I went to the NY Auto Show to see the new 2019 Forester to go on sale starting in the Fall

Asked if the new start/stop function can be defeated by the driver and the Rep told me yes.

I have been unable to verify that it can be shut off..

Does ANYONE have any information on this new (probably mandated) feature??

I know you can shut it off in some car brands.. Just want to know about Subarus.

I haven't read anywhere that mentions the ability to disable it. But then again, it's so new, there isn't much info on it yet.

 

I will say that most manufacturers are opting to remove the disabling feature. the reason is the fact that start stop technology can drastically improve fuel efficiency. And with the federal regulation of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE), car manufacturers need to do literally everything they can to get the MPG up even .1 MPG. And allowing the start stop to be disables completely defeats the purpose it was put on the car in the first place.

Not to say Subaru wont allow it, just giving a heads up that over the next 5 years (unless it gets repealed by the Trump administration) start stop wont be able to be disabled on 90% of cars, because the need to meat CAFE standards.

I Googled this question about Stop/Start, and found several sites with answers.

The one answer about Subarus suggested that there's a connector under the dash that can be disconnected to disable the function (although one of the comments said that it didn't work for his Subaru).

Another answer (non-Subuaru) was a YouTube video of how to disable from the on-screen settings.

And another answer (also non-Subaru) said that the Stop/Start is disabled automatically when towing, so the ECU could be fooled by the use of a resistor across the trailer connector.