Start/Stop unavailable reason

[Boatie]

How high up a mountain is Utopia????? Without checking I believe altitude is a factor. Could be dreaming. What annoys me is the vague assurances and options the manual gives with no way of checking. At the moment my V90 has just come back from it's 2nd service with the oil level indicator 75% up the scale. Previously it's ALWAYS been at 100%. No dipstick (I'm told I don't need one) so I have to visit my dealer to put my mind at rest.


Rant over


Frank
V90

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by Boatie

How high up a mountain is Utopia????? Without checking I believe altitude is a factor. Could be dreaming. What annoys me is the vague assurances and options the manual gives with no way of checking. At the moment my V90 has just come back from it's 2nd service with the oil level indicator 75% up the scale. Previously it's ALWAYS been at 100%. No dipstick (I'm told I don't need one) so I have to visit my dealer to put my mind at rest.

Strange that older models like mine do allow the eDrive menus of the infotainment system to be interrogated to find out why the stop/start is inactive.

I was told by the dealer that 75% is the intended level, to allow for any rise due to DPF regeneration contamination issues.

[Quacker]

The most common reasons for my own cars not to stop-start are.

1. Engine not reached normal operating temperature.

2. Cabin temperature significantly as variance with the climate control setting.

3. Queuing in a stop-start situation, for instance at a McDonald's or a busy uncontrolled T junction. It will work once or twice but not subsequently until some speed has been attained.

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by MOzS90

So why does mine stop when the engine is clearly not at normal operating temp???

Maybe because the ambient temperature is high enough over a pre-set threshold?

Why bother second-guessing the system though? It does what it does and will warn if oil level or water temperature is at variance from 'normal'.

Personally I would welcome the stop-start system being disabled completely, although ideally it would be like the Honda and require far more brake pressure before the system allowed the engine to stop. That would [does in the Honda] give me far more intuitive predictable control over whether the engine stopped or not.

[Paul Wildsmith]

interesting thread. Despite sometimes wishing not to have stop/start, as its there I'd like it to work better. I'm finding if I don't use the car for a day, it won't work again. Last Friday it only started working after driving about 50 miles, then was a bit on and off later in the day. Happened to be going to the dealer for a polestar upgrade (read about it in Aprils VOC magazine!), and asked for it to be looked at. The service manager said it won't work if battery is less than 80% (but worried the battery doesn't hold a full charge for long), then after the technician looked at it was told the battery was at 75% (this after 100 miles drive that day), and that's about the highest charge they see cars with. So, if the charge is usually 75% and it needs 8-%, it's never going to be working properly. Have driven couple of other cars recently, eg Astra, Golf, and there systems worked perfectly!

[Quacker]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

interesting thread. Despite sometimes wishing not to have stop/start, as its there I'd like it to work better. I'm finding if I don't use the car for a day, it won't work again. Last Friday it only started working after driving about 50 miles, then was a bit on and off later in the day. Happened to be going to the dealer for a polestar upgrade (read about it in Aprils VOC magazine!), and asked for it to be looked at. The service manager said it won't work if battery is less than 80% (but worried the battery doesn't hold a full charge for long), then after the technician looked at it was told the battery was at 75% (this after 100 miles drive that day), and that's about the highest charge they see cars with. So, if the charge is usually 75% and it needs 8-%, it's never going to be working properly. Have driven couple of other cars recently, eg Astra, Golf, and there systems worked perfectly!

Yours should work perfectly, if not overly enthusiastically and often too. If your battery is original, it could be like many others of us, you have a substandard battery. Mine didn't charge properly from new and went completely flat a couple of times when stood unused for more than four days. The stop start hardly worked at all from new. At three months old it had a new replacement battery and everything has been great since. It has been twenty-one months since having the battery changed under warranty. The dealer came out to get the car from my yard because it would not unlock to enable the bonnet to be opened to charge the battery. They first said to call VOC to have it carted to them, but they are only two miles away with another dealer between us. All I had to say was "do you really want the other lot to see the car being carted away" and they were here within 10 minutes.

There's a lot to be said for supporting your local sheriff rather than one many miles away.

[nu11eaf]

Originally Posted by Paul Wildsmith

interesting thread. Despite sometimes wishing not to have stop/start, as its there I'd like it to work better. I'm finding if I don't use the car for a day, it won't work again. Last Friday it only started working after driving about 50 miles, then was a bit on and off later in the day. Happened to be going to the dealer for a polestar upgrade (read about it in Aprils VOC magazine!), and asked for it to be looked at. The service manager said it won't work if battery is less than 80% (but worried the battery doesn't hold a full charge for long), then after the technician looked at it was told the battery was at 75% (this after 100 miles drive that day), and that's about the highest charge they see cars with. So, if the charge is usually 75% and it needs 8-%, it's never going to be working properly. Have driven couple of other cars recently, eg Astra, Golf, and there systems worked perfectly!

Mine was like yours, after repeated complaints about it they finally agreed the battery was faulty and replaced it, its worked fine since.

[MOzS90]

Originally Posted by Quacker

Maybe because the ambient temperature is high enough over a pre-set threshold?

......ideally it would be like the Honda and require far more brake pressure before the system allowed the engine to stop. That would [does in the Honda] give me far more intuitive predictable control over whether the engine stopped or not.

Happened the other day when it was -2 degs outside air temp so I think my second guessing concern is justified. Your comment was a little patronising.

Having got over that I have had occasion where a slight increase in brake pedal pressure appears to have activated the stop whereas it didn’t before all at the same stop. Very similar to your Honda description. I’ve often wondered if this is built into the Volvo system too.

Maybe I have the faulty battery issue.

[nu11eaf]

In my experience a faulty battery will prevent stop/start from working at all, unless its been on charge and then it only worked for a few days at most then stopped working again.

[Paul Wildsmith]

thanks for comments. I think battery is most likely and expect I will have to spend most of my third warranty year repeatedly going back to the dealer with the issue until they agree!