Auto-Stop not Auto-Restarting
 

I've been experiencing a problem for a couple of weeks in my 05 HCH MT that has both the dealer and I baffled. Occasionally I can't get out of auto-stop. I'll shift into 1st, lift my foot from the brake, release the clutch, press on the gas, and.... nothing. The Auto-Stop light is still on (blinking because I released the clutch). In order to re-engage the engine, I just have to shift back into neutral and then back into 1st.

I haven't been able to recreate this on demand. Sometimes it happens after driving for an hour, sometimes pulling out of the driveway. Nothing seems unusual on any of the gauges. The few times I wasn't a traffic hazard, I checked that my foot wasn't resting on the brake or the clutch, I was definitely pressing on the gas. I was definitely not going anywhere.

Usually, I let a problem like this go on for a little longer so I can provide more information when I bring it into service (or ask on a forum :). However, since I was almost hit twice because of this, I decided to bring the car in yesterday. The dealer still has the car trying to figure this out (and reproduce the problem). I haven't found anything like this on this forum, so thought I'd ask.... I'm I imagining this? Is there something I'm obviously doing/not doing?

Thanks

Re: Auto-Stop not Auto-Restarting
 

Have they checked the pedal switch for binding?

Re: Auto-Stop not Auto-Restarting
 

The one thing that I have noticed on my 04 HCH MT is that if the car autostops as you are decreasing speed (ie with car in neutral and brake engaged), the car will NOT autorestart from a halt unless the clutch is ENTIRELY down to the floor. Not 3/4 nor 7/8; it must be ALL the way.

I still catch myself not doing this occasionally.

Re: Auto-Stop not Auto-Restarting
 

A tip along the same thought about the clutch being fully depressed -

Make sure your floor mat isn't bunched up and restricting the clutch pedal.

Just a wild guess.

Regards,

Re: Auto-Stop not Auto-Restarting
 

I think I found the problem on an Insight forum (InsightCentral.net) and that is one of the things to check. I called service to let them know what I'd found and they'd just discovered the same thing as well. So the mechanical things they will check are the clutch adjust switch, the clutch pedal switch, clutch pressure plate fingers, hydraulics and anything else to do with the clutch. I am going to stop by today so they can show me how they were finally able to reproduce the problem and I'll find out if it's really an ID 10 T error (meaning my fault).

Basically, if while in Auto-Stop you do not depress the clutch pedal all the way before shifting into gear or if you back off the clutch slightly but do not completely take your foot off while hanging out in Auto-Stop, Auto-Stop does not recognize when you finally do let out the clutch completely. (did I explain that clearly?). This is likely to happen if you are inching along in stop-n-start traffic (which I do every morning - it just kills my mpg!).



So, this may be a mechanical problem... or it may be a driver problem.

Thanks!