# Economics and ecologics of auto stop/start

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-and-ecologics-of-auto-stop-start/1032725>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 31, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-and-ecologics-of-auto-stop-start/1032725 "2026-08-31T19:05:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/economics-and-ecologics-of-auto-stop-start/1032725/2 "2026-08-31T19:24:49Z")

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Here’s a 50-post thread from a year ago on exactly this topic.

> [@What is the break even time for "auto stop"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-break-even-time-for-auto-stop/1023995):
>
> “Auto stop” is a car feature that turns the engine off when you stop the car (for example at a red light) and restarts it when you come off the brake or hit the gas, automatically, to save gasoline. How long does a stop have to be, to make this worthwhile? In terms of total cost of operation, which would take into consideration gasoline and wear and tear on the engine, starter, battery, et cetera. I doubt a one second stop saves enough gas to cover the wear and tear, but imagine a one minute st…

Here in a different thread is another string of posts on-point:

> [@Sometimes Technology Just Complicates Things](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sometimes-technology-just-complicates-things/1021482/52):
>
> I don’t know if this has been brought up yet. I don’t know a lot about cars, but it seems to me that the auto stop-start feature in newer cars is hard on the car’s starter system. Stopping and starting a car 20 times a day has to create some wear and tear. I saw an online video where a mechanic says that it’s a useless piece of tech that is hard on cars. But like I said, what do I know? I always turn mine off.

  

Bottom line is 11 gallons is 2/3ds of a tank of gas is about 200 miles of driving. That at highway speed would take you 3-1/2 hours. And at idle fuel flow would take maybe 10 hours to burn.

Removing 10 hours of run time from your use of the car changes the city-driving pollution numbers a lot. And it was cheaper (and more marketing compatible) for automakers to meet those standards by stopping the engine than by, say, installing one with 10 or 15 percent less displacement & horsepower.

It’s all about meeting mpg & pollution regs the cheapest way possible.

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