If you’ve driven almost any gas-powered car made in the last 10 years or so, you’ll no doubt have an opinion on automatic start/stop systems, the fuel-saving tech that cuts the engine when the car comes to a stop so it’s not sitting idling at red lights or stop signs.
There’s an equally good chance that that opinion isn’t a particularly positive one, with many enthusiasts decrying the tech as annoying and the fuel-saving gains it brings largely unnoticeable. Despite that, nearly every new gas-powered car features the system, but that might not be the case for long, as Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has teased that the government has something in the works to regulate, or even potentially outright ban, the tech.
A Divisive System
Automatic start/stop systems are pretty simple – come to a stop, and the car’s engine shuts off automatically, and will only kick back in again once you press the gas pedal or select a gear. It might also start up again after a while stationary to preserve battery life, especially if systems like the AC or heating are running.
It’s never been something that’s been legally mandated, but the system’s use has long been incentivized by the EPA, with it included in the ‘off-cycle credits’ system that awards points for fuel-saving systems that aren’t factored in during normal economy testing. Even as the boss of the agency speaks out against the tech, its website still includes the claim that “Start-stop can improve fuel economy by 4%-5%.”
It can, however, be an irritating system if not well-calibrated, leaving you sitting at a standstill a moment longer than you expected while you wait for the engine to start again. Some have also raised concerns that the regular stopping and starting of the engine can lead to premature wear and tear. Nearly all cars with the system, though, have an easily-accessible button for switching it off, either full-time or for the current drive cycle.
Putting a Stop to Start/Stop?
Countless Americans passionately despise the start/stop feature in cars. So many have spoken out against this absurd start-stop-start-stop-start-stop concept.
The Trump Admin has heard your calls and the announcement you have been waiting for is coming THIS WEEK. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/KDJ3DuFOIS
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) February 10, 2026
That, it would seem, isn’t enough for the EPA under the Trump administration. Zeldin first spoke out about the system in May last year, taking to X to say that the “EPA approved it, everyone hates it, so we’re fixing it.”
It wasn’t clear then what he meant by ‘fixing’ it, and that’s still not the case some months later, but we may at least be a little closer to an answer, as Zeldin has once again posted on the platform to say that “the announcement you’ve been waiting for is coming THIS WEEK.”
What that announcement might be is unclear – it could be as extreme as an outright ban on the tech, or perhaps simply making it easier to permanently deactivate or eliminating the current EPA incentives for cars that have it switched on on every startup. It nevertheless still feels strange to hear a government agency explicitly dedicated to protecting the environment speak out against a fuel-saving tech, but given the current administration has made its stance on fuel economy measures pretty clear, we shouldn’t exactly be surprised.
