Auris 1.33 Start Stop Problem

[lemsipmax]

Hi,

I have a Auris 1.33 TR. I'm baffled about the conditions that need to be met for the Start Stop to function. Typically I drive the car in the day (lights off), with out the radio off, air-con off, with the blowers at 18 deg C aimed at the windscreen and my feet; essentially minimal electrical drain. When I stop the car and put it into Neutral instead of the engine stopping I get an "Eco Off" green light come on near the dials. I have not manually pressed the "Eco Off" button, near the mirror switches, to disable the Start Stop.

Over the last 48 hours the Start Stop has stopped working... but the condiotions I drive the car in have not changed. The only differnce is the weather is a bit colder... about 9 deg C. I've read a few things on the forum to suggest the Start Stop should still function at low temperatures... albeit for a limited amount of time.

Any ideas what the problem could be? What conditions need to be met for the Start Stop to function?

Regards, Andy

[Mooly]

Sounds a bit like mine tbh. The fact the light comes on indicates the system "knows" it is in a condition that would trigger the stop/start.

Have you seen this,

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111738

and this,

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=109437&st=0&p=993313&fromsearch=1entry993313

[lemsipmax]

Mooly,

Thanks for the response; I've read throught your two posts. I've been through the manual and I'm 100% certain the conditions are being met for the start stop to be activated: outside temp is good, car is warmed up, Battery is charged (mainly 100 mile plus drives, plus no air-con, radio, etc), and I've ensured my foot is miles away from the clutch pedal.

Any other ideas as to what may be causing the "Eco Off" light to come on instead of the engine stopping? Did you get a response from anyone at Toyota?

Thanks, Andy

[Mooly]

I have not been able to find out any more on this unfortunately.

My own thoughts after all this time are that it does know what it is doing and the only reasonable thing I can think of is that it monitors not just present conditions but also factors in such things as how many stop/starts have occured in the last time period (whatever that may be) and how fast the engine revs have been and for how long (which in a round about way relates to how much energy can be put back into the battery).

Having observed how mine behaves I don't think there is a fault as such, it's just the way it is... a flawed system in practice. If yours is similar you will find probably the next time you drive it work as normal, until the next time.

[rozzo]

I have the same problem on my 2011 Auris 1.33. For the first 4 months it worked fine, then it stopped working, then it worked a couple of times now for last 7 weeks it has not worked at all. Symptoms are exactly as described. When it was working my average mpg was in round figures 42, now it's down to 38 with exactly same driving pattern. I drive around 18000 per year, with current fuel costs this means it is costing around £280.00 a year more in fuel than it should. I reported this fault when car had it's first service but the dealer didn't even bother to check it out, when i queried it they looked at me as if i was from a different planet. They did eventually say they would try to find out if it was a known fault but weeks later and I have heard nothing so suspect they have forgotten about it, so if any one found a cure it would help.

On another point has anyone had a problem with the fuel gauge on Auris, mine only ever goes down 1 bar and even that takes around 150 miles of driving, have to remember when i filled up and use the cruise range figure. to be fair i haven't reported this to the dealer as it was o.k before service be it a bit erratic.

[Mooly]

Your fuel guage sounds normal as long as it keeps going down. I can get over 160 miles before the top bar goes out, the others then go out progressively quicker. The last ones take only 40 or so miles between them to go out from memory.

I do find the average mpg amazingly accurate, to within a few 10th's of 1mpg over a brim to brim fill.

[Parts-King]

Ambient air (outside) temperature is a factor. In cooler weather, it is unlikely you will get the car to stop / start, but it most certainly should as they weather warms up. Get your dealer to check it out if you are not convinced

Kingo

[rozzo]

Thanks for advise. I intend to go back to the dealer. I appreciate your comments about ambient temperature but I had a Yaris before the auris and it worked whatever the weather even in the extreme cold in nov/Dec 2010.

As I said before the dealer suggested thay had never heard of the problem but looking at the posts on this topic it looks like it is a known problem.

[jetsetjunta]

I have a 2010 yaris with the same stop start system I also do a lot of fairly short journeys .I can safely say that the stop start rarely works in the winter but in the summer will work most of the time .I think the fact that Toyota do not offer stop start on the new Yaris tells you all you need to know about this system and that is is is not suitable for countries with cold climates as the Battery needs to be in 100%condition for it to work reliably.

