Annoyed by the switch that turns off your car engine at red lights? The Environmental Protection Agency is, too.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is moving to get rid of the incentive that forced auto manufacturers to put the stop-start feature in most new cars sold in America. He teased the plan to ditch the mechanism in a social media post.
“Start/stop technology: where your car dies at every red light so companies get a climate participation trophy. EPA approved it, and everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it,” Mr. Zeldin said.
The move comes as the EPA and the Trump administration reverse policies and spending focused on converting the nation’s vehicle fleet away from one that relies on gasoline.
The EPA recently announced a pause in the Biden administration’s tailpipe emissions caps that were aimed at forcing people to purchase electric vehicles, while House and Senate Republicans are poised to ditch EV tax credits in upcoming legislation.
The pesky on-off feature is also on the chopping block.
Automakers began widely implementing the technology in 2019 to meet the EPA’s fuel economy standards while satisfying consumer demand for gas-guzzling SUVs.
Carmakers quickly adopted the technology. By 2022, the mechanism was installed in 65% of all new, non-electric cars.
But it has divided drivers.
The mechanism cuts the fuel to the engine when a car comes to a complete stop. It prevents the car from idling and, according to the EPA, reduces emissions and improves fuel economy by up to 5% or more, depending on how long the car is stopped.
The car is meant to instantly restart when the brake is disengaged and the accelerator is pushed, but consumers complain their vehicles don’t always restart quickly or smoothly, and in some cases, it has left them in dangerous situations at busy intersections. Mechanics say the feature can cause additional wear to the starter, alternator and car battery, although car makers deny it.
GMC, for example, said in the autos they sell with the feature, the vehicle’s engine starting system and engine “have been specifically designed to be robust to meet the extra demands of the increased Stop/Start activity.”
U.S. car manufacturers rely on the start-stop systems to comply with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and a growing desire by consumers to save on fuel costs and lower emissions.
But many drivers despise the feature, although the technology is improving to make it operate more smoothly.
There’s a button to turn it off, but it reactivates each time the car is started.
The feature cannot be permanently disabled and comes standard in the majority of new cars on the market.
Mr. Zeldin hasn’t announced how he’ll disincentivize the car makers from installing the mechanism in the future.
An EPA aide said the process could involve changes to the current CAFE standards or creating an entirely new rule.
The EPA first issued regulations in 2012 providing auto makers with credit for “off-cycle” technologies, such as the stop-start feature, that slash emissions but are not recorded in car emissions tests.
Democrats have sought to significantly cut fossil fuel use in cars and trucks and identified transportation as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. The Biden administration finalized fuel economy standards in June that require an average of 50.4 MPG for new cars and passenger trucks sold beginning in 2031.
