LOVE my new SH-AWD/TLX/Tech
Wish there was a way to permanently disengage the above
Every time I start the car, I have to press the button
It should have been the reverse; if you want it engaged, press the button
Anyway, enjoying my new ride too much, to complain; just venting!
BTW: New ELS system; (NOT including DVD/A), & Acuralink traffic, are SIGNIFICANT improvements over my 2012 TL/Tech
Sound quality, & dynamic range are better, for DTS/CD's, CD's, HDD, & Ipod
As far as traffic, the old XM traffic, was horrendous; numerous main thoroughfares in NYC were omitted
New version, is realtime, on every venue

 

It's okay to vent! I think it's a common theme regarding the Idle Stop feature. Do as many of us have done, write Acura Customer Relations and let them know how you feel about Idle Stop.

So far, that is the only thing I have to complain about the SH-AWD.

Do me a favor, if you would.. test out a California Stop somewhere... slow down and almost come to a full stop, then give the car a bit of gas.. does the car hesitate then "jump" into 1st gear? I took mine in for that and was told that there is no fix for that as yet. They tried it on one other SH-AWD model they have on hand and it does the same.

Yes, great car!

 

I'm pretty ambivalent about the auto idle stop. I've gotten used to it and adapted my driving style for it, especially keeping a look out ahead of me and turning the engine back on ahead of time. A little annoying, but not a deal breaker or anything I rage about.

Now, if I could perma-disable auto stop and perma-enable brake hold, I think I'd be a much happier camper.

@Stew4HD: I've done California stops (a.k.a. rolling stops, a.k.a. moving violations, a.k.a. do it anyways or drivers here will honk at you) and haven't really noticed much hesitation unless I smash the gas.

 

A friend drives a BMW but as he is just over 100,000 miles and afraid of the bills coming his way, was asking about Acura.....he knows that I am a fan. So I told him to check out the TLX. He did a test drive yesterday and liked it but for him it was a little small. He did comment however that the Auto Idle Stop was extremely annoying and that he would just make "OFF" the default. I explained that as far as I know that is not an option. He immediately asked about Lexus. I agree with Stew that Acura has to hear about this from owners or potential owners if they will consider making a change. Just thought that it was interesting that for this guy, this feature was a deal breaker.

 

A good friend of mine was on the fence between a Q50S and a TLX Advance. She really liked both cars so we took an SH-AWD out for a spin. She also commented on the Idle Stop and asked why they would even have such a silly thing as a default. She ended up with the Q50S.

If I could change one thing about the car, it would be the Idle Stop

 

I've never understood the deal about idle stop as it's saving a bunch of fuel over the life of the car.

Either way, maybe the dealer can program it off with the Honda Diagnostic System. I know they could code certain things on the RL in 2005 so they probably have advanced a bit.

 

From what I have read, a 6cyl will burn maybe 0.3 to 0.5 gals per hour idling. Over the life of a car, would we spend a total of 10-20 hours idling? If so, at 20 hours, one might save 10 gallons during that time.

I guess the big picture is X number of cars will save Z times 10 gallons over time.

The feature is bizarre, to say the least, at times. I pull into my parking space at work, the car goes into Idle Stop, I push P and the car restarts just so that I can shut it off as soon as it starts.

If there wasn't such a lag from start to transmission engaging, I wouldn't mind the feature. It may be that mine is bugged in that I get the shift lag even when I turn off Idle Stop. In shift lag I mean that the car doesn't downshift into first unless I am fully stopped for a few seconds. If I don't wait, the engine revs up as if in 3rd gear in a low powered take off then first gear kicks in and I get the lurch from that. I've mentioned this issue before and have taken it in the dealer to no avail. I was told that the other SH-AWDs on the lot did the same thing but no one else here has mentioned this issue.

I have bitched loudly to ACR. Of course I get nothing but "Sorry you are having problems. I am here is you need me". Just try calling the rep when you want to talk.. the call rolls right into voice mail and you might get a all back or you might not.

In as much as I really like the way the car drives, I like everything about it except for this and it's become more annoying instead of less during the 3 months of ownership. If I could swap my car out for a FWD Advance today, I would do so in heartbeat. I dislike the way Idle Stop works on my car that much.

/endrant (I know, my fanboi status has just taken a hit... waaaah)

 

^^ Maybe your fanboy takes a hit but your credibility shoots up

 

I didn't realize the idle stop was only on the SH-AWD cars until you made this comment. I have always wondered what the long term effects might be on a car with idle stop, besides just starters and batteries. Hopefully, they will find a software fix to make it better for you.

Do you turn it off now when you get in your car, or do you still try to make it work?

 

It's amazing that something as simple as making the Idle Stop/Start automatic only when in the TLX is in the eco mode and then making it driver enabled for normal, sport and sport + modes would have saved all these gripes.

Acura...come on, make this software update!

