AN EXPERT mechanic has claimed that pressing a little-known button can “double the life of your engine”.
Scotty Kilmer, who has been in the motors business for five decades, suggested that a convenient feature common in modern cars could actually be hurting their performance.
YoutubeScotty Kilmer urged drivers to switch off a common convenience feature[/caption]
WikipediaHe claimed that the automatic stop/start setting could be causing damage to your engine[/caption]
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Scotty urged drivers to switch off the automatic start/stop setting on their vehicle.
Start/stop features have become popular in recent years as they help improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.
Indeed, another expert previously shared the “ten-second rule”, where motorists should be turning their cars off anyway when stopping to save fuel and allow “hypermiling”.
However, Scotty remains unconvinced and feels that the tech will just increase engine degradation.
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.”
It comes after a major car brand unveiled new seatbelt tech which it claims could be extra effective in saving your life.
Meanwhile, a 40-year-old Peugeot 205 went up for sale at £300,000, with just 10,000 miles on the clock.