my 03 doesn't auto stop if I put it in neutral right before the stop. I wonder if one of you could try that and let me know if it prevents autostop on the 06's as well.

 

For the 06, you can also shift to 2nd to prevent the autostop.

 

That is why this is on the "HCH II-Specific" list because the HCH II does the Auto Stop when in Drive or Neutral and the brake applied and slowing to below 7 mph with the A/C off and battery of sufficient charge, yadda, yadda, yadda. Neutral or Drive create the same Auto-Stop effect in the HCH II. There should be no need to keep the car OUT of an Auto-Stop situation. If you want to roll through then (on a downhill Stop sign) you can slow to below 7 mph and roll thru with Auto-Stop still active. =)

There is one (1) roundabout here in Pittsburgh and I purposefully detoured that way going home *just* to hear the Nav voice again. Did you know that she actually says, "Follow the roundabout to the 2nd right." I was pleasantly surprised to hear that.

 

Does Kite's suggestion work? Shifting to 2 to prevent autostop?

 

Shifting to 2nd will prevent Auto-Stop but I still don't know why someone would want to manually prevent the Auto-Stop feature from activating. You can also turn on the A/C or the Defroster button and that will prevent the Auto-Stop in any gear. It isn't like restarting the car from a start cranks the Starter teeth on the Starter motor. I have yet to hear my car actually crank to a start as it has not been cold enough yet.

 

We roll through stop signs in California anyway.. Ever heard of the California stop? In LA.. it's a common thing. I've been ticketed for it once.

 

The reason for disabling autostop is so the car doesn't have to spend fuel to start the car back up. Every stop and restart is about 7 seconds of fuel at idle. It can add up over time and especialy over a tank of gas.

 

I thought it was the California roll.

 

St. Louis is famous for the "rolling stop" anyway so most people here would not have to change their driving habits at all. Just another way the HCHII doesn't stand out from the crowd (except inside).

 

I stop. My commute doesn't have a stop sign on it until I'm navigating the parking lot at my office building, and those probably aren't real stop signs, anyway (unless the office managers have signed a traffic law enforcement agreement with the local police, which I doubt, given the number of security patrols we have wasting gas and circling the complex all the time). Rolling through a red light just wouldn't be a good idea (though I certainly see enough people do it when they're making rights). Then when I do go through stop signs in areas not on my commute, they tend to be busy intersections where stopping is necessary. It just doesn't come up. I know there are a lot of hypermilers here who are sometimes tempted to give up a little safety for FE, but frankly, I think that's a pretty unwise course.

The only traffic law that I find myself having a harder time following now that I drive a hybrid is running yellow lights- I just keep hoping to keep up my momentum, so I enter intersections when the light is yellow more often than I ever used to do. It helps that I have gone through my commute so often now that I know how long the lights will last and can time whether I'll need to stop or not pretty well. That doesn't apply for stop signs, though- there's never a time when you wouldn't be required to stop, so I just couldn't justify rolling.

One suggestion- if there really are areas in your community where a yield sign would make more sense than a stop sign, and not just at late hours or whenever, then you should talk to your city council or local police district about having the signs changed. If a particular sign is ridiculous, it's possible they'll change it.

I did this successfully once. A particular stop sign, ironically near our city hall, was ridiculously placed (at a partly roundabout, partly dead-end intersection with completely predictable traffic) and universally ignored for years. I mentioned it to my alderman, who agreed with me and, I think, talked to the police department about it. The sign was taken down and replaced with a yield sign within weeks.