[ethan.]

Hey everyone. I have a 2017 330i. 87,XXX miles. I’ve been driving in eco mode and with the auto start stop enabled and it just won’t activate. When the car is warmed up to operating temperatures, the steering wheel is straight, and the climate control is off it doesn’t seem to want to activate. car runs and sounds fine, just like normal. the temps are around 30-40 degrees so could that be it? just wondering if this is normal or not.

[Treles]

I would get the battery checked. My understanding is if the battery is below a certain level the system wont activate even though its more than enough to run the car.

As the old saying goes "I know just enough to be dangerous" eg I am far from an expert and may even give just plain bad advice

[chowser51]

how old is the battery? have you load tested it?

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ethan.

the temps are around 30-40 degrees so could that be it?

Could be. If the car thinks that the combination of outside temperature and current draw might make it hard for the battery to restart the car it won't turn the engine off. It will do the same in summer if you have the AC cranking hard. It could be low voltage too, but far more often than not that doesn't indicate anything wrong with the battery. It's usually the result of infrequent driving, short trips, all in town driving and cold weather, especially when you have all at the same time. You should be seeing a dash light that indicates that the conditions for an automatic engine stop have not been met. They're listed in your manual.

[2017F30]

Originally Posted by ethan.

Hey everyone. I have a 2017 330i. 87,XXX miles. I’ve been driving in eco mode and with the auto start stop enabled and it just won’t activate. When the car is warmed up to operating temperatures, the steering wheel is straight, and the climate control is off it doesn’t seem to want to activate. car runs and sounds fine, just like normal. the temps are around 30-40 degrees so could that be it? just wondering if this is normal or not.

Why Eco mode?

[Billfitz]

Eco has some fuel saving value in the city in stop and go traffic. Otherwise I agree that it's not worth using.

[ethan.]

thanks for your input guys! I appreciate it. I use eco to try to save fuel around town and running errands. but def prefer comfort and sport obvi

[2017F30]

Originally Posted by ethan.

thanks for your input guys! I appreciate it. I use eco to try to save fuel around town and running errands. but def prefer comfort and sport obvi

I’m also in a 2017 330iX (36,000 miles) and I don’t think the payoff long-term is worth the minimal fuel savings while running Eco mode. Just my viewpoint.

[FuturPhil]

Originally Posted by ethan.

thanks for your input guys! I appreciate it. I use eco to try to save fuel around town and running errands. but def prefer comfort and sport obvi

I was totally on the same boat before with saving every penny and being nicer to the environment with emissions. With that said, after lots of reading and some family advice I realized it’s likely going to cost me more money and headache in the long run. Specifically with the auto start/stop feature.

- drawback of these systems is that they do require idling the main engine, creating additional hours of wear on the main engine and loading of the DPF exhaust system

So I 100% avoid the auto start/stop as it might cost more in repairs then what you save in gas. Also, if you drive smart, not aggressive, tentative to what’s in front and how often you break you can get great MPG even on sports mode. I get on average 25-28mpg and sometimes even 32 on sports mode.