Stop / Start eTorque question?

[Grip750]

just got my Ram a few days ago. What is up with the stop / start feature! When driving and stopping at the lights stop / start hardly engages, the longest has been maybe 15 seconds but most of the time it is 5 seconds or less or does not even engage at all. Is this just junk science

 

[Snwjnky]

If something is running that needs the engine running, it might not engage at all. Example: Cold morning and you're trying to heat the cab.

 

[Grip750]

If something is running that needs the engine running, it might not engage at all. Example: Cold morning and you're trying to heat the cab.

Crazy, the feature seems useless

 

[Apexcars]

Give your truck a few miles for a break in period. Mine engages whenever I stop once the engine is up to temp. And it will sit for with the engine off for quite awhile even with A/C running.

 

[BillyCrash]

Mine has engaged flawlessly. Clearly saving gas at stops when it shuts the engine off, and the start when releasing the brake is smooth. I'm very happy with the eTorque system.

 

[SpeedyV]

Mine has engaged flawlessly. Clearly saving gas at stops when it shuts the engine off, and the start when releasing the brake is smooth. I'm very happy with the eTorque system.

Echo this. Nearly 18 months of flawless operation.

 

[Grip750]

Mine has engaged flawlessly. Clearly saving gas at stops when it shuts the engine off, and the start when releasing the brake is smooth. I'm very happy with the eTorque system.

Do you mean it shuts down the entire time at a traffic light even if you are stopped a minute or 2

 

[Swag1981]

Do you mean it shuts down the entire time at a traffic light even if you are stopped a minute or 2

It depends. If the heat or AC is on, depending on the temp or blower speed, the engine will start back up to maintain the settings. However if you don’t have the climate control on, I imagine it will stay off for as long as the 48v batteries can maintain the e-torque motor.


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[Kob0583]

It may stay the entire time or it may engage again if the voltage draw is high due to AC etc.. also as others mention if the truck is just getting warmed up it might not shut off. Never timed it but yes mine has stayed off through a stop light or several minutes but if the AC is really working it may kick back on from time to time. How much gas does it save I have no clue. Sure it’s saving fuel but couldn’t say how much.


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[Bubba33]

Use brake pedal pressure to control it. If you're not going to be stopped long use less pressure. Its the smoothest restart. Jeep jl has it and it's not near as smooth. The generator to start it makes it smoooth.

 

[piening2150]

This gives a decent explanation of how/when it may or may not engage-

 

[Neurobit]

Good discussion.
Disclaimer, I despise traditional stop/start (and I’ve driven them all it seems), but based on user’s comments about how good the system on the RAM is, I believe that I would not think twice about getting one on my next truck. Glad to see that after two years these systems are still holding up w/o any widespread failures or issues.

Cheers,

 

[piening2150]

Good discussion.
Disclaimer, I despise traditional stop/start (and I’ve driven them all it seems), but based on user’s comments about how good the system on the RAM is, I believe that I would not think twice about getting one on my next truck. Glad to see that after two years these systems are still holding up w/o any widespread failures or issues.

Cheers,

The eTorque system is more sophisticated than your typical start/stop system. My Hemi ET system is relatively unobtrusive. I don't mind it, although I despise stop/start on every other vehicle I've driven. I always turn it off in my wife's new Jeep. I am however disappointed in the lack of demonstrably better fuel economy from my Hemi ET vs the standard Hemi.

 

[Grip750]

Thanks everybody for the info. Very informative. I went out for a drive and it seems climate control is the major issue for me. I live in FL and have the air on low and I like it cold, as soon as I lowered the climate control the stop / start stayed on for a while. Thanks again

 

[BillyCrash]

Do you mean it shuts down the entire time at a traffic light even if you are stopped a minute or 2

It depends how long the truck has been running up to that point. I assume the system has to store capacity for a while, and this capacity only lasts so long. I have been at a stop where it has shut down but then started up again, not sure how long I was sitting there though. It also depends on what you have running, in my case the a/c was running so I assume that shortens the stop time.

 

[BillyCrash]

Here's one of the better explanations of how it works, and how it's much better than competitor's stop/hybrid systems. Good to get insight from an actual Ram specialist. There's a lot of details in this video that I haven't seen in others, like once the battery is full, the system does things like over-running the cooling fan so next stop you have more time with the engine shut off.