Has anyone figured out how to disable the auto engine shutoff:
Should tell you in your owners manual.
I should have been more clear. I want to permanently disable it. I have to turn it off each and every time I start the engine.
They call it a “feature” and most new vehicles come with it.
You can’t do that , and if you have someone disable the Stop/Start completely your warranty will be void .
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Luckily I was able to disable that feature on my 2020 Ford F-150 pickup by unplugging something near the battery. No more start/stop stuff. I found that info using YouTube. You should do the same.
This is the great divide again. We’ve had this conversation before. Half the people love it and the other half hate it. The ones that hate it should be able to get rid of it.
For one, most of them have programs that disable it if things like the hood is ajar. So you can always disconnect or whatever the hood ajar to make it think the hood is open. But you’ll probably then get a constant message on the dash. If you do some deep searching, there were a couple of instructions to do a deep computer re-programming for certain models. Probably need a 13 year old to help with that. Then there was another one that sold a box or something to unscramble it. Even with that though you are still stuck with the heavy duty expensive starter and the high cost glass pack battery. I don’t know for sure but due to different charging requirements, I don’t think you can just swap batteries.
So best to just avoid cars with it. So far I’ve done that except for rentals. I have a hard time understanding how disabling a feature can affect an unrelated warranty claim. Might be a nice court test.
You forgot the third group - not crazy about it, but learned to live with it. I’d give it a month, see if you can do likewise, maybe learn some driving actions that’ll minimize the irritation.
So best to just avoid cars with it.
Exactly. OP doesn’t say, but why own a car with auto engine shutoff if you then want to permanently disable it? That’s like buying a compact sedan and asking how to tow a huge trailer. Can’t be done.
The answer to your question is “sell the car and buy one without the feature”. It should be at least another 10 years before we start having serious issues with finding cars that don’t have this. For the record, I’m a big proponent.
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I had a BMW rental in Europe about 8 years ago with it. At first, I found it annoying and unsettling. After a while, I got more used to it and it wasn’t a problem anymore. I wasn’t going to do anything to a rental car, of course. If your Subie is new, You might give it some time. Maybe you will get used to it. I’ve found that if I let something bother me, it will continue to bug me. If I ignore it, I usually get used to it.
+1
Hopefully he will perform his due diligence much more thoroughly before buying his next vehicle.
I’ve given it 18 months and still hate it. What if they decided to make lane control mandatory, and eliminate the ability to shut it off? Any actions I take while driving or sitting at a stop light distract me from what I should be doing, which is paying attention to the road and traffic.
Comments like “sell the car and buy one without the feature” are inane and useless, so please don’t waste my time.
Thanks for nothing. I did my due diligence and all the SUV’s I looked at in my price range had this “feature”.
Anyone who really likes to drive wants to control the vehicle, not have the vehicle control them.
Maybe some of these will help. Like said some folks are very supportive but I think the debate is whether it does anything at all unless you drive all the time in LA, NY, Chicago or similar. It makes people feel good that they are doing something.
Now on to modifications of the new garage door openers to use existing wall switches. I’m not there yet but close. Similar to the guy in the youtube soldering wires to the contacts. The Chinese aren’t the only ones that can reverse engineer some of this stuff.
Thank you, real answers are greatly appreciated! I will look at them.
The Auto Stop-Start can be disabled on your new 2020 Subaru Outback or Legacy.
If you have the 11.6-inch touchscreen menu, you can disable the system. When you are on the home screen, push the car icon button to change the settings and then click on “Others” allowing you to turn off the Auto Stop-Start system.
This feature is not available on the Forester or Crosstrek
Have you posted this question on a Forester forum?
Not yet. Just happened to get the CarTalk email today and it reminded me to find a way around this.
I played with web searching and found a place that claims to have a Plug and Play Module the keeps the Stop/Start feature inactive . They also claim that it can be removed in minutes so a person can have dealer service done with out raising red flags .
If I can do this it can’t be that hard .
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