Did You Just Stall? - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited December 2015 in Acura
imageDid You Just Stall? - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

Auto Start-Stop convinced a passenger that we'd stalled our 2015 TLX at a red light.

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Comments

  • yellowbalyellowbal Member Posts: 234
    The stop-start feature needs to be invisible. I think Mercedes has the right idea with the starter/generator/48V. If the generator can keep the engine spinning and cut fuel, the driver will not feel any difference during the stop.
  • 7driver7driver Member Posts: 145

    When a feature makes a shopper think something is wrong with a car, maybe it's time to put that feature to bed.

    Shoppers can and will adapt.

  • reminderreminder Member Posts: 383
    I won't buy a vehicle that has such a feature.
    That's how I'll adapt.
  • nate001nate001 Member Posts: 102
    Why don't they play fake engine noise though the sound system. so you don't know its shutdown, unless you look at the tach.

    Also this car has a great gauge panel and the above photo is a great example of the difference between a digital screen and analog gauges, so far there is no way to accurately replicate digitally the reflections and shadows that analog gauges make.
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    Is it to save fuel ? I don't like my car shutting of as I am never more then a minute or 2 at a stop light. How much fuel can it save in a 30 minute ride ?
    Its a pain in the backside.
  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    I can see, if you drive in a highly congested area, Stop-Start saving fuel. But I've always wondered if you notice a drastic difference in the performance of the Heater/AC unit when the car shuts itself off. Here in Texas, the temps can break a 100 easily during the Summer. The last thing I would want is for the AC to suddenly stop trying to freeze me. During the Winter, it can hover in the high teens, low twenties. Since your heater is dependent on the circulation of coolant through the engine block, I wonder how that affects that side as well.

    Then the gearhead in me kicks in and thinks...how will that affect my time off the line?
  • brauchbrauch Member Posts: 19
    daryleason, many cars with start/stop have auxiliary electric water pumps to keep engine coolant flowing when the engine shuts off.
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    I trust you showed your friend the only control that matters for adaptive cruise, the switch that turns OFF the adaptive feature.
  • hank39hank39 Member Posts: 144
    I've never driven a car with start/stop feature, so here's my question: Say you're stopped at a yield sign and you're needing punch the gas to merge into traffic, how bad is the lag time? This could potentially change my driving style in these types of situations. Would hate to punch the gas and it take a couple of secs for it register and then the opportunity to merge was missed and potentially me causing an accident?
  • schen72schen72 Member Posts: 433
    hank39 said:

    I've never driven a car with start/stop feature, so here's my question: Say you're stopped at a yield sign and you're needing punch the gas to merge into traffic, how bad is the lag time? This could potentially change my driving style in these types of situations. Would hate to punch the gas and it take a couple of secs for it register and then the opportunity to merge was missed and potentially me causing an accident?

    The auto-stop systems start up much faster than a normal car. I drove a rental BMW 328i (4-cyl turbo) with auto-stop and by the time I moved my foot from the brake to the gas pedal, the engine was ready to go. Now, this was under normal surface street driving. If you are looking to drag race you'd probably want to override the feature pushing the defeat button.
  • farvyfarvy Member Posts: 34
    Stop/Start isn't going away. With the increased CAFE standards coming, automakers need to wring out every last drop of fuel. This is despite the need for safer vehicles & increased consumer content, both of which increase vehicle weight. This is why engines are being downsized & getting turbos. This is why aluminum is becoming more prevalent. Every drop of fuel counts, every gram of weight counts. You don't like it? Turn it off when you start the car. It becomes second nature like fastening your seat belt & turning on the radio. I turn mine off most of the time, but when coming up to a light that I know is long, I'll flip it on & let the car konk out.

    That was fail on the salesman to your sister not explaining it. Also, did she ever think about cracking open the manual in the glove box? Nope - too difficult for most people. Could have at least googled it from a smart phone while in the car sitting in a parking lot.

    Edmunds did a test. For the most part it works. Who wouldn't want a 10% fuel economy increase? I know, lots of people.
    http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/do-stop-start-systems-really-save-fuel.html
    "Our 328i GT used 3.1 gallons with the system off and 2.8 gallons with it on, a savings of 9.5 percent. That works out to 91 cents saved in 80 miles. Calculated fuel economy rose from 26.2 to 28.7 mpg.
    The Jaguar did a little better, which makes sense when you're talking about a thirstier V8. It consumed 4.1 gallons with the system off and 3.6 with it on, a reduction of some 10.9 percent. At local prices that returned $1.47 to our pocket. Corresponding fuel economy increased from 19.7 to 22.1 mpg.
    This, of course, begs the question of what would have happened if we had run the air-conditioning on a hot day. We saved that test for the Mini Cooper. We ran both loops with the automatic temperature control set to 74 degrees.
    It used 2.7 gallons with A/C on and stop-start off, and that shrank slightly to 2.6 gallons with stop-start up and running. That works out to a modest fuel savings of 2.9 percent, with fuel economy climbing from 30.0 to 30.9 mpg. At this point we ran a third loop with the system engaged and the air-conditioning off and the savings shot up to 9.5 percent at 33.2 mpg.
    The Verdict
    All three of our test subjects delivered the estimated 10 percent in city traffic. People who live in particularly tough traffic areas with long wait times could do even better. And the systems were mostly easy to live with. Restarts were fairly seamless and seemed appropriately quick for drivers who use the same foot for throttle and brake. Two-footed drivers who left-foot brake, on the other hand, could find themselves ahead of the engine restart cycle. Functionally, stop-start doesn't take very long to get used to — in our three test cars, at least. The biggest obstacle is mental: overcoming that sinking feeling that your engine just died. Once you get past that, you'll welcome the silence.
    On the other hand, if it turns out you just don't like it or it doesn't suit your driving style that "off" button is not far out of reach."
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Would be interesting to see how many drivers with start/stop will disable it if it bugs them. Judging by the general inability to ignore things that bother some folks like TV or radio shows (just turn the channel, right?), I'm thinking some of them enjoy hearing themselves complain :)
  • maxtremaxtre Member Posts: 5
    Then there is the whole issue of wear and tear. Isn't the hardest thing on an engine startup?
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Especially the starter.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2015
    All you have to do is just build the parts for the duty cycle and spec the "right" oil for the application.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Or keep a hammer handy for tapping the starter ;)

    That still works, right?
  • cube1uscube1us Member Posts: 5
    I test drove a 2016 TLX, and the start/stop drove me bonkers. It was way slower than I wanted - and I drive pretty conservatively. It wasn't enough to dissuade me from buying that car, but the 9 speed ZF was enough. 8P
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