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Pros and Cons of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Solutions

Pros and Cons of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Solutions

The idea of ‘Idle Reduction’ is broad, complicated, and includes many technologies and solutions, including automatic start/stop engine solutions, that might work well together or conflict with each other. Each solution promises some type of benefit, but there is never a silver bullet that can be a perfect idle reduction solution.

The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) put together an excellent review and report of all the idle reduction solutions on the market today, listing the advantages and disadvantages of each solution from a neutral position and looking at just the facts and research. If you aren’t familiar with NACFE, it is a great organization that provides in-depth and quality research to help fleets run more efficiently.

Automatic start/stop technology is becoming increasingly popular in various industries as it offers significant fuel savings and reduces emissions during idling.

The following is a copy of the NACFE’s report on automatic start/stop solutions. You can read the full NACFE Confidence Report by clicking here.

Overview of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Solutions

Functionality

Once the engine is running, the vehicle’s HVAC systems will warm or cool the sleeper just as they would when the truck is driving down the road. Essentially, the vehicle is still idling, keeping the engine warm and the batteries charged, but it is able to do so much more intelligently/efficiently, and automatically.

These systems can be used in very cold climates, for instance while a truck is in storage for a weekend or other down time, and offer very beneficial results, ensuring the vehicle will start when it is time to go back into freight-hauling operation. Automatic engine start/stop systems perform the work of both a block heater and battery charger without the need for the truck to be connected to outside power.

Types of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Systems

There are two different types of automatic engine start/stop systems, the most common being one that has a goal of maintaining a cab’s interior temperature when the vehicle is occupied. These may also assist with keeping the engine warm and the batteries charged.

The newer and less common type of automatic engine start/stop system focuses solely on maintaining the batteries’ state of charge. Given the growth in use of battery HVACs, combined with the new HOS restarts that last far longer than the 8 to 12 hours a battery HVAC can operate on one charge, this type of automatic engine start/stop system will probably grow in popularity, as they serve to recharge the battery HVAC system as it has drawn itself down. These will therefore enable battery HVACs to idle for longer than a single 8-10 hour window, allowing a driver to enjoy air conditioning continuously during an HOS restart. This type of automatic engine start/stop system is programmed to recognize the specific type of batteries being used by the battery HVAC system, and monitor their voltage, current draw, and temperature to provide optimal recharging patterns by comparing the inputs they receive to electronically stored battery-life models. It will typically require about 45 minutes of engine operation (which the automatic engine start/stop system will control) to fully recharge a battery HVAC system for an additional 8-10 hours of operation.

Advantages of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Systems

The most obvious benefit of all automatic start/stop systems is that they add few components and little weight to the vehicle. Since they are controlling the main engine, they do not require additional HVAC components, batteries, or engines to accomplish their tasks.

If a vehicle is purchased with a California Air Resources Board (ARB) “Clean Idle” engine, it will have a serial-numbered holographic sticker on the driver’s side of the hood or driver’s door. Such stickers allow automatic engine start/stop systems to be used without violating any idling regulations, provided that the vehicle wasn’t also purchased with the tamperproof five-minute timer, which does not allow any idling at all beyond that time limit.

Clean idle engines offer an integrated and clean solution that utilizes a few extra sensors to provide all of the desired HVAC and hotel load benefits while the vehicle is not moving. It may also be the solution most preferred by fleet maintenance teams, given its simplicity/commonality of diagnostics, service and parts.

Disadvantages of Automatic Engine Start/Stop Systems

The initial automatic engine start/stop systems that came out about two decades ago were not well-liked by truck drivers. Whenever those systems started and stopped the main engine, the noise and vibration could wake a sleeping driver. Some improvements have minimized this problem on newer systems, such as using the engine brake to create a more rapid and smooth engine shut-off than the cab rocking and engine sputtering that occurs during a normal shutoff.

Another drawback of these systems is that they do require idling the main engine, creating additional hours of wear on the main engine and loading of the DPF exhaust system.

