i-Eloop and i-Stop / fuel consumption

[dagfinn]

So, after a month of owning a CX-5 the car spent a day at the dealership. The problem was that i-Eloop and i-Stop never worked at all, and the rather weak explanation I got after they fixed it was that it was a software issue of some sort. Anywho, holy cow does it make a difference on the fuel consumption! On a trip that I used to average 8.8L/100km I now now averaged 7.8! And that was pretty much because of the i-Eloop, as I had only one single stop along the way which engaged the i-Stop without issue. Of course, the fix might have included changing other parameters too, but I am a happy camper regardless

 

[GP 2004]

How would I know if my Mazda has this i-Eloop?

 

[dagfinn]

How would I know if my Mazda has this i-Eloop?

Not knowing anything about which trims have it in the rest of the world, or even when they introduced it, on my car I can check it in the apps section on the screen, under fuel consumption. It shows the status of both of these functions.

 

[ZuluCX]

How would I know if my Mazda has this i-Eloop?

We do not have it in US-Canada

 

[yrwei52]

How would I know if my Mazda has this i-Eloop?

i-ELOOP and i-stop are not available on CX-5 Northern American version like other goodies such as memory seat. You can tell if you have these by seeing a "i-stop OFF" button next to those "TCS OFF", and tire pressure warning light set button. Strangely I do believe GT Tech Package in US used to include i-ELOOP feature, but now it's not mentioned anywhere in 2016 CX-5 brochure and owner's manual (which means of course we don't have it anymore!) Shame on Mazda North American Operations by cutting US, Canada, and Mexico's customers short just to save some money!

I'm wondering though, will i-stop equipped cars have different design on starter? For sure if the engine needs to stop and re-start each time the car is stopped, the starter has to be much stronger! Or like hybrid, use totally different starter to re-start the engine. And dagfinn, how smooth the engine stop/re-start operation on your CX-5?

 

[yrwei52]

I really envy this CX-5 with all the buttons filled in the area...

 

[yrwei52]

This is French version of CX-5. Now I know why there is a empty space to the left on the push button panel - reserved for headlight manual level adjustment! What is the "RVM" button anyway?

 

[ZuluCX]

RVM is for REAR vehicle monitoring system

 

[dagfinn]

i-ELOOP and i-stop are not available on CX-5 Northern American version like other goodies such as memory seat. You can tell if you have these by seeing a "i-stop OFF" button next to those "TCS OFF", and tire pressure warning light set button. Strangely I do believe GT Tech Package in US used to include i-ELOOP feature, but now it's not mentioned anywhere in 2016 CX-5 brochure and owner's manual (which means of course we don't have it anymore!) Shame on Mazda North American Operations by cutting US, Canada, and Mexico's customers short just to save some money!

I'm wondering though, will i-stop equipped cars have different design on starter? For sure if the engine needs to stop and re-start each time the car is stopped, the starter has to be much stronger! Or like hybrid, use totally different starter to re-start the engine. And dagfinn, how smooth the engine stop/re-start operation on your CX-5?

I don't know about the starter, but restart is super smooth. And fast too, I believe it is one of, if not the, fastest restarts of any car.

 

[yrwei52]

Shame on Mazda North American Operations by cutting US, Canada, and Mexico's customers short just to save some money!
I'm wondering though, will i-stop equipped cars have different design on starter? For sure if the engine needs to stop and re-start each time the car is stopped, the starter has to be much stronger! Or like hybrid, use totally different starter to re-start the engine. And dagfinn, how smooth the engine stop/re-start operation on your CX-5?

I don't know about the starter, but restart is super smooth. And fast too, I believe it is one of, if not the, fastest restarts of any car.

That UK YouTube video says Mazda's i-stop uses "combustion" to restart the engine and it takes half the amount of time as other competitive conventional systems! Looks like there is no starter involved? Is it possible?
.

 

[dagfinn]

That UK YouTube video says Mazda's i-stop uses "combustion" to restart the engine and it takes half the amount of time as other competitive conventional systems! Looks like there is no starter involved? Is it possible?
.

Would seem so, yes: http://www2.mazda.com/en/technology/env/i-stop/ In any regard, I find it smother and faster than the VW equivalent I tested in a Passat last year.

 

[yrwei52]

I don't know about the starter, but restart is super smooth. And fast too, I believe it is one of, if not the, fastest restarts of any car.

That UK YouTube video says Mazda's i-stop uses "combustion" to restart the engine and it takes half the amount of time as other competitive conventional systems! Looks like there is no starter involved? Is it possible?.

Would seem so, yes: http://www2.mazda.com/en/technology/env/i-stop/ In any regard, I find it smother and faster than the VW equivalent I tested in a Passat last year.

Thanks for the link. So i-stop system stops the pistons in a specific position when the car comes to a halt. Then, when the driver is ready to go, the SkyActiv G direct-injection engine squirts fuel into a cylinder and ignites it to re-fire the engine (with starter motor assist shown on the diagram). The engine re-starts and returns to idle in one-third of a second. Sounds like i-stop is an excellent system for fuel efficiency in city driving condition. Unfortunately US EPA is a test cycle and not the real world condition, i-stop couldn't reflect any benefit on saving fuel during EPA city testing. That was the excuse that Mazda doesn't offer i-stop in US which is really the shame! This is also indicates US EPA city testing is flawed as i-stop did show 8% improvement on city fuel economy under Japan's JC08 mode test cycle, European test cycle, AND JUST OUR HUMAN COMMON SENSE!

 

[dagfinn]

Well, after almost amonth of driving with i-Stop I have to say it's a pretty good thing. I am amazed over how much time I spend idling in traffic, even though I never think about it. Anyhow, the only thing that really annoys me is when I park the car, and i-Stop kicks in. When I put the transmission in P, and still push the brake pedal while I push the start/stop-button, the engine starts again. Having had autotrans for so many years, it's totally built into my system to always push the brake pedal when turning on and off the engine, but now I have to break, put it in P, let go off the brake and push the button. Surprisingly difficult to get rid of my old habbit, and one time I got so confused that I put in in reverse by accident, and when I let go off the brake the car started backing up hahaha. Anywho, I wish it would have killed the i-Stop when you put the transmission in park, or at least that you could have that as an option in the car config system.