Morning All,

 

as above!!! i have a automatic and for the life of me as of yet I can't get it too operate is there some procedure or trick for it too work!! I can see on the dashboard its shaded out but I cant get it too stop. do you haver to put it into neutral or something, Can you reset it?

https://www.fordownersclub.com/search/?q=Stop start&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy&search_and_or=and&search_in=titles

46 minutes ago, Stephenb79 said:

as above!!!

This was promoted by Ford so they could pass some challenging emission certification. In real life, it rarely works, and you don't need it. If you find yourself stuck in a traffic jam likely to be 5+ minutes, as an adult, you can simply turn your engine off if you feel you want to stop the planet from burning 😁

Link above illustrates how useless a 'feature' this is...

Worked after I had a battery change, stopped working soon after. Recon if you spend £200 on a decent EFB it'll work again 

I'm one of very few on here that actually like stop start.  Had no problems with it in the 6 months I owned a Mk3.  The engine vibrations were so uncomfortable at idle it was nice to have some peace when stopped.

However, that is on a manual where I had full control over it using the clutch.  I didn't like it on an auto, because it made giveways and roundabouts a bit more awkward, as it was much more difficult to control on the brake alone.  Also made pulling away quite unpredictable as it wouldn't creep, the engine had to restart and accelerate in one movement.  

TL:DR - Don't bother with it on an auto.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

... The engine vibrations were so uncomfortable at idle it was nice to have some peace when stopped...

That is a nice vivid memory - would never have thought of that...

What is it about a battery that makes it [start stop] work? New batteries seem to allow it to work, but when it stops working, it stays stopped working even if I fully charge the battery at home...

9 minutes ago, mburdett555 said:

What is it about a battery that makes it [start stop] work? New batteries seem to allow it to work, but when it stops working, it stays stopped working even if I fully charge the battery at home...

It's nothing to do with the battery itself.  In fact, my Golf has a cheap, basic, non-EFB battery fitted, and the SS worked perfectly on that for the 3 years I was driving it.  Had no idea it was the wrong battery until it eventually died after several months without use due to health issues. 

So it's the State of Charge calculated by the PCM that stops the SS working on Fords.  SOC isn't quite the same as voltage, we just use voltage as an easy way to compare it with cheap voltmeters that anyone can buy.  Although the battery appears 'full' after charging, the SOC figure will still be too low in the PCM if it doesn't work.

Sorry to bump

Knowing that my MK3 ecoboost battery never really worked with the start stop (A) function unless the battery was brand new, is this still a marketing gimmick in the mk4.5 focus? I had a test drive today and was advised it is still a feature where the engine cuts out at rest.

Does this feature actually work now? The car showed low SOC 12v battery but to my surprise the car did go into sleep mode (A) until clutch pressed etc.

15 minutes ago, mburdett555 said:

Sorry to bump

Knowing that my MK3 ecoboost battery never really worked with the start stop (A) function unless the battery was brand new, is this still a marketing gimmick in the mk4.5 focus? I had a test drive today and was advised it is still a feature where the engine cuts out at rest.

Does this feature actually work now? The car showed low SOC 12v battery but to my surprise the car did go into sleep mode (A) until clutch pressed etc.

If it was an MHEV, stop/start is managed by the hybrid battery, so generally works more often than it did on the earlier cars.

If it's non-MHEV, then there are so many criteria for the Mk4 SS to work that it barely seems to cut out at all on them.

Must admit that I had a 2012 Mk3 in 2018, original Ford battery, and the stop start was still working fine, so I don't know why yours needs a brand new battery. There were car less criteria to meet on the early Mk3's than later cars.

1 hour ago, mburdett555 said:

is this still a marketing gimmick in the mk4.5 focus?

As mentioned much earlier in the thread, it's not so much a gimmick as one of the many devices used by manufacturers to score the lowest possible emissions in official tests.

I've had the feature on various cars (all new or nearly new) since a Land Rover in 2010. Very rarely worked on any of them. Am I bovvered, though?😀

46 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

If it was an MHEV, stop/start is managed by the hybrid battery, so generally works more often than it did on the earlier cars.

If it's non-MHEV, then there are so many criteria for the Mk4 SS to work that it barely seems to cut out at all on them.

Must admit that I had a 2012 Mk3 in 2018, original Ford battery, and the stop start was still working fine, so I don't know why yours needs a brand new battery. There were car less criteria to meet on the early Mk3's than later cars.

Thanks yes I've been looking at the MHEV. I'm guessing with the MHEV setup that the start stop has less toll on the moving parts as well eg doesn't ruin the starter as much?

53 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

As mentioned much earlier in the thread, it's not so much a gimmick as one of the many devices used by manufacturers to score the lowest possible emissions in official tests.

I've had the feature on various cars (all new or nearly new) since a Land Rover in 2010. Very rarely worked on any of them. Am I bovvered, though?😀

Id probably be turning it off every drive anyway unless it really does have little wear on the starter system.

Can't believe how complicated some of the settings are in the new focus compared to what I have now. Didn't fully understand the blokes explanation about applying and releasing the epb, guess I'll get the hang of it when I buy it

12 minutes ago, mburdett555 said:

Thanks yes I've been looking at the MHEV. I'm guessing with the MHEV setup that the start stop has less toll on the moving parts as well eg doesn't ruin the starter as much?

Yes, warm engine restarts on the MHEV use the hybrid battery and generator. No additional starter use at all.

The EPB can be applied manually by pulling up the button, and released manually by pressing the button. It should also automatically release when you pull away under most circumstances, but there are a few safety requirements that can prevent the auto-release.

17 minutes ago, mburdett555 said:

Can't believe how complicated some of the settings are in the new focus compared to what I have now

Yes, a lot of things have changed with cars generally in the last few years, not always for the better in the opinion of many of us.

Coincidentally a relative (who last owned a car 18 years ago - Mk 1 Focus as it happens) is considering getting a car (auto) again and asked my advice. My first thought was "don't bother" (he has a Senior bus pass anyway), second thought was to steer him towards a Toyota hybrid.😀

Got to agree, many new cars too complicated for their own good. Packed with features we don't really need.

Wife has recently bought a 2024 Captur and it has the Electronic Park Brake like she has had on previous cars.

Feature that I initially thought was clever was if you fully pressed the footbrake when coming to a complete stop the handbrake came on. What I did not realise was this also left the brake lights on ! Why ?

Since proper handbrakes where invented there has never been a need for them to be connected to the Brake lights.

As it is a pet hate of mine to be sat in traffic with a line of cars ahead with the brake lights dazzling away, I refuse to use this otherwise clever feature.

Opinions are divided on that. Many argue that brake lights staying on at the end of a queue prevent slightly oblivious people from rear ending them in traffic. Others get annoyed by the dazzle, particularly in the middle of a queue.

Mild hybrid you don't notice the stop start its so smooth 🙂

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Opinions are divided on that. Many argue that brake lights staying on at the end of a queue prevent slightly oblivious people from rear ending them in traffic. Others get annoyed by the dazzle, particularly in the middle of a queue.

Yea, I get that, but when I'm at the end of the que and half dozen cars in front are stood with their brake lights on.

Grrr ! ☹️