[focus805]

Yea. It's on my list. I really dislike the feature. New owners are spared.

There are some big city traffic conditions where the eco stop/start is at least understandable, but not where I live. I do have a downhill start from home so I change from C to E, then disable the eco stop/start. Every. Day. Every. Time. I drive it.

The Mid City products look really interesting, but they would be more investment and alteration than I want to pay for. I find far less sensible things to build, or rebuild, like the 3030 aluminum extrusion power box frame for the 200Ah/200A upgrade project.

 

[icerabbit]

It is location dependent and seasonal too. If you have enough cold weather the Eco start / stop does not even engage.

I stopped pressing the Dynamic button figuring I needed it for the best fuel economy.

I will turn off start stop, if I'm in a queue of cars like at the gas station, or there's a slow moving series of cars through a couple close by intersections, or the occasional drive through. The kind of thing where it may want to engage several times in a row; and it isn't a clean stop for a minute or so, then go.

 

[river]

I installed my Eco447 a couple days ago and drove 100 miles yesterday. The green light showing Eco Stop Start never came on once.

Actually, “install” is incorrect - “applied” would be more accurate. Mid-City Engineering actually makes at least two models that accomplish the end goal. The one for the Metris does NOT remain in the OBD connector. You remove it before ever starting the engine. What it does is cause the car’s computer to remember the last state of the Eco switch, and apply that state the next time the car starts. Eco on/off is available to you at any time with the push of the button. Very nice.

They have also designed it to reprogram ITSELF so it can only be used again on the same vehicle it was first used on. An expensive but clever software fix, worth it in my opinion.

The instructions rate difficulty as “very easy”, which it is, but with one caveat. Here’s the sequence:
1. Turn ignition to 2nd position, turn off.
2. Open and close car door
3. Insert device in OBD port
4. Turn ignition to 2nd position
5. Observe LED in device hole turn on
6. When light goes off, turn ignition off (mine took about 1.5 seconds)
7. Remove device
8. Check successful operation

The difficulty lies in the fact that you have only seven seconds to perform steps 2, 3, 4, & 5.
How I did it was:
Call a friend to help me with step 2
Both front sears all the way back
Driver window open
Steering wheel all the way up
Arrange my body so my legs were under the passenger seat and eas my torso down between the front seat and the center cup holders and I was lying on a folded up towel looking up at the OBD port so I can reach ignition and see and insert device into OBD and see the LED

I am small (5’3”, 135 lb). Probably most people would be helped by first removing the cup holders

 

[pounce]

Cool. Glad you were a trailblazer for the rest of us. An OBDII extension cable can make this easier.

 

[river]

With this you could do the job by yourself!

 

[river]

Just want to say it’s now been a couple weeks living with a re-programmed Eco stop start. It is always relaxing to NOT see the icon for that “feature” after starting out. Well worth the money. @pounce ’s recommendation for the extension would have been a good addition to this fix also.