# Is this a start/stop ACTIVATION problem on my new 2018 Tiguan (Please share your experiences)



## kudoqs (Aug 30, 2018)

Hello everyone,

I bought a 2018 Tiguan a month ago, and wonder whether it has a start/stop ACTIVATION problem on it:

1, sometimes when I park the car without manually turn off the engineer power button, the start/stop system can turn off the engine, which is reasonable because the car is not moving. But I just sit in the car and after a while the car's engine is re-turned on by the start/stop system. Does anyone have similar experience of this? 
2, sometimes when I do a full stop (I push down the brake paddle deeply), the start/stop system does not turn off the engine, which is not expected as well. Does anyone have similar experience of this? By the way, this is more likely to happen when the start/stop system turned off the engine just a minute ago, but I don't think this is a reason for the unexpected behavior.

Please share your experiences and opinions.

As I know, the start/stop system monitors battery condition, temperatures (engine, interior, and ambient), engine loads (like HVAC, etc.), and other factors to decide when to auto stop. 
But what are the exact details of these triggers? I doubt my car has a problem on the start/stop system to fix; if so, that's so sad to me and I feel a little angry and unfair because I bought a new car which has issue around the engine activation system 

Thanks
Shuo


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

kudoqs said:


> But what are the exact details of these triggers? I doubt my car has a problem on the start/stop system to fix; if so, that's so sad to me and I feel a little angry and unfair because I bought a new car which has issue around the engine activation system


Only VW knows the exact triggers but we do know that the algorithm is pretty simple. The engine will shut off if all of the needs of the car can be met by the battery alone. As soon as any "load" is encountered that requires more power the engine will re-start (or not shut off).

As for the aggravation this feature can cause there are several available solutions. You can permanently disable the entire auto start/stop system or there is a German company that make a little memory module that remembers whether you have the system turned on or off so that it doesn't default to always on. More info can be found in a thread here about the stop/start system. Look here: https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?8987177-start-stop-ACTIVATION-question

Have Fun!

Don


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## kudoqs (Aug 30, 2018)

JSWTDI09 said:


> Only VW knows the exact triggers but we do know that the algorithm is pretty simple. The engine will shut off if all of the needs of the car can be met by the battery alone. As soon as any "load" is encountered that requires more power the engine will re-start (or not shut off).
> 
> As for the aggravation this feature can cause there are several available solutions. You can permanently disable the entire auto start/stop system or there is a German company that make a little memory module that remembers whether you have the system turned on or off so that it doesn't default to always on. More info can be found in a thread here about the stop/start system. Look here: https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?8987177-start-stop-ACTIVATION-question
> 
> ...



Thanks for your reply. It is this thread that told me those parameters that impact its trigger.
But I don't want to talk with another German company and pay for memory module (that's really weird). 
If we cannot discuss the details of the triggers, can you please share your experiences whether you've encountered either of the situations I described in the first post? That's helpful to me.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

kudoqs said:


> 1, sometimes when I park the car without manually turn off the engineer power button, the start/stop system can turn off the engine, which is reasonable because the car is not moving. But I just sit in the car and after a while the car's engine is re-turned on by the start/stop system. Does anyone have similar experience of this?
> 2, sometimes when I do a full stop (I push down the brake paddle deeply), the start/stop system does not turn off the engine, which is not expected as well. Does anyone have similar experience of this? By the way, this is more likely to happen when the start/stop system turned off the engine just a minute ago, but I don't think this is a reason for the unexpected behavior.
> 
> Please share your experiences and opinions.


#1 - Yeah it happens all the time. Come to a stop and the engine shuts down. The engine can only remained off for so long running radio, fans, lights, controllers, etc. on battery alone. It's summer, add in AC and my car never stays shut off for long this time of year. If the car interior is at (or near) its proper temp the engine will shut off and the fans switch to low speed. However if the red light is long enough and the car begins to heat up the engine restarts to engage the AC. It will also restart if you try to turn the steering wheel. I don't know what other things might cause it to restart.
#2 - I'm not sure about, but apparently the car thinks it is not time to shut itself off.

The thing that sometimes irks me is when I pull into my garage, stop the car, and put in into park and set the parking brake. Sometimes it seems to actually automatically shut off the ignition (not just stop the engine). I press the engine start/stop button to shut off the ignition and the engine restarts. I have to push the button again to turn it off. This doesn't happen all the time, but I am not certain exactly what causes this behavior.

Have Fun!

Don


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## kudoqs (Aug 30, 2018)

JSWTDI09 said:


> #1 - Yeah it happens all the time. Come to a stop and the engine shuts down. The engine can only remained off for so long running radio, fans, lights, controllers, etc. on battery alone. It's summer, add in AC and my car never stays shut off for long this time of year. If the car interior is at (or near) its proper temp the engine will shut off and the fans switch to low speed. However if the red light is long enough and the car begins to heat up the engine restarts to engage the AC. It will also restart if you try to turn the steering wheel. I don't know what other things might cause it to restart.
> #2 - I'm not sure about, but apparently the car thinks it is not time to shut itself off.
> 
> The thing that sometimes irks me is when I pull into my garage, stop the car, and put in into park and set the parking brake. Sometimes it seems to actually automatically shut off the ignition (not just stop the engine). I press the engine start/stop button to shut off the ignition and the engine restarts. I have to push the button again to turn it off. This doesn't happen all the time, but I am not certain exactly what causes this behavior.
> ...



Thanks very much for your sharing experiences Don!
Waiting for others' replies. At the same time, I will talk with VW service department in a few days.


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## martiansoldier (Feb 20, 2011)

kudoqs said:


> 1, sometimes when I park the car without manually turn off the engineer power button, the start/stop system can turn off the engine, which is reasonable because the car is not moving. But I just sit in the car and after a while the car's engine is re-turned on by the start/stop system. Does anyone have similar experience of this?
> 2, sometimes when I do a full stop (I push down the brake paddle deeply), the start/stop system does not turn off the engine, which is not expected as well. Does anyone have similar experience of this? By the way, this is more likely to happen when the start/stop system turned off the engine just a minute ago, but I don't think this is a reason for the unexpected behavior.


I don't think VW does a very good job of explaining when the auto start/stop works or what triggers it to work sometimes and other times not. I recall when I purchased my BMW 340i 3 years ago, the manual explained that with auto start/stop activated, the car may still keep the engine running at certain times or even start the engine at certain times when it had been initially turned off. A couple of reasons I recall are:

1. AC needs to maintain a certain temperature (while it is too hot outside) or set to full blast mode. In these situations, the car will turn back on or simply not turn the engine off.
2. On MT cars, when the clutch pedal is depressed or the car is still in gear at a stop light with the clutch pedal depressed.
3. The car has other power needs that cannot be fulfilled by the battery when auto start/stop is engaged

There are probably a couple more reasons, but I do not recall them all. All I can say is that I disabled (coded the memory feature) in in my 340i and installed the SSAM module in the wife's Tiguan to not have to worry about it. :laugh:


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