Is it worth turning the engine off at traffic lights?

A lot of cars nowadays automatically shut off the engine when the car stops. I do in it my 10 year old Mazda MX-5 at temporary traffic lights under the assumption that I am saving petrol. My question is: how long does the engine have to be off until the extra burst of fuel used to start the engine again is less than then the fuel used as the engine idles waiting for the lights to go green? Is it worth messing about turning the engine off and restarting?

Asked on 10 October 2022 by John Beattie

Answered by Lawrence Allan
It's difficult to give you a clear answer to this as it will vary depending on many factors: power draw (how many electrical features you have running, or the air conditioning/heating), temperature, the engine design itself and whether the engine is sufficiently warmed up or not. On a warm engine with a charged battery we'd say the engine needs to be off for about thirty seconds to justify doing so. The issue is the wear and tear on your starter motor. Modern cars have upgraded starter motors when a start/stop system is fitted, and often have upgraded lubricants or engine components to deal with the increased number of starting cycles without too much wear on components such as the bearings around the crankshaft.
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