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How to permanently disable Engine Stop and Go feature

65K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  billybob70 
#1 ·
I just bought a 2021 KIA Seltos and I forgot what my sales guy explained on how to turn off the engine stop/go feature. I don’t want it because it will probably shorten the life of the battery and, maybe the starter. I don’t want to end up having a dead battery in a heavy traffic condition on a snowy night in a Chicago expressway. I know, I still have to RTFM but has anyone permanently disable this feature? I remember the sales guy mentioned that it is on by default every time you start the engine!
 
#6 · (Edited)
ISG, IMHO, is not for already fuel efficient gas engine vehicles like the Seltos. I’d rather spend pennies more on gas than subject the unnecessary wear and tear on the battery, alternator, and starter. Yesterday, it was kinda chilly so the heat was on. ISG stopped the engine at a stop light on a intersection but the climate control was still blowing air, the headlight and radio were still on! This is a stupid feature, IMHO.
 
#11 ·
(Long) I can hardly believe the disable ISG discussion is still ongoing! I was part of a long thread back in 2014 on Rio forum - where apart from the permanent enable/disable issue, it got into a lot of discussion on fuel consumption at idle, emission control, etc.. Anyway - my story - I guess I learnt to live with it . . . until . . . in 2019 & 2020 I noticed that it seemed to have ceased to function - yipee! Good riddance! And then 2021 (and the reason for this post) - assisted by the fact that the car had been getting little use in the past year - the battery would be dead every few days and I'd have to jump start. Put in new battery - and voila - ISG is back. I then recalled all the things I hated about it - especially when the computer couldn't make up its mind about whether to stop or start or sometimes appeared to do both together. So I have decided to permanently disable it - two choices: (#1) reinsert old battery and carry jump leads or (#2) permanently assert the 'hood open' status - method (Rio): Remove the 3 bolts that hold the hood latch mechanism, this allows access to the single screw holding the 'hood open' sensor which can then be detached, folded back on its cable and zip tied neatly out of the way. I went with (#2). (back in 2014 the suggestion was to remove the pigtail on that sensor and jump the connections w/ a paper clip and then bind w/ tape to make it waterproof.)
The fine print: YMMV. Modifications to your vehicle are at your own risk. You might want to reinstall before going to dealer w/ warranty issues.
 
#13 ·
I got a Kia survey a few months back on my 2021 Seltos. One question asked if I was willing to loose 1MPG in exchange for no ISnG. I gave them a piece of mind mind over that one in the comments. My Seltos runs like a POS under 10mph. That ISnG confuses computer in my opinion.
I ahte it!
 
#15 ·
I got a Kia survey a few months back on my 2021 Seltos. One question asked if I was willing to loose 1MPG in exchange for no ISnG. I gave them a piece of mind mind over that one in the comments. My Seltos runs like a POS under 10mph. That ISnG confuses computer in my opinion.
I ahte it!
Mine is fine below 10mph. I will admit, for the first 2K miles there was a lot of shudder but it went away. The Kia site talks about this issue with the DCT. The clutches, apparently, need to break in.
 
#19 ·
Kia dealers won't inspect a car with ISG disabled. It shortens the life of the engine. The hardest strain on the engine is during startup. I got into the habit of hitting the botton. Just wait until they eliminate the button entirely. They are talking about it for 2024.
 
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#20 ·
I know this is an old thread, but I just happened to be curious about the whole ISG thing and found this in their Q&A (although their answer doesn't really surprise me).

  • Q. Can the frequent use of ISG lead to undermining the durability of vehicle components?
    A. Not at all. We have enhanced the durability and performance of parts -such as a starting motor (starter), batteries and others- required for ISG. Also, for your safety, we applied safety logic to the system.
 
#21 ·
I know this is an old thread, but I just happened to be curious about the whole ISG thing and found this in their Q&A (although their answer doesn't really surprise me).

  • Q. Can the frequent use of ISG lead to undermining the durability of vehicle components?
    A. Not at all. We have enhanced the durability and performance of parts -such as a starting motor (starter), batteries and others- required for ISG. Also, for your safety, we applied safety logic to the system.
I've heard now that this has been out for several years. Honda realizes that it does put a strain premature wear on the rod bearings, along with the starter, and battery. To top it off only here in the US do we use 0w-20 weight motor oil, trying to get better gas mileage. The rest of the world uses thicker motor oil.
 
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