So on the Acura website they show the electronic shifter with what clearly looks like the engine auto stop/start button



but on CNET the picture is missing it.

scroll down to see the console pic:

http://www.cnet.com/products/2015-acura-tlx-sedan/

So is this in the US spec car or not? Did anyone that got to sit in the production car at the show notice if it had the button? The Acura site says they are showing the Advance interior, but why would that only be on the Advance? A few other reviews mention it being in the car, but why is it missing in the CNET pic?

 

^^ Could only a certain trim have the start/stop feature? For example, on the V6 SH-AWD while the V6 with P-AWS would not?

 

^ That makes most sense.

Stop start better be a smooth and responsive operation..

 

My A6 has it and while not silky smooth it is not horrible. It engages when car comes to full stop and brake is depressed hard. As soon as your foot lifts off it starts, but you clearly feel the car shudder as it starts up. I like most people disable it, but I can see it being handy if you are trying to save every bit of fuel. Personally I feel the constant re-starting of the engine is more wear than I care to put the engine through. If I were on a 3 year lease I would leave it on and let next owner deal with it.

 

I watched the Temple of VTEC video with Matt Hargett and waited for them to talk about the electronic gear selector. This video was done in the V6 model that was at the New York International Auto Show. I'm not sure if that was the Tech or Advance model (anyone know?), but I took the screenshot below and it doesn't have the button, either :

 

I am wondering if it is in the European/Asian spec car since it is more a common feature over there.

 

^^ That could be. One way or the other, I would never use that feature if it was available here in Canada. As you stated, this technology seems to be asking for trouble in the long run.....I enjoyed the VCM in the RDX and unlike some members here, our RDX seemed to be very smooth in the transition and didn't exhibit any problems/symptons such as vibration. The fuel efficiency was evident that VCM worked.

I am all for saving a little bit of fuel but not as obsessed as some.....

 

I believe that the auto start/stop will only be on SH-AWD models. All of the P-AWS models I have seen do not show any kind of button to shut off the feature which leads me to believe it is not there on those models.

 

^^ We seem to think alike.

 

This would explain the fuel economy of the SH-AWD version that kind of freaked me out when I first saw it.

 

This is correct. It has been addressed somewhere on here before. It is only on the SH-AWD. Probably to get the EPA numbers up a little. Odd though that they would not put it on all the cars for the same reason.

On the 3-series it is really noticeable and annoying. You can defeat it but you have to do it each time you start the car. On the new Mini it is on both engines and very well integrated. Hardly noticeable. And the car remembers the defeat so once you turn it off it stays off.

 

It would be cool to have this.....

 

The current MY 3 series will remember the last setting. It's still rough, but it's at least permanently defeatable (iirc, the EPA city test doesn't give much benefit towards auto-stop-start, since it doesn't have any long stops that would overcome the amount of energy/gas used in restarting the engine).

 

My jaguar in GERMANY on the autobahn had an auto stop/start feature and there is no way I'd disable it unless I was in a SERIOUS street race. Even if you are driving fairly aggressive, you are just not going to jump your right foot from the break to gas that quickly (like sub-300ms) under normal circumstances. The engine is ready to go after like 300 ms... so considering that seems to be the standard start-up time with cars that have this feature (also in the Mercedes C-class I took on the autobahn) I would expect Acura to engineer equally quick engine restarting.

 

I don't think it's the "quickness" that people are worried about that the engine won't be "ready for them".

I think a huge aspect is the wear and tear you'll put on the starter by having this feature..... Also, the fact that it's not quite as seamless as people like. (eg. feeling the car start everytime you release the brake), especially if you're only creeping in traffic.

 

The cars I tried with the feature did not shut down in creeping traffic - you would have a very distinct sense of how hard pressing the break would or would not let it kick in. In other words, worrying about nothing

As per wear and tear that is interesting! Since you are going to get tens of thousands of starts and stops within the car's warranty period, I think if it was engineered crappy enough to fail, thankfully it will fail within warranty?? Well, only time will tell!!!

 

They engineer the starter for all the extra wear and tear, my bigger concern is engine wear over long haul and then what happen when you are at the light left foot off brake and the starter fails and you are stuck now at the intersection basically stalled.

 

Another thing to think about is what happens to the HVAC system when the Stop-Start system kicks in.

I was once in an Insight, and what it did was shut off the AC compressor, and only powered the fan. On a day when the temperature was 90 degrees, I was sweating it as a passenger inside that car.

My feeling is, I want to be cool and comfortable at a stoplight!

 

Yes, on the smaller cars (Insight, CRZ), the compressor shuts off when the engine shuts off. On the larger cars, they use an electric compressor so it doesn't get warm as you wait.

 

In the Jaguar I rented it was interesting - I think it determined whether to stop the engine or not based on energy load - so when the stereo was PUMPING and A/C full blast, the engine wouldn't even stop at stop lights.

I have a lot of faith in the engineers to do this feature right... from the first generation. User experience engineering is given a lot of consideration in the past 5 years...

 

There is a hole set of logic that the engine goes through to decide if it shuts off or not. Not sure how Acura will implement it, but other cars won't start/stop until the engine is up to temp, or if there is stop n go traffic, or any number of other reasons. On the Mini you can just lift off the brake momentarily and the engine restarts even if you are still stopped. Ultimately you can always just defeat it if the circumstances warrant... or you just don't want it.

 

With my wife's CR-Z, it was easy to defeat the auto-stop. Just leave it in a gear

6 speed manual FTW!

 

Wouldn't you be wearing out the throw-out bearing?:p

 

Stop/Start, in my opinion is only good for gas mileage. There will be more wear/tear to everything else. My friend has a '13 Mercedes C300 and hates it. Has to defeat it by turning that feature off everytime you start the car. I personally don't like it when I ride in it. You do notice the motor turning off/on. Not a lot, but you just feel it. Just another feature to go wrong and leave you stranded. It should be the other way around, the default for stop/start be turned off and not on. If they had to do something to improve mileage, then cylinder deactivation would be better, although I don't like that either.

 

Unlikely. I had 200k on my clutch/throwout bearing and it was still doing good when i pulled it out to put the light weight flywheel in. I almost never take my foot off the clutch or take it out of gear.