Duffy thanks Zeldin for getting rid of 'stop-start' feature in cars: 'I hate it'

MSN ^ | 9 1 | Story by Sarah Davis

[dennisw]

Sean Duffy commended EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for targeting his “pet peeve” — an auto feature intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“You know the on-off, the stop-start button on your car? I hate that thing,” Duffy told the crowd at an event in Detroit. “Thank you, Lee Zeldin. He’s gotten rid of it, and the first cars without the start-stop button are rolling off the line.”

In February, the EPA announced it would axe federal incentives for vehicle manufacturers that include the feature in their models. Former President Obama’s administration introduced “off-cycle” credits for vehicles that used the technology in 2012 as a way to reduce greenhouse gases.

This automatically stops an engine when the car is not moving and starts again when the driver presses the pedal. It cut nearly 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually as of 2023, according to Battery Council International.

“Not only do people find start-stop annoying, but it kills the battery of your car without any significant benefit to the environment,” he said. “The Trump EPA is proudly fixing this stupid feature at Trump speed.”

The elimination of the start-stop button credits was part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to reverse federal emission rules to reduce costs for manufacturers and consumers.

Earlier this year, the EPA also rescinded a 2009 endangerment finding under the Obama administration that held greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles pose a threat to public health. The finding was used to require automakers to follow certain fuel efficiency standards, such as hitting an average of more than 50 miles per gallon across their fleets.

President Trump slammed these regulations as “ridiculous” during White House remarks in which he announced his administration would cancel the finding. He called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in American history.”

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
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[dennisw]

This stop start also means more wear n tear on your engine. Especially the new ones with much tighter tolerances that use much thinner synthetic motor oil.

[Sirius Lee]

This is great news. Now get rid of ethanol.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

---- "This is great news. Now get rid of ethanol."

Yes! The biomass from corn should be diverted into diesel production. Better mileage and machine health for gasoline engines. More supply for diesel engines.

[not in the club]

Amen. This has got to be an 80/20 issue for anyone not getting money from ethanol production

[stanne]

“ This is great news. Now get rid of ethanol.”

I was going to say, great. Stop start is horrible. I’m like an A 10 pilot in my driveway checking all systems. And I know it’s overusing my starter

But I have to comment on that tone. The whatever Trump or Trump team does isn’t good enough

All day I have to hear it. All day.

I hate it ten times more than my stop start and I hate that

[Made In The USA]

Good, let the market decide if anyone wants it. If nothing else make the default selection set to OFF. I manually shut it off every time I start my truck.

Not an engineer, but my sense is that the engine is in a good place when moving parts are getting oil, and the cooling system is doing its job.

I wonder what damage this ‘feature’ has cost American drivers.

[escapefromboston]

Make cars look cool again.

[Marko413]

We have one vehicle with that feature. Thankfully it has a on/off button for it so I can stop it anytime. I wouldn’t mind it in heavy traffic. It would be useful then. The problem is if you are running AC or heater, it drains the battery too much and the car just kicks back on after about 10 seconds. So all that “savings” of carbon they claim, I’m pretty skeptical. I think they just calculated general figures and averages assuming the cars remained off the entire duration of a stoplight.

The claim on it wearing down parts was defended that they build the starters to handle it (aka way more expensive). If anything is going to come of this, I’d hope cars can drop $1000 in price. Either way, I’m happy to see it go.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Much heavier starter motors, much heavier batteries, electronic systems, dashboard switches, high maintenance cost. Some estimates are all that crap increased car cost $500 to $800.

But who cares? The peasants will pay dearly and Gaia must be appeased.

[Skwor]

I literally have had dealers try to tell it does not add to any potential wear and tear to an engine nor affect battery life.

I have also turned around and walked on more than one dealer who peddled that utter BS.

Worst function (I refuse to call it a feature) ever and added significantly to both the initial price and overall cost of maintenance to every car that had it.

No one will ever convince me this was not an intentional act of malice to hurt the average American car buyer!

[Ken H]

Get rid of those gawd-awful computer screens and bring back buttons.

I drive a 2005 vehicle and will never buy a new car with a screen.

[duckbutt]

I call it the “automatic stop start” or the ASS.

[rlmorel]

It is universally hated and despised.

Even more so because the perceived need for that “feature” is based on a hoax.

[Blueflag]

Good thing you are not a pilot.

Aircraft still have a few analog gauges, but the glass cockpit is a pervasive aspect of the panel.

I kinda like it.

[Paul R.]

Gaia must be appeased.

Did Gaia get asked what was the cost in resources of all that?

The Toyota rental with "stop-start" that I drove a few years back did not appear to have a heavier battery, going by it's full ratings. Possibly it had heavier internal plates, sort of like a marine or deep cycle battery, but nothing in the ratings seemed to imply that sort of compromise.

At least the "feature" could be turned off. It was not smooth, and it was annoying as hell.

[OA5599]

Perfect! I’m stealing that one.

[Mr. K]

Wether you like the feature or not, I can’t find anything in the Constitution that gives the government the right to micromanage business this way.

[Sacajaweau]

Just don’t buy it.

[alloysteel]

That “stop-start” feature is of uncertain value anyway. It requires a SECOND battery to function, and it almost invariably fails long before the main battery, but BOTH batteries have to be replaced, or the rest of the system is negatively affected. About $400 for “restoration”, for a parasite that has little effect in overall operation.