Car.net... I HATE that Autostop function in newer cars....

Mar 26, 2024, 3:18 PM

Last summer I bought a 2021 Chevy Traverse. It's got all the electronic bells and whistles and we love just about everything about the car except for that d.a.m.n.e.d "Autostop" feature. For those that don't know - Autostop is where the car automatically cuts off at traffic stops (traffic lights, stop signs, practically anywhere you come to a complete stop) and cranks back on once you take your foot off the brake.

A simple trip to the grocery store now has 5 times the number of cranks on the car as a regular trip in a car without the Autostop feature. I can't imagine that all this cranking doesn't eventually cause additional wear on the starter/ignition system and also shorten the car's battery life....

Apparently this is a feature that most newer cars come with in order to improve mileage and reduce pollution - probably some kind of regulatory mandate or something... Anyway, a lot of cars have a dash button where the Autostop feature can be temporarily turned off. Unfortunately, the 2021 Chevy Traverse has no such button and the Autostop function is always "on" with no way to turn it off. The dealer can't/won't do it and there is no way to do it through the vehicle menu system.

I've seen videos with a "hack" of putting the car in "L" (instead of "D") and running up the gear range every time you go to drive in forward direction. Apparently putting the car in "L" disables the Autostop function but I find that to be an irritating solution because it has to be done every time you put the car in a forward gear.

Last week I finally finally found a more permanent solution that allows the car to be driven in the normal manner without playing tricks every time you crank it or want to move forward. An electrical engineer in Virginia created a small device that is installed at the car's battery that manipulates the car's battery sensor signal being sent to the computer.

The device apparently tricks the car's computer into avoiding the Autostop mode and it WORKS LIKE A CHARM!!! I just received/installed the device yesterday (took all of 3 minutes) and it is finally nice to drive around town without having the car automatically stop and crank 10 times just to go on a simple grocery run. The device doesn't affect any of the other car's functions and is very easy to install.

So... if you have an Autostop feature on your car that drives you nuts and you can't otherwise disable it - check out SmartStopStart.com. The devices are kind of pricey ($140) but I can vouch that it works...