citroen g4 picasso - stop start

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sat 12 Dec 2020 15:59
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - tbg

hello again.

I'm having an issue on my 3 and a half year old picasso that I bought 3 months ago and it is going back to the garage for a check in two weeks time but in the mean time I'm looking around to see whats what . So far I've seen stuff about alternator , belt tensioners, starter motor and battery which all make sense , however the question I have is if fixed under warranty ( great ) but is it worth the overall hassle that may come from stop start wear and tear and so far in my research questionable savings and that maybe just turn it off for good AND is it ok to turn it off in the long run.

regards

tom

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 16:16
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - daveyjp

Its a Citroen. Electrical gremlins are part of the design 'features'.

Now on my 5th vehicle with stop start and never had an issue with any of them.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 16:29
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - catsdad

What are the symptoms?

Both my previous Civic and current Golf have periods where stop start will not work. The main issue is battery state where the parameters seem to demand a high charge level. But aircon demands, coolant temperature, turbo (where fitted) heat and other factors all conspire to make it look faulty in that they stop it working. The Civic went into a huff from about November to March, the dealer said it was OK. The Golf usually works but not always.

I am not sure how effective it is in real life economy, but I suspect it’s more about official emissions levels. I used to switch the Civic one off but usually leave it on with the Golf. It’s pretty seamless in the Golf while was more intrusive in the Civic. Hard to describe but something about the Civic didn’t feel mechanically sympathetic.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 16:55
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - mcb100
I’d imagine it would dealer software to permanently disable the stop/start, and the dealer may be reluctant to do this as it would mean the car is now not standard, and not representative of its published emissions figures.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 17:11
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - tbg

As far as turning it off permanently I haven't looked into it just yet.

Symptoms are because of covid lock down the car wasn't used much and only on short journeys so when I'd expect it to kick in it would flash the green symbol and do nothing , I presumed battery charge and went for a longer drive at which point it worked then on the short journeys stopped again then repeated above and all ok until last week when it kicked in stopped engine but when it should have restarted I heard a squeal then the car started beeping at me to restart manually and it started with no problems this happened a few times and so I went and did the long journey thing but to no avail and subsequently I've had a mixture flashing symbols and squeals to the point now the car won't even engage stop start when I start the car it just shows the yellow symbol saying it's deactivated. In this mode the car is fine and starts with suggestion anything is wrong. I took it to my local garage and he said the battery is low hence my visit to the garage to get it checked out

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 18:10
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - elekie&a/c doctor
My wife runs a Fiat 500 with s/s . It is very temperamental . It can work for days ok , then go on strike. Fortunately, there is a switch to deactivate it . I’m guessing it needs a battery as it’s the original from nearly 5 years ago. I’m certainly not going to spend over £150 to get it working properly.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 19:53
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - catsdad

If elekie gets issues the rest of us are doomed!

My Civic problems started the first winter I had it when it was only 18 months old so the battery should have been OK. I suspect you need a nearly fully charged battery and even with longish journeys many of us deplete our batteries over winter to a level below the parameters.

However it will be interesting to see what the garage say as the warnings etc are more severe than any I have seen in my limited experience. My bet is a new battery with a full charge will sort it but it will soon recur until we reach Spring. I hope I am wrong.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 14 Dec 2020 12:07
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - RichardW

The battery not being tip top does seem to stop the stop start engaging - our just over 3 year old C4GP 1.6 Hdi never stops the engine anymore. Given the few pence on fuel it saves it's not going to be getting a new battery just yet....

As these rely on a reversible alternator to re-start the engine, there is a second tensioner on the alt belt. if yours is squealing when it tries to re-start the engine, then odds on that that has failed and there is not enough belt tension to allow the alternator to turn the engine.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 12 Dec 2020 23:09
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - Robin the Technician

Hi, the main cause of problems with stop/start is the battery. Having had 3 cars with this fitted, after a while it stops working. I found that charging the battery on a regular basis prolonged it but all were fixed as soon as a new battery was fitted. Luckily my latest kia has the option to turn it off, which I prefer. Get the dealer to change the battery and your stop/start will be fine.

Hope this helps. Robin the Technician - I fix, therefore I am

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 13 Dec 2020 20:58
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - tbg

I hope it is as simple as the battery and not all the other stuff. However in the long run all being well and it is the battery I'll look into turning it off completely if possible because so far in my little research it would seem not worth in terms of cost and it seems to be a manufacturer work around for legislation. And as far as I can see as long as there are no technical reasons not to .

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 14 Dec 2020 08:31
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - kiss (keep it simple)

Another vote for the battery being the culprit. I have a petrol Mazda an the idle speed went all haywire. I did an ECU re-learn procedure which cured it for a week. Battery never seemed to struggle starting the car, but it was 3 years old and not a top of the line brand. Bought a Varta and did the ECU trick again and the problem has gone away.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 14 Dec 2020 10:09
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - John F

The stop/start on our Pug 2008 hardly ever works, probably because it mainly does short journeys. However, for such a tiny economical engine I can't see the point of it - I doubt if makes a difference of more than 1mpg in the long run which for the ordinary driver averaging 8k or less a year is immaterial...about £4 per annum. I wonder how much the additional technology and heavy duty battery cost? although why it needs to be heavy duty for such a tiddly little engine eludes me. It fires up within a few tenths of a second.

Edited by John F on 14/12/2020 at 10:11

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 14 Dec 2020 12:48
citroen g4 picasso - stop start - sammy1

Might as well get it checked while in warranty. Worse think ever invented just for the hassle it causes some. More expensive battery needed for starters(get it!) and various criteria needed to operate it when the car is running. I always switch mine off before setting off

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....