The automaker has already made the unusual move of eliminate two fuel-saving features from some of the vehicles – engine start/stop and cylinder deactivation – and will now remove wireless mobile device charging pads from a few SUV trims, GM Authority first reported.
News - eliminate two fuel-saving features from some of the vehicles – engine start/stop and cylinder deactivation
henni
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The automaker has already made the unusual move of eliminate two fuel-saving features from some of the vehicles – engine start/stop and cylinder deactivation – and will now remove wireless mobile device charging pads from a few SUV trims, GM Authority first reported.
From the title, and at first glance, I figured at least one manufacturer had wised up and deleted these features either because of less than stellar performance or because the feature was pointless. I did not even think about it being done, to allow those vehicles to continue being produced during the chip shortage. They have to keep the money rolling in on these high profit margin vehicles.
Funny they are applying a $75 credit for the loss of those features. I'm pretty sure there is a segment of their customer base that would pay extra to have it deleted.
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I for one am so glad that my G1 has none of that crap!
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My gut tells me the start stop feature eats more starters than the equivalent monetary amount of fuel it saves. Good ridance.
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Yes, I paid $80 to have my start/stop disabled on my Ridgeline. It annoyed the hell out of me to push the button every time I got in. And yes, that was worth 80 buckaroos to me.
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Same here. Installed the Idlestopper device and never think about the stop/start crap any more. Yes, I have a light on my dash, but it doesn't really bother me. For years I ran a tuned diesel Jeep which caused the CEL to always be on since I had deactivated the EGR. I got used to it and never thought about it.
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Light doesn't bother me much either. Pushing the button did though lol.
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It appears the Ridgeline's starter is designed to last at least 275,000 operations. Once this number is exceeded, the auto idle stop feature will no longer stop the engine and the auto idle stop indicator will blink at which point Honda says to replace the starter and starter relay then reset the counter.
I have 14 stops along my daily commute. If I hit every red light, that's 2 starts + 14 restarts = 16 starter operations per day. It'll take me 17,187 days or 47 years to reach 275,000 starter operations.
This seems to be a non-issue unless you're a rural mail carrier with 400 stops per day.
Idle Stop bothers me not in the least. My GM friends, who believe automotive technology peaked in the 1970s, are terrified of it and cylinder deactivation. IIRC GM built some kind of convoluted cylinder deactivation that was horribly problematic in 1990s.
If one could change the setting limit in the programming one could turn off Idle Stop without modifying anything else.It appears the Ridgeline's starter is designed to last at least 275,000 operations. Once this number is exceeded, the auto idle stop feature will no longer stop the engine and the auto idle stop indicator will blink at which point Honda says to replace the starter and starter relays then reset the counter.
I have 14 stops along my daily commute. 2 starts + 14 restarts = 16 starts per day. It'll take me 17,187 days or 47 years to reach 275,000 starter operations.
My gut tells me this is a non-issue unless you're a rural mail carrier with 400 stops per day.
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You're showing your young age.
GM introduced cylinder deactivation in the L62 ("V8-6-4") engine used on several Cadillac models for 1981 and pulled it from retail models a year later following 13 software updates. It remained in production for fleet models through 1984. The Eaton-designed hardware was robust and essentially the same design that is used today - the problem was the limited computing power available at the time just wasn't fast enough to result in acceptable operation.
GM reintroduced (a much improved) cylinder deactivation in the early-2000's.
Yeah, the 8-6-4 engine. I was only off one decade, lol. I was born in 1984 so it makes sense I wouldn't remember it. Should have known it was a Cadillac. My parents had a Caddy in the early 1990s that wouldn't run for more than 10 minutes at a time. After many trips to the dealer dad sold it, bought a Lexus and never looked back.You're showing your young age.
GM introduced cylinder deactivation in the L62 ("V8-6-4") engine used on several Cadillac models for 1981 and pulled it from retail models a year later following 13 software updates. It remained in production for fleet models through 1984. The Eaton-designed hardware was robust and essentially the same design that is used today - the problem was the limited computing power available at the time just wasn't fast enough to result in acceptable operation.
GM reintroduced (a much improved) cylinder deactivation in the early-2000's.
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It isn't the wear and tear on the starter that bothers me. It's the stopping and starting of the engine that bothers me. It just drives me bonkers. Especially if it shuts off and traffic moves up a few feet. The engine restarts...I move forward...then it goes off. Drive thru restaurants are awful.It appears the Ridgeline's starter is designed to last at least 275,000 operations. Once this number is exceeded, the auto idle stop feature will no longer stop the engine and the auto idle stop indicator will blink at which point Honda says to replace the starter and starter relays then reset the counter.
I have 14 stops along my daily commute. 2 starts + 14 restarts = 16 starts per day. It'll take me 17,187 days or 47 years to reach 275,000 starter operations.
My gut tells me this is a non-issue unless you're a rural mail carrier with 400 stops per day.
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If I burn an extra gallon of gas a week (which I highly doubt), it's worth the $3 a week in gas money to not have it shut off. If I had not way to disable it, I'd have never bought the vehicle. I hate it that much. And I gave it a fair chance. I drove about 1000 miles before I made the decision to get the deactivator (which is rally just a timed relay...I probably could have made one myself).
I don't notice cylinder deactivation. I assume it's working, but I've never noticed it.
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I had a 2010 Honda Accord V6 and a 2011 Honda Pilot. I lost both of these due to a problems caused by cylinder deactivation. I was within a month of the 8 year warranty expiring on my Accord when the malfunction happened for the 2nd time and it went to the dealer for a ring job. While it was in the shop, I worked out a deal for a new Camry. I picked the Accord up from the dealer and took it right to the Toyota dealer for the new Camry. What stunk was it only had 53k miles on it and I loved that Accord. A few months ago the Pilot did the same thing with 197k miles. It was out of warranty and the dealer wanted $4,500 for a ring job. I said no thanks and sold it for parts.
Gas mileage means nothing if these engineering gimmicks destroy your engine in the name of saving gas.
Gas mileage means nothing if these engineering gimmicks destroy your engine in the name of saving gas.
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Both of those used a very different cylinder deactivation system that shut down cylinders on both banks and operated in 6, 4, or 3 cylinder mode. The newer generation of VCM that operates only on 6 or 3 cylinders and works on only one bank has proven reliable.
Our 2008 Accord has the 3,4,6 VCM. It hasn't given us a kick of trouble, and I can't tell if/when in activates. I suspect it doesn't activate because I still have the original spark plugs in the car with 150k on it, and it still runs like a scalded dog. I'm afraid if I put new plugs in, the VCM will start working and then the engine might break! 🤔
Engine start/stop is admittedly annoying, and did not do anything to improve MPG from earlier years. But, cylinder deactivation has always been seamless to me and probably is the reason why there is zero vibration at a stop / idle
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