[cianpars]

I read somewhere that you have to disable the auto stop start every time you start the car if you don't like it (and I'm not too keen).
Is there any way of disabling it permanently?

 

[pegleg]

I can understand why you'd want to disable stop/start. It's puts a lot of wear and tear on the starter/ring and it's not a proper stop/start to begin with which would use a machine bolted directly onto the crankshaft. This is still mostly under development.
Can you disable it? Well, your dealer could if Ford would allow them to change the software which I very much doubt as the official emissions would include stop/start.
Secondly,even if your dealer could disable stop/start, I very much doubt they'd do it because the vehicle would not be toFord spec.
Guess like me, you just have to switch it off every time.

 

[cianpars]

I guess the starter motors are heavy duty to cope with it, but I'm more concerned about the battery as I've read of a few problems with batteries going flat.

 

[pegleg]

Never had a problem with a flat battery and stop start doesn't function without a fully charged battery.I just make sure Bluetooth is turned off!!

 

[cianpars]

Crikey Pegleg, does Bluetooth drain the battery then? I've been using for years without any noticeable affect on the battery (i.e. the Fiesta battery has never failed).
I am concerned about the heated seats and electric windscreen causing a drain, though I don't ever keep the screen on for any longer than necessary - a few minutes at the most until the engine warms up the heater.

Stop/start was the other concern.