2013 Leon Mk3 Start Stop Issue

Willie1892

Active Member
Jan 29, 2015
12
0
This has happened a few times in the last year.
Yesterday was in car park and let someone out to free a parking space - the car went into stop - no issues there then.
When I pressed the clutch - nothing happened, the display said something like .... manual start required.
I switched off the ignition and started the car by the key.
I know when the battery is below a certain voltage that it do not stop when at traffic lights etc but this was different.
Can anyone give me any guidance
Thanks Again
Willie
 

chrisRibiza

Active Member
Sep 27, 2007
1,194
51
Did you remove your seatbelt when the car stopped as that will stop the car restarting automatically.
 

Willie1892

Active Member
Jan 29, 2015
12
0
I don't remember.
The other times I would have, since I always reverse into my drive and always remove the seat belt before doing this.
Thus this could be the answer

thanks

Willie
 

chrisRibiza

Active Member
Sep 27, 2007
1,194
51
Yeah, When I 1st got the car it took me a while to realise that I had undone my seatbelt which is why it wouldn't restart.

There is a bit in the manual which tells you the conditions which need to be met for stop / start to work.
 

W44DUP

Active Member
May 17, 2016
73
4
West Sussex
Hi guys,
When I goto work (at airport) there is a security gate which I have to get out the car at and this also means that I have to manually start the car again. I always assumed that it was because I had opened the door but the seatbelt makes sense! Every day is a school day! ;)
 

ysfdncr

Active Member
Jan 17, 2016
178
12
36
New Jersey, USA
Opening door, seatbelt and long waiting requires manuel starting. This is not an issue.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Cihazimdan Gonderildi
 

romster1

Active Member
Nov 26, 2016
107
6
W London
Ive been having lots of problems wit the stop start. vehicle information screen states high power consumption as a reason its not working which Is BS as i even tried turning of the head unit and climate control and it still wont work. I know this functionality requires the battery to have a certain amount of charge but surly the alternator should top up the battery enough to keep this functionality available and working ???
 

Walone

Active Member
Feb 10, 2016
1,538
421
Near Heathrow
Ive been having lots of problems wit the stop start. vehicle information screen states high power consumption as a reason its not working which Is BS as i even tried turning of the head unit and climate control and it still wont work. I know this functionality requires the battery to have a certain amount of charge but surly the alternator should top up the battery enough to keep this functionality available and working ???

I also have stop/start problems, I can do a 50 mile drive and it still won't work and I can drive a short distance and the engine temp only showing 2 bars and it works! It's load of crap and I can't help feeling that it's down to battery not being an 'AGM' but Seat cutting costs by fitting an 'EFB' one instead.
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
Strangely, my car yday (very cold) refused to trigger start stop (but it didn't thrown any errors) for a good first 15-20 min of my 45 min journey. When it was warmer and I did the same..no problem...would start stop even after going less than 2-300 meters to the next traffic light from cold start.

It's only 1 year old, so I highly doubt the battery is the cause. But the last time I did drive it was about a week prior, this could be why.

How old are the batteries in your respective cars?

I do get 'restart the engine manually' if I open my door, or undo seatbelt once it has stopped.
Any other doors its not a problem.
 

Shaady

Active Member
Jan 25, 2017
167
25
Strangely, my car yday (very cold) refused to trigger start stop (but it didn't thrown any errors) for a good first 15-20 min of my 45 min journey. When it was warmer and I did the same..no problem...would start stop even after going less than 2-300 meters to the next traffic light from cold start.

It's only 1 year old, so I highly doubt the battery is the cause. But the last time I did drive it was about a week prior, this could be why.

How old are the batteries in your respective cars?

I do get 'restart the engine manually' if I open my door, or undo seatbelt once it has stopped.
Any other doors its not a problem.

What did you have the heating set to?

Have found that if you put the heating up high (on the AC or just the blowers) the stop start won't function until the engine is up to temp, however if you turn the heating off it'll work fine pretty much straight away after starting it.
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
What did you have the heating set to?

Have found that if you put the heating up high (on the AC or just the blowers) the stop start won't function until the engine is up to temp, however if you turn the heating off it'll work fine pretty much straight away after starting it.

Everything was at 0. I didn't bother turning it on as from experience, unless the engine temp is up to temp, there is no point, I cannot get any hot air anyway. Infotainment was also off. It was just me, and the car, no additional sounds (and luckily, no rattling either).

I wonder if the person's 2013 Leon's battery (4 years +) maybe just could not hold the voltage when it's cold like it used to (despite being in a thermal blanket in the engine bay).
 
Last edited:

romster1

Active Member
Nov 26, 2016
107
6
W London
Everything was at 0. I didn't bother turning it on as from experience, unless the engine temp is up to temp, there is no point, I cannot get any hot air anyway. Infotainment was also off. It was just me, and the car, no additional sounds (and luckily, no rattling either).

