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Hi Juliana,

We don't know of any common issue with the Insight, so it's probably a protection mechanism for the battery. We get a lot of similar queries, which prompted us to write the Why won't my car's stop-start system work? feature - well worth a read.

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Hi Bernadette,

Sounds to us like the Qashqai is not a good one and it is likely to keep costing you money. We'd advise you trade it in for another car.

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Hi Silvester,

We have got so many questions from readers about non-functioning stop-start systems (from all makes and models) that we put together this guide to help you get to the bottom of it:

Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

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Hi Ann,

The XC40 is a really likeable car, but you’ll probably find that it’s neither as refined, nor quite as comfortable to drive as the S60 (the ride quality just isn’t as good). It’s also less roomy in the boot. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is a very clever vehicle, but to make the most of it, you need to have a driveway and a charging point, and be covering most of your mileage around town. The battery pack, on a full charge, should get you around 35km of electric-only driving, but if you head out on the motorway a lot, you’ll run the battery down very quickly and then fuel consumption will hover at around the 30mpg mark.

Read our reviews below:

Volvo XC40 reviews

Mitsubishi Outlander reviews

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Hi Philip,

Potentially, yes, as sometimes disconnecting the battery can cause a modern car to go into a total re-set, wiping any stored information. I think you have two options: one, buy a trickle-charger (available from any good motor factors) that will keep the battery topped up without disconnecting it, and two, have a word with the local Mercedes garage in Spain, who may be able to help you with the issue. Worth doing that second one either way.

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Hi Anne Marie,

Stop-start systems on cars will stop working for a variety of reasons, some of them outside your control, but if you think your SEAT still has a problem after looking through this list of possibilities, best bet is to get the car along to your nearest SEAT dealer to check it out:

- Ambient temperature too cold
- Ambient temperature too hot (unlikely in Ireland!)
- Battery in poor condition
- Driver's seat belt usually must be on
- Driver's door and bonnet usually must be closed
- Engine temperature is too low
- Climate control settings may force the engine to stay on

Hope that's of some help. This question by an Audi owner has proven very popular and is mostly applicable to your car too.

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Hi Lucy,

It's always difficult to analyse an issue like that from afar, but it is likely to be a problem with either the charging circuit (battery or alternator, basically) or maybe the mass air flow meter. All of these things could be affected by lower than usual temperatures, but if working properly they should still not fail.

Best advice I can give is to get your car to a good mechanic if it does this again.

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Hi Robert,

It's best not to leave the ignition fully on for long periods of time, but almost all cars/vans have an 'Accessory' setting on the ignition that allows you listen to the radio without actually turning the key all the way to 'ignition'. A radio uses very little battery power so we wouldn't worry about that so long as your battery is in good working order.

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Hi Philip,

The advantage of a hybrid (as opposed to a plugin hybrid) is that you can, theoretically, use a smaller petrol engine, running on the fuel-saving (but power-sapping) Atkinson combustion cycle, and use an electric motor, fed with power by an on-board battery pack that’s charged by both the engine and regenerative braking, to fill in the gaps and holes in the power delivery.

It’s a relatively more simple system than a plugin hybrid, and has the convenience advantage that you don’t actually have to plug it in. Up until quite recently, such hybrids tended to be very thirsty unless driven in a very specific way, and were especially poor in both performance and economy terms on long motorway journeys. Recent improvements in software and battery design (and Toyota is at the cutting edge here) mean that hybrids are now comparable with diesel cars when it comes to overall economy, and much better in town traffic. They’re generally much better for harmful emissions such as nitrogen oxide as well.

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Hi Eugene,

The new i3’s battery is rated at 20kWh so 20x18c gives you a cost of €3.60 for a from-flat-to-full charge. That should be good for at least 200km, or about 1.8c per kilometre driven.