Countryman Start/Stop feature

[nobbyclark]

I thought my 2012 Countryman Cooper D had the auto start/stop feature that is supposed to switch off the engine when in traffic. However, it never seems to happen. I have read the manual about all the pre-conditions that need to be met (outside temp not too cold, a/c not on, engine at temperature etc), but even so the engine always stays on. I have the button on the central console to enable/disable the feature and it is definitely enabled. Any ideas?

[Angib]

From my experience a likely cause is that the battery is a bit tired - the stop/start sets a very high standard for battery condition before it will work. If it is still the original 2012 battery, that's about the time that stop/start in my previous Minis has sometimes stopped working. The test is to charge up the battery and then see if the stop/start begins working - that would confirm it is the battery.

Short journeys and low temperatures can reduce the battery condition to the point where the stop/start doesn't work - since both reduce the state of charge of the battery. Below 3 degC the stop/start will never work, but above that it still needs a healthy battery.

I would stress that this does not mean the battery would have any difficulty starting the engine, so it isn't a sign it is about to fail. Replacing the battery early, just to get the stop/start to work, would not be economically sensible.

[N16SHP]

Agree with what was said above. The start stop in our CM is very temperamental. It doesn't seem to work unless the temperature is above 5 degrees or so and also requires the engine to be fully up to temperature. If you're sitting there with the heating on full tilt because it's cold outside it'll keep the engine running to please that rather than the fuel economy. Also, this may sound silly but the start stop on our CM is very sensitive on the clutch pedal and I sometimes find the car restarts with the lightest of touches on the pedals so you could be sitting there with the pedal slightly engaged without realising it (please don't think I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but this one has caught me out a few times :blush:)

When the temperature is above 3 degrees, take the car for a longish run and then see what it does, if not perhaps think about getting it looked at.

[Craig]

Yeah - agree with all above ^^. Mine does the same (especially in cold weather )


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[nobbyclark]

Thanks for the prompt responses; my suspicion was the battery too, although I'm not going to spend £100 on a new one to save a few P a week on fuel. Will see how it performs when (if) the weather ever improves. Getting 44mpg at the mo anyway, so doubt that start/stop will radically improve that.

[Captain clean]

As per posts. If you have a high drain on the battery IE headlights on, heater on, demister on etc (something that at this time of year we have these on just about all the time), then stop/start wont kick in. Because a lot of my trips in the Mini are fairly short the stop/start does not always kick in. I remedy it usually by taking the car for a decent blast with as much of the electrical stuff switched off. A great reason for a blast down some country roads listening to the car buzz and hum.