[Sandy52]

I have had stop start on hire car and was told that due to cold weather it will probably not work,

It seems it is very temperature sensitive. Even if the car is up to temp but it is cold then Stop/Start will not work.

[Bemused2]

From all the comments about stop/start rarely working mine seems to be just the opposite. Once the engine is up to operating temperature it cuts in frequently. Virtually every time I stop, it kicks in, (less so when 3C or less) so much so I worry that the Battery may suffer as a consequence. However after 6k miles all seems fine.

[Mooly]

I wonder about the Battery too. Our Corolla is 9 yrs old and on the original Battery and my Corolla TSport still had it's original when I sold it after 8 yrs and 70K+

If you have to fork out £60 (or whatever) for a new one then that will have wiped out savings in fuel. The batteries are rated for "stop start" use and so should be up to the job (but doubtless more expensive). Time will tell.

Having the climate control on makes a big difference to how the stop start works.

[hamster59]

i have just got my auris and this happened to me, was on my way back to the dealer when it started working again.

I have also noticed that when the stop start does'nt work, the shift indicator also stops working, is this normal??

[Mooly]

Not quite following you on the shift indicators. They only illuminate when in motion and the gear selected deemed unsuitable for the road speed and engine load. Can't say I have ever noticed the shift indicators doing anything they shouldn't or never working at all but I'll keep an eye out.

[Adam C]

I've owned a Yaris TR with the same Stop/Start system fitted for a month & a half now. The system always kicked in whenever I stopped. But then when I had dual controls fitted (using the car as a driving school vehicle), the guy had to remove the Battery. Once it was fitted again the car was a bit erratic & Stop/Start would never kick in. I was gonna take it back to the dealer for a check but it settled down & got back to normal. Now Stop/Start always kicks in when I stop, now used to the engine going off before I take out the key. Even try to modify my stops by whacking it into neutral & raise the clutch up either as or before I get the car stationery.

What I'd say here to the OP is that the system isn't faulty and I'm sure it will function properly.

From what a salesman told me when I was invited to try out a new Yaris, they removed the Stop/Start as not many customers were using it so they couldn't justify the cost of fitting it. Bad move I feel as everyone else (barring Honda & Mazda as far as I'm aware) fit Stop/Start to more of their range. Do new Aurises, iQ3s & Urban Cruiser 1.33s still have it?

[FROSTYBALLS]

The brochure I downloaded in August shows the Auris 1.33 as having stop/start. Really it is too late in the day for Toyota to make major changes to this model, as the new Auris is due to be launched at the Paris motorshow.

[Bemused2]

Just love that salesman who said that they had discontinued stop start because nobody used it. What a load of b********

[hamster59]

funily enough, i too had duals fitted, but they did'nt take off Battery, it has settled down aswell, (i also drive with lights on, so safety reasons), and the system does work when warmed up and Battery charged to optimum.

Before the system operates though, the shift arrows dont illuminate (when moving) till everything is charged, so, stop/start active, shift indicators active, stop/start not active yet, shift indicators don't come on. So i now know when it will be active by the shift not not illuminating.

[Steve Durrant]

Came across this topic with interest, ive sometimes thought my stop-start is playing up it works great for a couple weeks then wont work at all for like two days in a row then is fine again, it seems to me also that the system knows what its doing in a quirky way.

I personally dont think its got much to do with temperature, up in north east scotland we see plenty cold and it doesnt fluctuate with temperature, at least for me..

[Bemused2]

My stop start is annoying me now. Drive 200 yards on a cold morning, stop at the lights which take forever to change, the engine cuts out. Engine not even thinking about warming up, as a result the heater just kicks in cold air.

Now I switch it off. Seems a tad too keen to stop the engine at the least provocation. Might mention it to Mr T and make myself look like a b..... idiot.

[Mooly]

I still think its just a flawed system. There won't be any hardware faults as such. Poor software... maybe... but not faulty as such.

If its any consolation my S/S yesterday in 45 minutes of mixed driving never once cut in. The day before in similar conditions it cut in every time.

[hamster59]

i have found that sometimes i have to lift the clutch pedal a mm or two to activate, maybe the clutch pedal is not returning to top?

[Mooly]

The clutch switch is always a possible problem however if the ECO OFF light on the dash (not on the switch) lights when you stop and release the clutch then this infers that the switch is OK.