I wonder if the person's 2013 Leon's battery (4 years +) maybe just could not hold the voltage when it's cold like it used to (despite being in a thermal blanket in the engine bay).

I'm aware that it wont operate until the engine reaches temperature but even when its up to 90 it doesn't work and like the previous poster in the past it would operate almost immediately at times. it has a life of its own the car is only a year old so the battery should be good
after a 72 mile roundtrip to the dealer it then worked for a day which leads me to still think its due to the alternator not keeping the battery topped up and charged. I tried arching this issue and found that some Skoda owners ( same group) have also been experiencing these issues too so could cost cutting on this part be the route of the issues ???
 

romster1

Active Member
Nov 26, 2016
107
6
W London
Everything was at 0. I didn't bother turning it on as from experience, unless the engine temp is up to temp, there is no point, I cannot get any hot air anyway. Infotainment was also off. It was just me, and the car, no additional sounds (and luckily, no rattling either).

I wonder if the person's 2013 Leon's battery (4 years +) maybe just could not hold the voltage when it's cold like it used to (despite being in a thermal blanket in the engine bay).

Yea KXL i know it wont work with the climate control on which in itself makes it not fit for purpose we should be able to heat the car up when its cold and cool it down if its ever hot and still have the stop start functionality available and working
 

exmgman

Active Member
Nov 30, 2009
75
8
Stop start

Have you ever considered what stop start can wear out.
When I got my previous Leon mk3 with the stop start Feature I questioned the Dealer Service manager as to what SEAT had done to modify the starter/ring gear to withstand constant restarts.
He told me nothing. So if the car is driven a lot in town traffic then the starter motor and ring gear will be potentially subject to high wear rates. I dare say it will probably last the warranty period but after that?
I always turn the stop start off and the Dealer service manager admitted that he did the same in his own Leon!
 
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IrnBru

Active Member
Apr 4, 2018
115
21
Have you ever considered what stop start can wear out.
When I got my previous Leon mk3 with the stop start Feature I questioned the Dealer Service manager as to what SEAT had done to modify the starter/ring gear to withstand constant restarts.
He told me nothing. So if the car is driven a lot in town traffic then the starter motor and ring gear will be potentially subject to high wear rates. I dare say it will probably last the warranty period but after that?
I always turn the stop start off and the Dealer service manager admitted that he did the same in his own Leon!
I'm getting a leon that should be at the dealers any time soon, but I had a juke before that for 3 years, it just became habit to turn the stop start off every time I entered the car, do you have to turn off the function every time you enter the car or does it stay off all the time? It just became second nature in the juke to turn it off all the time so it won't really bother me to do the same in the leon

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

exmgman

Active Member
Nov 30, 2009
75
8
Stopping stop start.

You have to press the switch to disable stop start every time you start the car.
I understand that it can be disabled by using the VW Audi software but the dealers are not allowed to disable this feature. I've asked!
This feature was introduced, and not just in VW Audi group cars, to reduce exhaust emissions to meet limits set by the EU in the urban cycle. In view of the diesel emissions cheating debacle it is obviously not something the official dealers will ever countenance even with petrol engined vehicles like mine.
 

6th.replicant

Active Member
May 29, 2008
698
9
London
I’m contemplating upgrading my trusty Mk1 LCR for a used Mk3 LC or a Mk7 GTI. I’ve noticed some interweb rumblings about turbo failures for both cars.
Does Stop / Start cut the ignition if the turbo is hot, or is there a sensor that overrides the Stop function because it’s detected that a hot turbo needs cooling?
Ta.
 

Looie

Active Member
Apr 26, 2016
25
0
Harlow, Essex
Personally I turn my stop/start off straight after I start the engine - every single time - can't stand the ruddy thing...... the 1.4ACT is so good on fuel it's a nonsense to have this on the car, but I do understand the 'political requirements' that force manufacturers to have them on engines.

It would have been a deal breaker for me when I was looking at buying a Leon FR if I couldn't turn the damn thing off.......... fortunately I could, and since buying the Leon 2yrs ago I am still very happy!
 

Wastedagen

Active Member
Aug 3, 2017
478
101
Milton keynes
Stop start

Have you ever considered what stop start can wear out.
When I got my previous Leon mk3 with the stop start Feature I questioned the Dealer Service manager as to what SEAT had done to modify the starter/ring gear to withstand constant restarts.
He told me nothing. So if the car is driven a lot in town traffic then the starter motor and ring gear will be potentially subject to high wear rates. I dare say it will probably last the warranty period but after that?
I always turn the stop start off and the Dealer service manager admitted that he did the same in his own Leon!
Lol, the first thing I did once I received my obd11 dongle...
 
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