Finally, it is not completely clear how various idle laws relate to some of the operational modes available with these systems. If the automatic engine start/stop system is charging the batteries or allowing a regeneration of the DPF system, it should be permissible to allow engine operation longer than the typical five minute maximum, similar to the rules which govern aspects of the electronic engine idle parameters technology class, and are detailed in that section.

Recommendations and Best Practices

If your fleet is dissatisfied with the length of operation of your battery HVAC system, a battery monitoring and charging system, such as that offered by automatic engine start/stop systems, could be a desirable investment to extend operation.

For fleets that are challenged from a support aspect to keep diesel APUs systems in operation, the combination of a Clean Idle engine and an automated engine start/stop system could reduce that challenge.

Again, the information in this post is from NACFE’s report on automatic engine start/stop solutions. You can read the full NACFE Confidence Report by clicking here. Feel free to visit our website or contact us directly at 913-744-4353 to see if Idle Smart can help you.

Interested in reducing the idle time of your fleet? Let’s talk to see if we’re a good fit for your fleet.

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ATRI Releases 2025 Critical Issues Report: Is Your Fleet Prepared? Take the Self-Assessment

ATRI's 2025 Critical Issues report shows record costs demanding action....

ATRI Releases 2025 Critical Issues Report 

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released its annual Critical Issues Report, and the verdict for 2025 is stark. The Economy is the top concern for the third year in a row, confirming that financial stability is the industry’s greatest threat. With non-fuel operational costs documenting a record high of $1.779 per mile and the truckload sector averaging a devastating negative profit margin of -2.3% in 2024, the margin for error has disappeared. This environment demands that your fleet identify and control costs wherever possible.

This year’s landscape signals an industry increasingly focused on managing complexity: from new regulatory compliance burdens to integrating emerging technologies and ensuring a trained, proficient workforce.

Do you think your fleet is handling the complexity of these top concerns well?

By asking tough questions about your day-to-day operations, this self-assessment helps you determine how ready your fleet really is. Plus, it helps you pinpoint hidden costs so your fleet can take meaningful steps toward achieving a significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

The 9-Question Self-Assessment

1. How much does your fleet spend annually on roadside assistance calls due to dead batteries or cold-start failures?

Unplanned service calls are an absolute loss; pure, non-recoverable expense. As the Economy is the number one issue for the third year in a row, you can’t afford this unnecessary added expense. Breakdowns consume driver and staff resources, incur towing fees, and directly chip away at already strained profit margins.

Ask yourself:

  • What’s the total cost of towing, shop time, and labor for a single no-start event?
  • Do you have enough breakdowns that you created a budget line item just to cover roadside assistance?
  • What else could we reallocate that money for if we could stop having frequent, predictable breakdowns?

While there will always be occasional unpredictable events, there’s no reason your team should be dealing with dead batteries daily. Your drivers and technicians deserve equipment that is reliable, so drivers keep wheels turning and earning for your fleet while technicians can stay focused on their most time-sensitive, high-impact work. Eliminating no-starts from easily preventable battery drain or fuel gelling is a direct path to lowering TCO, and it might be easier than you think.

GRADE YOURSELF: PASS/FAIL

2. How much maintenance time and cost do your current solutions require that must be staffed and tracked?

Overall operational costs, excluding fuel, rose by 3.6% in 2024, continuing the upward pressure on non-fuel expenses. Routine APU servicing (recommended every 600-1000 hours) or seasonal in-shop adjustments for auto-starts contribute directly to those rising costs. This overhead pulls your precious technician time away from higher-value repairs. 

Ask yourself:

  • How much time do we track and staff just for APU oil changes, belt replacements, and cleaning HVAC systems?
  • How much could you save if even one of your key systems didn’t require maintenance (all updates can be made automatically without ever pulling a truck off the road)? 
  • Do we spend more time and money maintaining our tech (like APUs) than they actually save?

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

3. Do you know why an engine is running, or only that it ran? 

The current economic squeeze demands a granular, strategic approach to cost management. Solutions that provide an incomplete picture leave your fleet blind: simply recording that an engine idled provides incomplete and often misleading data. Without contextual data explaining why the idling occurred (was it for battery protection, cab comfort, or driver override), any policy adjustment or coaching advice is guesswork, leading to missed fuel savings and distrustful drivers. The optimal strategy for addressing this year’s top trucking industry concern (Economy) requires high-fidelity data that answers the “why.” 

