Hi All,
Sorry, this is a bit of a long winded message but might be worth a read for those having stop start issues.
Here's what I have found an my thoughts about the issue:-
I am also of the same opinion as others, that the batteries are simply just not man enough (sorry ladies... I mean... strong enough) to cope with the demands of the Grandland with all the toys and electrical bits a pieces on them.
I have a 1.2T Petrol Elite Nav with things such as Power Tailgate, Keyless Entry, Folding Mirrors, all of which can be used with the engine switched off (obviously). I found that if I wash/clean the car and open the doors and open the powered tailgate a few times then I almost always get the 'Vehicle has gone into Eco mode' warning when I come to start the car again (to be honest, I get this at other times too, not just when washing the car, but thought I'd use that as a good example).
As for start/stop... HAH!... I think it worked for the first two weeks... then nope... just the little flashing 'A' on the dash like everyone else has experienced.
I recently purchased a CTEK battery charger (the one specifically for start/start batteries such as the one fitted in the Grandland, as they are different to standard batteries and require charging differently). https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/ct5-start-stop
Connected it all up, left it for about 7 hours until it said it was done... guess what.... STOP/START STARTED WORKING AGAIN!!!!! Yay!!!
…. but only for about another week and a half.
(When people are taking their cars back to Vauxhall with the start/stop problem, all I think they are doing is putting them on a battery charger just as I have done. This gives it a full charge and you drive away with it working again... for a week or two!)
I did a little more online research and spoke to my Dad who's been in the motor trade from when the dinosaurs were driving around in cars....
(sorry Dad)…. there are basically two types of start/stop battery technology, EFB (Enhanced Flooded Battery) and AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat).
Without boring you to tears with the design and technology differences (I'm sure you can look it up for yourself if you're interested), EFB are cheaper and used in conventional start/stop vehicles, and AGM are superior and are used in advanced start/stop vehicles.
AGM are recommended for cars with high energy demands, varied driving schedules, the most demanding accessories, and start/stop system with regenerative braking. Now I know we don't have regenerative braking, but the Grandland certainly seems to tick the others boxes.
https://batteryworld.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/car-battery-start-stop
the above link is to information from VARTA (who manufacture the battery currently supplied in the Grandland). Read down and you'll see that even they say that an upgrade to an AGM battery may be worthwhile in situations where there is 'extensive electronic equipment' or you 'drive short distances or are often in traffic queues', etc.
Guess which one is fitted in the Grandland… yep, the cheaper and less efficient EFB.
Now I'm no battery expert/technician, so if someone can tell me why Vauxhall would have used EFB over the premium AGM for any reason other than cost, then please feel free to enlighten me; but it seems as though they have fitted a battery only
just up to the job of running things, but after a bit of day to day use, and the type of driving that the majority of people buying these cars use them for, they just don't work properly!
Vauxhall saying, "oh you need to drive the car for further and for extended periods" is a easy cop out in my opinion.
For starters, their dealership sell the car on PCP, PHC, etc. with a standard 8k mile a year limit (I think it's around 8k miles); why start with such a low basic allowance if you have a car that needs to be driven for about 30-40 minutes continually, every day, in order to keep the battery charged to enable you to use all the features. That's just mad!!
Anyway... as I said, a bit of a long winded response, and fair play if you made it this far
, but hopefully it's a little helpful and gives another angle on why we all seem to be having these problems with start/stop and Eco Mode.
Whether Vauxhall will admit/address the problem is a different story. It would be nice to think that they will look into it possibly being a battery issue; but having a look at the latest MY20 spec list for the Grandland, it appears all they are doing is stripping off electric gadgets and 'toys' to save money (obviously) but I reckon it could also be to cut down on the battery drain on the latest models - Power tailgate now only on top end model (unless ordered as option) but used to be standard on Sport Nav and above; 240v socket gone as standard; Denon sound system gone; adaptive cruise option gone; wireless charging now optional on Elite, etc. etc.