Can I turn off my Stop Start system in my 2010 Fiat 500

Yes, there is a button in the centre of the dash near the heater controls. However, it will turn on again after the car has been switched off and re-started.

Our old Panda, and every other car I've ever owned, does not have stop/start but our relatively new - 2016 SEAT Ibiza - does, and I hate it. I turn it off every time I use the car but, annoyingly, it turns back on every time the car is restarted and sometimes I forget to punch the button so it initiates at the end of the road which is most annoying! I've asked my main dealer and our local indy if it can be permanently disabled but the answer is no. The main dealer didn't want to discuss it but the indy offered the opinion that it was to do with emissions and official fuel consumption figures? He thought that if the manufacturer were to allow a way in which it could be disabled then claims for emissions and fuel consumption would be invalid?

What do you guys think? any opinions?

I think the advice from the indy is probably correct. I find it a bit annoying as I always have a fear of it not restarting instantly, so I tend to lightly touch the clutch pedal sufficient for it to restart rather than switching it off. This is probably irrational of me and the benefits in built up areas with traffic congestion and high air pollution of having traffic sitting in queues without their engines running probably outweighs my minor annoyance. At least we can turn it off if we remember!

So what you need is a little circuit that piggy backs the switch that waits say 10 seconds and "pushes" the button after start up so it's automatically disabled, a simple relay and capacitor would work provided the system was ok with the button "held" pressed plus a few other bits?

The official emissions and fuel consumption test is run to a standard program under laboratory conditions. For much of the time car is not moving. Switching off the engine makes it much easier to pass the test so that's why it's done.

In the real world, it will make a difference but really not very much especially in a diesel that uses a tiny amount of fuel to run itself at tickover. To be fair, this is where full hybrid systems come into their own. We need electric power at the wheels with the engine simply keeping the batteries topped up as and when it's the most efficient to do so.


Diesel exhaust filters are another (near) gimmick. They need the upstream side to be 100% or the additional smoke will quickly clog the filters and cost a fortune to repair. All engines will deteriorate so it wont be long before all are having expensive problems that overstress the after-treatment system.

I know this is a "hairy" old subject we've discussed before but another wee pet hate of mine is having to depress the clutch pedal to enable the starter motor circuit. This is probably a left over, in my mind, from carbon thrust release bearings and engines (like the Triumph 2000) which had inadequate crank shaft thrust washers. I think it's come over from the US - where many drivers seldom drive manual boxes - so were getting caught out if a manual box was left parked in gear.

The reason I mention this again is I would guess that there is a "push to make" type switch which the pedal bears upon when depressed? I noticed my boy's old Fabia had 2 clutch switches and I think my Ibiza is the same. It occurs to me that this being the case could I just fit a "push to make" button somewhere on the dash wired in parallel with the switch? Pushing this switch/button would "fool" the ecu into thinking I had my foot on the clutch and the starter would be enabled. As soon as the engine started the switch would be released and everything would be as intended - just in case this switch (on the pedal) has more to do than just activating, or not, the starter motor power supply.

MultiECUScan gives the option to disable S&S, no? I'm sure I spotted it on my MiTo but I've not checked on the wife's 500 yet

from experience it will stop working eventually anyway. on my 500 it indicates that it's working and if i stall it restarts but the start stop itself kicks in maybe once a month if that. the rest of the time the engine carries on as per normal - could be battery related?

My TA 2011 suffered the same until an firmware update has been installed in 2012(?). After the update SS remains off if it has been switched off, until switched on again.
Don’t know if this update is available in all countries...

Same opinion here - I switch it off every time. I tried holding the switch while starting, but that´s not enough, so it does need the timer mentioned above.
I don´t have MES yet, but planning to get it, so that will be among the first things I plan to tackle with it.
Alternativey I was thinking of bridging the clutch switch so that the clutch registers always in the "pressed" position. Can´t think of anything else that would need that signal.