Ask yourself:

  • How much data does our current tech stack leave falling through the gaps? 
  • How confident are you that your trucks deliver reliable data for effective coaching?
  • When we see unoptimal system use, is it an efficiency problem or a driver-comfort problem?

Optimal tech solutions provide reliable, high-fidelity data on all system activity, standardizing metrics across truck makes and models, and making it easy to coach drivers. Equipping your team with this level of transparency is key to driving fleet-wide efficiency.

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

4. Can you instantly change settings for trucks remotely, or do you need shop visits to make adjustments?

Manual, truck-by-truck adjustments are the epitome of operational inefficiency. The labor required for individual shop visits, whether for seasonal changes, compliance updates, or simply correcting a setting, becomes a persistent and avoidable source of high non-fuel costs. 

Ask yourself:

  • When we need to change the engine warm-up threshold across our fleet for winter, how many technician hours does that consume?
  • If a new regulation is passed, how long does it take for us to ensure every truck is compliant?
  • How much revenue is lost when a truck is pulled into the shop simply to change seasonal settings?

Remote adjustments that allow you to fine-tune your fleet’s settings right from your desk could save you thousands in labor and downtime. 

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

5. Do your current solutions report and standardize key data across all truck makes and models in your fleet?

Most fleets run a diverse mix of brands. Relying on manufacturer-specific systems creates data silos, preventing a unified, single view of fleet performance. These systems often measure different metrics or restrict data access, making fleet-wide standardization and coherent policy enforcement impossible. This compromises your ability to make data-driven decisions that reduce overall TCO.

Ask yourself:

  • How many platforms do our operations leaders have to check to get a holistic view of idle activity across the fleet?
  • Are we comparing apples to apples when looking at different truck brands’ idle reports?
  • Are we missing key efficiency opportunities because a portion of our fleet’s idle data is restricted by a manufacturer?

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

6. If tariffs (or no tariffs) became long-term policy tomorrow, how would your fleet pivot its cost management strategy?

Economic volatility and the threat of increased tariffs on truck-tractors demand operational resilience. You cannot rely on unpredictable external factors. The strategic choice is investing in solutions that deliver quantifiable, consistent cost savings that insulate your bottom line from market volatility. 

Ask yourself:

  • What single-line-item operational cost could we confidently and immediately reduce to offset a major capital expenditure increase due to Tariffs?
  • How do our current solutions protect us against non-fuel costs?

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

7. Have you quantified the added weight and diminished payload capacity imposed by your technology (e.g., APUs)?

For fleets with razor-thin operating margins or specialized loads, every pound matters. Diesel APUs can add hundreds of pounds of essentially dead weight that cut into revenue per mile by diminishing payload capacity on every single trip.

Ask yourself:

  • For our particular operation, how many dollars in revenue are we sacrificing per trip due to added weight?
  • If we adopted a lightweight, maintenance-free system, what would the cumulative gain in payload revenue be over a quarter?

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

8. Are you confident that your current tech is designed to extend the lifespan of your engine and components, or is it exclusively for driver comfort?

With new equipment costs at record highs, asset preservation is critical. The newly ranked concern, Diesel Emissions Regulations, makes engine and aftertreatment maintenance increasingly expensive. If things like your idle management system merely ensure comfort without protecting the engine, it’s exposing you to major risks. 

Ask yourself:

  • Does our current tech prevent component wear and tear, or does it only react when the driver is uncomfortable?
  • How much are we spending annually on DPF maintenance that could be reduced by lowering unnecessary engine runtime?
  • Are we managing a comfort system or protecting a multi-thousand-dollar asset?

