Before America's growing obsession with 'climate change' or 'global warming,' a driver would use a car or truck starter about 5000 times during the life of a vehicle. But that's changed with vehicles equipped with a Start-Stop system. A Start-Stop system is used to improve fuel mileage and CO2 emissions to meet the growing demands of the EPA. Cars and trucks equipped with this system use the starter about 500,000 times during the life of a vehicle.
Start-Stop systems allow the car or truck computer to turn off the engine when the car isn't moving. When the driver wants to move again the computer will engage the starter and start the vehicle. Can you imagine how many times the engine in a vehicle equipped with this system is stopped and started in a stop and go traffic jam in Los Angeles, California?
The EPA has been great for forcing auto makers to build better and cleaner engines, which has resulted in more reliable cars and even faster cars, but it goes too far when car makers need CVT transmissions, a turbo charged four cylinder engine on an entry level SUV and Stop-Start systems to reach EPA standards. GM even had a system that turned off engine cylinders during driving to improve fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions, but I think it's been discontinued.
If you thought your cars started had to work hard before, your Stop-Start starter is working 100x harder now, and the EPA is the reason why.
