# How much time is spent waiting for tech "buffering/connecting/signing in"?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-is-spent-waiting-for-tech-buffering-connecting-signing-in/1019701
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 16, 2025, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-is-spent-waiting-for-tech-buffering-connecting-signing-in/1019701 "2025-06-16T13:59:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 31

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-is-spent-waiting-for-tech-buffering-connecting-signing-in/1019701/31 "2025-06-17T18:19:28Z")

</div>

> [@xtenkfarpl](#):
>
> Agreed. One wonders if it really saves anything, or if it is just a sop to feelgood token environmentalism?

They do save gas, but it really depends on how much time you spend stopped on a particular trip. The following article (with [data from the SAE](https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/2023-01-0346/)) says 7-26% fuel savings. SAE reports a 7% savings on the Federal Test Procedure, and a 26% savings on the New York City Cycle.

So probably barely any savings on a highway trip with only a very few stops that don’t last long. Potentially lots of savings on trips where you spend a long time waiting for traffic lights. It isn’t just some green washing to annoy people; it can save gas.

I’ve only experienced it in rental cars, and I just leave it enabled. Saving 10-20% on what I have to pay for gas seems a reasonable exchange for not having to do anything.

Sometimes the noise and vibration of starting is a little annoying, but I just get over myself, and don’t worry about it. The stupidest was a rental car in Texas, where at a stop light the engine would turn off, and then immediately turn on again so the AC could run.

If it caused a noticeable hesitation at a stop light, then I’d disable it, but for normal driving I find the engine is running as soon as I lift my foot off the brake.

> **[Does the Start/Stop Function Really Improve Your Car’s Fuel Economy? -...](https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/fuel-economy-efficiency/does-start-stop-function-really-improve-cars-fuel-economy-a1028235974/)**
>
> The automatic start/stop function shuts off the engine when your car is idling. But just how much does this technology really save you on gas?

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-time-is-spent-waiting-for-tech-buffering-connecting-signing-in/1019701)._