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

9. How durable is your technology, given the ever-changing landscape of emissions regulations?

As per usual, the regulatory environment is volatile, with the EPA rescinding various vehicle emission rules this year. With loose guidelines that can change at any moment, you cannot afford to invest in new tech that must be ripped out or replaced every time the rules change. Ask yourself:

  • If a new state anti-idling law is passed tomorrow, how quickly can we push a new, compliant idle setting to every truck in that region?
  • Does our current system allow us to adjust emissions-related settings remotely, or does it require a costly shop visit?
  • How are we managing idle laws for trucks, as they vary by state? 

Investing in technology that works for any regulatory environment is worthwhile and more realistic than you may think. When purchasing new technology, consider solutions that give you remote, granular control, so you can instantly update parameters fleet-wide, granting operational stability and future-proofing your business against sudden regulatory shifts.

GRADE YOURSELF: Pass/Fail

Turning Diagnostics into Savings

If you reached the end of this assessment and answered “Fail” to more questions than you answered “Pass,” or if you felt deep uncertainty about your answers, your current solutions are likely not fully mitigating the top risks outlined in the ATRI report.

The majority of problems highlighted in this self-assessment, from sudden no-starts to excessive maintenance costs, wasted fuel, and data gaps, are directly linked to predictable, preventable deficiencies in technology.

The solution to the industry’s largest concerns starts with a reliable idle management system.

Idle Smart is a platform-based solution engineered to address the top threats to your fleet by:

  • Protecting Profits: Eliminating no-starts and providing a maintenance-free solution to halt the hemorrhaging of roadside and labor costs.
  • Driving Efficiency: Offering unified, high-fidelity data and remote customization across all OEMs, allowing you to cut idle time dramatically and coach drivers effectively.
  • Future-Proofing Assets: Providing proactive engine defense to protect your high-cost engines and meet emissions goals without sacrificing driver comfort.

It’s time to equip your operation with the tools needed to weather this uncertain market.

Next Step

Connect with an Idle Smart expert and discuss your operational readiness score.

Let’s Talk

Driver Retention and TCO: The Real Cost of a Cold Night

Meta Description: Combatting driver turnover starts with a comfortable cab...

Rising Costs and Continuing Challenges

For fleet leaders, navigating the current economic landscape feels like a constant battle against climbing costs and driver retention. The data from the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) Operational Costs of Trucking report confirms what many in the industry are experiencing firsthand: while fuel prices offered some relief, the truckload sector still faced a negative average operating margin of -2.3% in 2024. In an environment where every dollar is scrutinized, the search for hidden inefficiencies is more critical than ever.

Beyond the spreadsheet, there’s a human element to these challenges: your drivers. With an average annualized driver turnover rate of 48% in 2024, the industry is in a constant battle to attract and keep talent. It’s a fight that often comes down to the simple things that happen in the cab, late at night, far from home.

What’s the connection? A cold night.

The Driver’s Reality: A Story of Frustration

It’s 2 AM, somewhere in rural America. A driver, after a long day of fighting traffic, delays, and a tight schedule, finally gets a chance to rest. The cab’s temperature has been dropping, and the bunk heater is struggling to keep up. After an hour of shivering, a decision has to be made: start the engine and idle for warmth, or endure a miserable night. For many drivers, this isn’t a rare event; it’s a frustrating, recurring problem that chips away at their morale and makes them question whether the long hours and days away from home are truly worth it.

The Financial Impact of One Bad Night

For a fleet executive, a cold night is not just a personal inconvenience; it’s a financial event. The consequences cascade, driving up your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in ways that often go unnoticed in a broad expense report.

  • The Breakdown: The average fleet experiences an unscheduled repair or breakdown every 38,249 miles. A major cause of this is the wear and tear from excessive idling and cold starts. When a truck won’t start on a cold morning, it can lead to mechanical failures and costly roadside service calls, which eat directly into your profits.
  • The Missed Delivery: Every minute of downtime is a minute of lost revenue. A truck sidelined by a cold start or breakdown can miss a critical delivery window, which strains customer relationships and can lead to lost business. With the industry’s total marginal cost per mile at $2.260 in 2024, every delayed mile is a measurable hit to your profitability.
  • The Added Labor Burden: In 2024, the ratio of drivers per truck was 0.93, a drop from 0.97 in 2023, signaling that carriers are already operating with fewer drivers per truck. This tight labor market means a single breakdown or delay can have an outsized impact on your operations, forcing other drivers to step in to cover a route.

