Top car boss calls for common gadget ‘everyone hates' to be scrapped from all motors & vows to make major change
A TOP car boss has called for a feature "everyone hates" to be scrapped from all motors.
Stop/Start technology, which causes car engines to turn off at traffic lights, to save fuel, has become a commonplace feature in many vehicles in recent years.
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However, Lee Zeldin, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency in the US government, which presides over cars passing environmental tests has vowed to have the technology scrapped.
"Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy," he said in a post on X, which has racked up over eight million views.
"EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we're fixing it."
Start/Stop technology became popular in the US due to fuel economy and emissions regulations brought in during Barack Obama 's presidency.
It is not currently mandated in new cars, but has been widely adopted, due to government incentives.
According to past EPA estimates, the technology can improve fuel economy by between four and five percent.
However, an EPA spokesperson noted that is hasn't shown clear reductions in emissions tests.
If Zeldin's plans are finalised, car makers would no longer be given incentives for installing the feature.
This comes after car expert Scotty Kilmer claimed that disabling the stop/start function in your vehicle can "double the life of your engine."
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Scotty, a mechanic with five decades of experience, revealed that the fuel-saving feature can increase engine degradation.
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He said: "[Turning it off] is a smart thing to do.
"Start/stop technology is the dumbest thing that's come out in years.
"97% of the wear happens when you start the car so do you want to keep starting and stopping it?
"Not if you want your car to last longer."
You can switch off stop/start by using the toggle button, usually found somewhere on the dashboard.
It is usually marked by a letter A with a circular arrow curved around it.
This is often accompanied by a small light which, if illuminated, lets you know the setting is disabled.
Social media commenters were blown away by Scotty's advice.
One wrote: "I recently was driving a rental with this feature and after realizing it wasn't the car stalling at every red light I realized what was going on.
"I thought this was... worse for the engine than just idling."
Another added: "I test-drove a car once with that function and I found it annoying."
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