 

I don't mind it until I'm pulling into my garage to park and the idle stop kicks in. As soon as i put the car in park, the engine starts back up and then I turn the engine off. That's not only super annoying but adds unneccesary wear and tear.

 

I suspect it's all about the CAFE standards.

 

Yeah, it would seem to be a simple check in software that if the engine is already off, don't turn it on when going to Park.

To avoid this, I've gotten in the habit of generally just turning off the car after enabling the parking brake while still in Drive.

 

^^ I know that its all about these standards but why would the V6 FWD not have it yet the SH-AWD would. In my opinion, just another great idea/concept poorly implemented but still salvageable if Acura was really interested in building a GREAT car

 

Agree 100%. It's one of those "wth were they thinking" situations

I am taking my car in tomorrow about this idle/shift problem. It's to the point of aggravation to me. The Texas lemon law may need to be tested soon.

 

^^ Best of luck and keep us posted. I have lots of respect for all you guys and I appreciate that you are willing to be the beta testers, report your issues here and keep Acura on their guard.

 

We are paying the price to beta test for Acura. .. should be the other way around

 

^^ Yup....I agree 150%! Hang in there though...I am sure they will solve the issue but it is unfortunate that while some of us drive our bulletproof Chevettes, some of you guys are dealing with these irritants.

 

Id bet money that with a little time under the dash with a relay and some wire you could reverse the default setting of it Id have to look at the wiring but i cant imagine it would be that hard.

 

That would be fun to trouble shoot

 

Back in the day before i converted My TL to manual i rewired it so that the TCS was defaulted to off.

 

Well, just got a call from the service rep. basically saying don't bother bringing the car in, there is no fix for it yet and Acura says my car is operating as normal, that this downshift lag at stops is inherent to the model..

It sucks because it has taken the luster off of what should be a great ride, well, it is a great ride once I am rolling.. it's just the stop and go that kills it for me

 

I agree the implementation is far from stellar - however my point was if they make the start/stop optional (make it contingent on a mode that can never be selected) they can't use it as part of the MPG numbers they submit.

Not sure how much difference that would make but it must be more than statistical noise as other manufacturers are implementing the "feature" as well.

That said - it is really bad design to require you to start your car in order to turn it off when you reach your destination!

 

Agree, but... are there other cars have start/stop and have the default set to off or the ability is setting to turn it off completely?

I do not have a SH-AWD so cannot say first hand how annoying this might be. Seems to me that a mind set change is required. It will always be like this on '15 TLX so accept it and turn it off when starting the car, just like having to select Drive to go forward. Make it a routine and after a while it should be fine.

Just had the transmission parking lock recall done, and no problems, but I had been in the habit of applying the parking brake. It feels strange not to have to do the "learned" activity.

 

Mercedes has the same feature. And just like acura theres no way to turn it off. Although the acceleration seems smoother for MB and its only activated when u step on the brake real hard.

On another note, any1 notice that upon stepping on the gas pedal after switching from reverse to drive, there is a crazy lag and jerkiness? I hate that. The car wont surge forward right away... wtf is that?

 

Idle stop takes a little extra pressure to engage - once you have the feel it's easy to stop without engaging it or to restart the engine while remaining stopped. I find the touch 'finesse' similar to that needed for smooth clutch engagement on a manual transmission.


I don't deal with many stop lights but the ones I do are somewhat long - knowing the engine is off seems to make me more patient...especially when I just miss the green and have a long wait...


Coming from a 2010 RL with mileage often running 15-16 mixed city/country driving...seeing 24+ on my second TLX tankful may play a part in my acceptance!

 

I didn't test drive the TLX AWD before buying my FWD, but I had test driven an BMW x3 and Volvo SC60 when I was still considering an SUV. They both had auto idle stop. I noticed it right away and thought I was doing something wrong. I didn't care for the way this feature felt, though I probably could have become used to it. I think on the BMW it could be turned off but I am not certain. This is an idea that makes sense on paper, but maybe it just needs more time on the road with lots of driver feedback before it can be implemented more smoothly.

 

I've learned to feather the pedal pretty well over the past month and a half, so it's not nearly as annoying as it was at first. Sometimes I'm just going to forget to do it.

I just wish they would program an "optional" 5, 10 or 15 second delay so I wouldn't get caught at 4-way stops, etc. I do like that the engine's not running at a long red light. If/when I get a survey from Acura themselves, this is the one thing I would include in it.

 

That would be nice -- turning left at the end of light change is fun if you pushed down on the brake too hard by accident and then have to wait a few seconds for the engine to restart and cross traffic is now starting from both sides

 

Not sure if you know this but if you do not press the brake all the way down the auto start stop feature wont turn off the car. So if you get to a red light and just barely press the brake in so your car is not rolling then it wont shut off.

