my driving style to accommodate it when I first got the car and now it's automatic. :)
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After 12 months of ownership I still haven't quite fathomed out the requisite conditions under which i-stop is supposed to work.
I generally travel distances of no shorter than 30km so the battery always remains pretty much topped up. That said, when I fire the engine up in our underground garage the blue light illuminates 99.9% of the time and it revs up like fury. OK that's fine - the engine is still warming up. However, I then reverse out of my parking bay and drive up a short ramp before exiting the garage and meeting the road ahead where I then am obliged to stop.
And here's the crux - if I forget to turn off i-stop, which I normally do by habit but occasionally forget, then when stopped at the top of the ramp i-stop cuts in. So, a starting charge has been taken out of the battery, the blue light is still illuminated indicating cold conditions, the A/C is running but still the i-stop function operates. I am forced to ask myself then, exactly what conditions have to be met because everything that I have been led to believe has now been shot down in flames. In fairness though, it doesn't disturb me all that much because I am of the opinion that this function is yet another gimmick (yes I know others have differing opinions which I respect) and turn the blessed thing off more often than not.
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Mmm interesting, both of our cars I stop has never operated whilst the AC was running in either mode, I don't think the blue light is any way linked to I-stop operating system but that's just my opinion, just a temperature light what does amaze me is how fast these petrol sky active engines warm up, from over night parking to leaving the village the blue light goes out during summer months.
Reference the conditions Deeps it has to be above a certain engine temperature obviously as you know also battery power and drain/usage at that particular time, ive messed around with this over the years and noticed that if I turn down the fan from 3 to 2, or turn off AC even the lights sometimes the I stop kicks in, that includes the opposite switching these things on when engine stopped starts the engine up.
I have become used to this gimmick now and the only time I manually switch off I stop is when its really busy with lots of slow moving traffic where I know the system will kick in a dozen times.
I've had to edit this post today 10/10/16 the I stop kicked in whilst AC-ECO was on at 18.5 and 19 degrees. This happened with the 2016 model. I then turn the temp down to 15 degrees and the engine started up.
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If it's any help I'm pretty sure the i-stop doesn't kick in at all if the heater is set to 'screen'.
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yeah that's right as the fan turns on to highest setting, been a while since I had to use that feature but its a good safety critical feature
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Most times I find it OK. It does occasionally catch me out though. The worst occasion was in a queue on a steep ramp into a Multi-storey car park. Stop go all the way. Just as I went to go forward and took the hand brake off it went into I-stop! Not nice but caught it on the brake fortunately.