The Most Expensive Cost of All: Losing a Driver

While the costs of a tow or a repair are significant, they pale in comparison to the ultimate financial consequence: losing a driver. Driver retention is a serious challenge; the cost of replacing a single driver can range from $2,243 to $20,729. This includes the expenses of recruitment, hiring, training, and lost productivity from an idle asset. The ATRI report highlights the lengths to which fleets are going to keep drivers, noting a remarkable 42.1% increase in driver retention bonuses in 2024 alone.

This is the unbreakable link between people and profit. The frustrations that contribute to a “bad night” are directly tied to the costs that erode your operational margin. Investing in your drivers is not just a gesture; it’s a strategic move to build a more resilient and profitable fleet. 

A Solution That Protects Your Drivers and Your Bottom Line

A strategic approach to fleet management requires a system that prioritizes driver comfort and operational reliability, which directly combats turnover.

This is where Idle Smart steps in. Our solutions are designed to eliminate the frustrations that lead to driver dissatisfaction.

  • Guaranteed Starts, Zero Hassle: Our features monitor the temperature and battery voltage, automatically starting the truck before voltage levels drop or temperatures get too low. It’s a key-out solution that works on its own, without requiring driver input. Idle Smart prevents no-start situations that lead to costly breakdowns and stressed, frustrated drivers.
  • Restful Nights, Every Night: Idle Smart also automatically maintains a comfortable cabin temperature, allowing drivers to get uninterrupted, restful sleep without needing to idle excessively. Plus, our system also helps charge eAPU batteries. If your drivers are getting poor sleep because their eAPUs aren’t lasting through the night, Idle Smart can help. We charge eAPU batteries when the APU battery is drained, and we don’t require the driver to get up to start the truck to do so. 
  • A Strategic Partnership: While APUs offer some of these benefits, they come with high costs, heavy weight, and significant maintenance burdens. Idle Smart provides a customizable, maintenance-free solution that integrates seamlessly with your existing Class 8 trucks and integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack.

The Unbreakable Link: From People to Profit

The numbers are clear: a well-rested, comfortable, and satisfied driver is less likely to leave. By providing a reliable system that eliminates common frustrations like dead batteries and uncomfortable cabs, you’re building a culture that values your drivers. You’re not just reducing a line-item expense; you’re making a tangible investment in your most valuable asset.

With the average TCO per mile at $2.260 and negative operating margins for many fleets, reducing turnover is more critical than ever. Idle Smart is a simple, strategic investment that pays dividends in both tangible and intangible ways. It reduces the direct costs of roadside repairs and fuel while also addressing the root causes of driver dissatisfaction and turnover, ultimately leading to a more resilient, profitable, and efficient fleet.

Ready to invest in a solution that works for your drivers and your bottom line?

Schedule a conversation with our team

Reducing Idle Time in Unpredictable Fall Weather

Don't let unpredictable autumn weather derail your profits. See why...

The Smarter Way to Idle: How Smart+ Turns Your Trucks into Climate-Adapting Machines

The fall transition can be a beautiful but deceptive time for heavy-duty trucking. One moment, a warm sun shines on a quiet country road; the next, an unexpected cold snap leaves you with a stranded driver, a truck that won’t start, and a missed delivery. Fall’s unpredictable temperature swings lead to excess idling and create a logistical nightmare for fleet leaders, leaving them in a constant battle to stay in control. Adjusting every truck for every weather front that rolls through is almost impossible; while you can’t control the weather, you can control how your fleet responds to it.

The Dangers of Autumn’s Temperature Swings

The shift from summer to fall is a subtle but significant threat to your fleet’s operational stability. Without the right preparation, small issues can become major, costly problems.

