Alright! Getting used to my new ride. Autostop. - Chevy Malibu Forum: Chevrolet Malibu Forums

chevyorange · 02-12-2013, 01:13 PM

I have a few thoughts and questions now that I've pretty much figured out all the bells and whistles. Thank goodness driving the car is just like driving any other car!

1. Autostop. Does it annoy anyone that when you're parking, it goes into autostop until you put it in Park and then the engine comes on. I'm sure there is a good technical reason for this.. but as I'm a bit a "hack your life" guy, I have been thinking of turning the car off before putting in park to not have the engine restart.

Does restarting the engine come via the electrical motor? I have not heard a "starter" per se and that's good as it would seem it would die quickly!

nutcrunch · 02-12-2013, 04:07 PM

Yep the electric motor that recharges the under hood battery also restarts the engine from auto stop.

It doesn't annoy me at all that the car starts back up when I put it in park and it was in auto stop mode right before that.

chevyorange · 02-12-2013, 08:24 PM

I was just wondering about wear and tear & cycling but I am a GM man, I bleed Chevy Orange, and trust the engineers.

SeaRay245se · 02-13-2013, 01:40 AM

I also wondered a lot about the wear and tear on it.My wife drives the car in DC stop and go traffic at least 2 hours a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.That's a lot of on/off but the warranty on that whole system is a great one and I will probably trade it in in a few years so why worry about it.If it breaks they fix it.

DaveN · 02-14-2013, 08:13 PM

Hi, new here hope it's ok to chime in. I also have auto start/stop and fined myself putting the trans in neutral just before it comes to a stop when I park in my garage.

chevyorange · 02-21-2013, 03:42 AM

After neutral you shut if and then put in park? Engine doesn't restart this way?

nutcrunch · 02-21-2013, 03:47 AM

I think he means he puts it into neutral so it won't shut off then he puts it into park and shuts the engine off. Seems like a lot of trouble for nothing to me.
It was designed to turn off and on by itself, let it do it.

chevyorange · 02-21-2013, 03:50 AM

Yeah that's what I've been doing. I can't figure out why it goes thru starting the motor for 1-3 seconds .. Maybe a last jolt into charging the battery?

nutcrunch · 02-21-2013, 04:57 AM

Huh?
It only auto stops the engine when it is in drive with the foot on the brake as it thinks you are sitting at a stop light so it shuts the car off to save gas. Also it only keeps the engine off temporarily in those situations, it can restart the engine if for example the temps are not comfortable in the car as to how you have the climate controls set or if the battery is getting low in the trunk etc. When it is in park it idles the engine to keep the battery charged. It was never designed to auto stop the engine when it is in park.
Still no idea what the big deal is. Pull up to your house, put it in park, shut the engine off, take the key out and stop worrying.

chevyorange · 02-21-2013, 04:59 AM

Just theoretical fun. The restart and stop with 5 seconds bugs me!

I drive it the way you describe.