UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi Guys,

I am wondering if anyone can help me out.

I have a Polo 6C with Start-stop and it hardly ever works, now i know there are a fair few conditions that must be met in order to satisfy the system and allow it to automatically kick in and out. However, it is now starting to annoy me. Therefore I have been doing a bit of trial and error on my car, seeing when it works and when it doesn't etc.

So far i have found out that the Start-stop will only work when the Electronic Climate Control (ECC) is completely off. If I have the fan speed, set even on the lowest setting it will not work and I get the error message in the Vehicle status - 'Note: air conditioning requires engine to be running. Please adjust the temperature.' Image below: (PLEASE IGNORE THE GRADIENT ERROR - just that i was sat on my driveway when this picture was taken! lol)



I have had the ECC set to every possible setting and it will simply not allow the Start-stop to work when it is on. It has to be completely off, and then it becomes available. It is as though the engine computer is registering that the engine is off whenever i have the ECC on? Maybe explaining the error message above, but i can assure you that the engine is 100% on and has been running for 20 miles +.

Any info guys, before i contact VW?

Thanks in advance  8)


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Is the A/C on though? If it is and the temp is set to 16 it may be getting upset because of that?

Think the above poster is spot on re the temp. Do you normally set it around 16? The air con will be working flat out to try and reach that, therefor needing the engine to run.

I have only had my Polo for 4 days but have noticed the same thing and did similar tests. With the system on but AC off the start stop does not function - only when the entire climate control is off will the start stop start to work. Surely this isn't right. Have you contacted VW about this?

vc-10 wrote:Is the A/C on though? If it is and the temp is set to 16 it may be getting upset because of that?

The temp is usually set to 16, but I've found it is the same on all temperatures. What would be the best/most economical temp setting? It is never the AC that is on though, just the blowers without AC.


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rja wrote:I have only had my Polo for 4 days but have noticed the same thing and did similar tests. With the system on but AC off the start stop does not function - only when the entire climate control is off will the start stop start to work. Surely this isn't right. Have you contacted VW about this?

Strange isn't it, I was hoping mine was the odd case and maybe something was wrong, but if yours is the same maybe it's not? But yes, mine is the same - climate control has to be off 95% of the time in order for Start-stop to become active. Which makes the system incredibly inefficient as I always have the blowers on (not AC) at some temp, usually between 16 and 24C..

Not contact VW yet, I phoned for advice and they just said there is a lot of factors that must be met in order for the Start-stop to work, which is true - but surely you should be able to have a fan speed on at least.


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I guess you have tried setting it in auto try something like 20c the A/C will be on all the time the whole point of climate is to set it & forget it sounds faulty

Thanks. I'll give that another try on the way home from work. But yes, I don't see how it can only work when the whole unit is off. From my picture above its as though the system is registering that the engine is off whenever the climate control is on, hence stopping the Start-stop from becoming available.


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That first message means that start stop is disabled because the engine needs to be running when you have aircon on.

I don't have a Polo with Start/Stop, but our A3 (2012 MY) start stop doesn't work when the car has just been started and there is a heavy load on the systems, as you'd expect.

But, it does work when I've driven a few miles into town and that's even with the aircon on. Often, it cuts the engine even before the car has come to a halt. Basically, it doesn't seem to matter whether aircon/radio etc etc is on or off at all, it just does its thing.

If the polo needs the aircon off to have start stop, then I don't see much point in it! Maybe it's a limitation of the system? I've had a few VAG cars (Golf/Passat as well as non VAG) on hire through work with start stop, and they all seem to start stop with aircon on or off, so might be worth having it checked?

Tooks wrote:That first message means that start stop is disabled because the engine needs to be running when you have aircon on.

I don't have a Polo with Start/Stop, but our A3 (2012 MY) start stop doesn't work when the car has just been started and there is a heavy load on the systems, as you'd expect.

But, it does work when I've driven a few miles into town and that's even with the aircon on. Often, it cuts the engine even before the car has come to a halt. Basically, it doesn't seem to matter whether aircon/radio etc etc is on or off at all, it just does its thing.

If the polo needs the aircon off to have start stop, then I don't see much point in it! Maybe it's a limitation of the system? I've had a few VAG cars (Golf/Passat as well as non VAG) on hire through work with start stop, and they all seem to start stop with aircon on or off, so might be worth having it checked?

Yes, that is what i would expect to happen with the Polo, but it just doesnt seem to like having the fan on at all, never mind the AC. I think i am going to have to call VW and book it in.

Stop/start definitely works in my mum's Skoda Superb with the A/C on, and in my dad's BMW 320D. The latter has climate control, and it automatically dials down the fan speed when the stop/start kicks in. The Skoda doesn't do that, but it only has regular A/C.

I test drove a new Polo the other day, and the A/C was on and stop/start worked fine. But that was standard A/C, not climate control.

I can't believe this behaviour is by design. Going to have to try to explain to Volkswagen but I am not going to hold my breath.

Hmm interesting, think it will be a call to VW to get it checked out. Although it's a pain with work as I need the car everyday!


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Tooks wrote:That first message means that start stop is disabled because the engine needs to be running when you have aircon on.

I don't have a Polo with Start/Stop, but our A3 (2012 MY) start stop doesn't work when the car has just been started and there is a heavy load on the systems, as you'd expect.

But, it does work when I've driven a few miles into town and that's even with the aircon on. Often, it cuts the engine even before the car has come to a halt. Basically, it doesn't seem to matter whether aircon/radio etc etc is on or off at all, it just does its thing.

If the polo needs the aircon off to have start stop, then I don't see much point in it! Maybe it's a limitation of the system? I've had a few VAG cars (Golf/Passat as well as non VAG) on hire through work with start stop, and they all seem to start stop with aircon on or off, so might be worth having it checked?

I have a Mk7 golf and can confirm this. The start/stop doesn't work at first but once up to speed it works quite happily with the a/c fan set to 1 or 2 (any higher and the engine comes on). I wonder if you have climate control rather than a/c as climate control constantly tinkers to keep the car at the same temperature and may require the engine for that, though I'm only speculating.

On my Tiguan the start/stop works most of the time. Only time it doesnt is when the heated seats are on, or the engine is too cold. And i always have the air con on lol