At around 35000 miles on my 21 Tahoe I wound up with a dead vehicle at a stop light. I took it to my local dealership and they had no idea what it was. Since that time it has gotten worse and I am reluctant to rely on the vehicle to keep me on the road. Finally it was suggested that I disable the Start/Stop feature but now at 40000 I'm told by a friend that the damage to the starter is already done and was beginning to show itself at 35K. I would think that the dealership should have known all about this.

Anybody else experience this or heard about this? Seems that Chevy owes me a new starter. Thoughts?

 

Welcome to Chevy Quito. We have a 20 Tahoe, I had no idea there was a "start/stop" feature offered - I assume that means motor stops when you do (like at a light)?
Buy car new? Do you have any extended warranty?

 

No extended warranty. However, since this issue first appeared while I was still in my original warranty I think I can make a case for getting Chevy to put a new starter in for me. That is, if they admit it's their issue in the first place.

 

I have start/stop on my 2015 Chevy Malibu. I wish there was some way to disable it, but truth be told there are three ways to keep you motor running at a stop.

1. Come up to the stop and gently let off the brake pedal lightly, before a full stop. Works most of the time.
2. Put the transmission into N right before the stop.
3 Put the transmission into M mode.

There may be a permanent fix, but I don't know what it is.

 

I have seen disable kits advertised on tv auto shows

 

My own feeling is that Start Stop technology is tougher on starters, batteries, etc., and that owner will pay more for such repairs over vehicle's lifetime than the savings in gasoline. Modern vehicles pollute so little that I doubt these will make any real difference.

We had a refrigerator with "active defrost management" that figured out "when" to defrost instead of using a timer, to save electricity. However, the electricity saved would be exceeded by costs to replace the "active defrost management" module every few years, and ESPECIALLY if one needed to pay a repairman to do that !

 

Son has a 2020 subaru that has that disable feature, or he installed it. I don't see any benefit other than saving gas on this system.

 

I'm sure the manufacturers beefed up the starters when they came out with the start/stop feature. Not.

 

I'm sure they tried to. To at least have them last through the warranty period.

 

I have heard that the starter on the auto-stop vehicles starter is "built stronger", but I have no knowledge if that's true. When driving at a long stop light, or a R/R crossing I put the transmission into neutral of shut it down, until the train has gone by.

In my 1998 Chevy K-1500 I also put it out of gear to keep the throw-out bearing from wearing out.prematurely..Believe or not my clutch and throw-out bearing are original equipment after 25 years. I love my Chevrolet's, but from some of the posts here, I'm glad that I have a GMT-400 series of Chevrolet pickup. I am not a fan of the 5.3 liter V8, and like my 5.7 liter motor a lot.

I know part of these issues is to get up to the governments fuel-mileage standards, but I would not touch _ANY_ brand of vehicle that has a turbocharger installed, not that I wouldn't' purchase a Chevrolet, as I like them. They are not built up to specifications of that a Semi-Truck Turbocharger is, and I'm really glad I bought my 2015 2.5 liter non-turbocharged Malibu.

197 Horsepower went a long way in my decision to stay away from the smaller 1.5 to 2.0 liter turbocharged engines that come with the 2016 and later Malibu's. It's been a really a great car overall. It's great gas mileage, even after I put a full spare tire on.