  • Battling Unpredictable Battery Drain: High heat can shorten a battery’s life. Your truck might start fine during a warm autumn day, but a sudden overnight temperature drop can cause the battery to fail. A frustrating guessing game begins, as the truck that worked flawlessly yesterday might be dead on the lot this morning, creating an unexpected no-start.
  • The Threat of Fuel Gelling: A sudden dip in temperature can put your diesel at risk of gelling, especially if you haven’t transitioned to a winter blend yet. Gelling clogs fuel filters and lines, causing engine failures and costly roadside repairs. The cost of a tow and emergency service for a truck that won’t run is a hit you simply don’t need to endure.
  • The Chaos of Inconsistent Driver Comfort: Drivers are at the mercy of the weather, dealing with a comfortable cab one evening and waking up to a frigid bunk the next. Unmanaged temperatures force them to idle the engine, burning fuel and leading to fragmented, stressful sleep.
  • Escaping the “Firefighting” Cycle: For maintenance leaders, unpredictability creates immense friction. Maintenance teams get calls about issues and no-starts that need immediate attention, despite a shop full of trucks and a team of technicians who also need immediate attention. Now, your workforce is putting out fires for trucks already on the road while also preparing the trucks in the shop to be road-ready.

The Smarter Way to Reduce Idle Time During Seasonal Shifts

Smart+ is a software add-on that works with your Idle Smart system to put your fleet on autopilot. Smart+ automatically adjusts critical idle parameters based on a truck’s real-time location and current weather conditions.

Think about a truck driving a long-haul route from Dallas, Texas, in January, heading north toward Detroit, Michigan. The driver starts in near 70-degree weather but will finish their route in below-freezing temperatures with a risk of snow. Instead of a technician or driver manually changing settings, Smart+ automatically adjusts the system’s idle parameters to prevent cold start failures and fuel gelling. This ensures the truck is always operating as efficiently as possible, regardless of the climate, without wasting a ton of fuel from unnecessary idling.

Intelligent automation is a game-changer for fleets that need to manage long routes through changing climates. It frees up your team from constantly monitoring and adjusting settings, minimizing the need for manual intervention and eliminating the risk of human error.

“Choosing Smart+ was a no-brainer. In just one month, we saved an additional $60k in fuel costs and reduced starts by 42%. This made a great impact on operational efficiency, improved the health of equipment, and significantly enhanced the overall driver experience.” 

Director of Fuel, PAM Transport, Inc.

Smart+ builds upon the core Idle Smart system, which already provides:

  • Battery Protect™: Eliminates no-start surprises by ensuring batteries are always charged with patented technology that monitors precise voltage, not just a battery percentage.
  • Cold Start Guard™: Defeats fuel gelling and engine damage by monitoring coolant temperatures and automatically starting the engine when needed. 
  • Cabin Comfort™: Ensures drivers get uninterrupted rest by maintaining a consistent temperature without wasting fuel, so they can get a good night’s sleep.

The SmartPortal Advantage

The SmartPortal is your fleet’s command center. It gives you unparalleled visibility into system usage and a clear view of how your trucks are performing. Gain visibility into idle hours saved, fuel savings, and a breakdown of every Battery Protect and Cold Start Guard event. You can see when and why the system engages, giving you clarity on what’s going on across your fleet without having to be in every cab.

Outsmarting the Hidden Costs of Fall

Being unprepared for seasonal shifts is a direct hit to your bottom line. Cost-saving solutions like Idle Smart are not just an expense; they’re strategic investments that reduce hidden costs and lower your fleet’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Don’t just take our word for it:

“The system pays for itself many times over.”

– Director of Customer Accounts, Miller Trans Group (NationaLease Member)

“We are able to be successful because of great companies, like Idle Smart, that take the time to listen and understand what we are trying to accomplish. The customer service and response time are unbelievable!”

– Director of Maintenance, Ploger Transportation

By preventing no-starts, reducing wear and tear on your engines, and eliminating unnecessary idling, Idle Smart delivers a quantifiable ROI. You can gain confidence in the face of unpredictable weather, freeing you from the constant need to manage minor problems and allowing you to focus on the big-picture goals that drive your business forward.

If you’re interested in saving on fuel costs and reducing idle time for your fleet, talk to our team today.

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