 

While I agree it would be fine if Acura made the default off, I enjoy this feature. It does save gas, particularly in stop and go and drive throughs. It is simple to not activate it when stopping, as per the post above. the longer it goes the better, because I do pay attention to lights changing and can start it with a slight pressure on the gas. I like the fact that it's in my control. As for the garage, I just roll in slowly and don't typically activate the Idle Stop, so not an issue.

It reduces my guilt when I am using a drive thru, which is important to me

 

You guys know if there's any fine tune adjustments we can make to the sensitivity of the Auto-Off feature? Sometimes, my engine shuts off before the parking break even engages. I find my Auto-Off to be really easily engaged. Makes stop and go traffic a hassle in the morning commute

 

The only thing you can do is disable it during that driving session. I've gotten in the habit of pressing the button right after I start the car.

 

I'm a little late to this party, but I've been driving a 2015 AWD TLX for a couple of weeks now. Couple of things no one mentioned -- get into the habit of turning the car off when parking rather than shifting to park. The TLX will automatically shift to park as the car shuts off, so there is no gas/battery wasting restart. Second, you can also get the car to turn back on with a little pressure on the steering wheel right of left. I generally use the lighter brake pedal pressure noted. The key is, the car restarts as you take your foot off the brake, not as you put your foot on the gas. So the key to a smoother start is not to move quickly from brake to gas. If you need a jackrabbit start, restart early with light pressure first.

However, I will be writing customer service that they need to build in an option for a longer delay on this thing. If you pull forward into a stop and then need to reverse to get a better angle, it will often stop. A couple of more seconds would REALLY be nice! Plus I agree, there should be an option to default disable except in Eco mode, and especially in Sport mode.

I think this was all about making the AWD's MPG similar to the FWD. That's why the feature is on the one model and not the other. With other cars (and older Acuras) there is a several MPG penalty for going AWD. It's so nice to be getting about 24 with my TLX compared to my old 18.1 with my G37x. Maybe if they had built in a way to turn it off by default, they could not have advertised the MPG they do?

 

Just found this article -- Do Stop-Start Systems Really Save Fuel? | Edmunds.com. Though they did not test the TLX, if savings are similar, we should see about 10% savings in gas usage depending on amount of lights on your regular drive. That would mean over 2 mpg on average. At 1000 miles a month and$3 per gallon (high now, but probably realistic over the coming years), and 22 mph vs 24, that's about $11 a month, $136 a year, and $410 for 3 years. That's a full lease payment in NY.

BTW, I meant "spot" not "stopT in the first line of the second paragraph of my prior message.

 

For the city probably. But the TLX SH-AWD returns noticeably better mileage on the highway too compared to the outgoing TL SH-AWD (lower displacement, VCM, and DI all help).

That said, it would help a lot if they included an option to set the preference for Sport mode, so you could set VCM and Auto Idle Stop to either be active or not active in Sport and Sport+.

 

My TLX is new, so I haven't made up my mind about AIS yet. At times, I like it, but at others, it's annoying. I've mostly figured out the brake pressure needed to make this an on-demand feature, and I've learned to simply turn the car off in the garage, letting park engage automatically, but still... if I had the option to turn it off, I probably would.

The one that really bugs me though is Brake Hold. I really like brake hold, and having it default to the off position seems crazy to me. I can't say how many times I've stopped the car at a red light, taken my foot off the brake, and watched my car roll toward the car in front of me, because I obviously forgot to activate Brake Hold. To me, that's an (albeit minor) accident waiting to happen. I really wish they'd give us control over this default setting as well.

 

Here's something ironic. I'm trying to figure out how to get my AIS to work again! I had my car serviced about 3 months ago and ever since then my AIS has not engaged a single time. I've tried turning it "off" via the console button and then back on, but it never engages anymore. It was working fine before my service. So, even though I personally want it working again I can let others know that there apparently is some unknown way to permanently disable it!

 

That's actually a pretty common problem after a PCM software update, which was probably done when you had your car serviced. The fix is to take it back to the dealer and have them re-apply the current PCM software.

 

I have to say that although we all talk about first "world problems" in this forum, I don't understand the furror about having to either disable or enable a feature you like or dislike. Yes, perhaps it would be nice if these were all in the car's setup menu, but cost and fuel economy ratings are always a factor.

We all have a pre-drive away routine with any car. In my case, I leave Idle Stop on, as I control with my foot when I really want to use it. I do mainly city driving and appreciate it's use at long lights. I always activate Brakehold to turn on. My routine is automatic, as would it be for anyone doing the reverse, or some other variation. It's 2-3 seconds of your start-up routine, and IMHO would never be the real reason why someone buys something else….unless you rate another car exactly the same except for this type of feature.

Finally, even if they put this into the Setup Menu, those of us who would want to use one or both of those features periodically, depending upon what type of driving you will be doing would then require 10 -20 seconds to make the change in the set-up menu.