A vehicle equipped with a beefed-up starter motor and an advanced battery system designed to automatically shut the engine off at red lights and restart it when the driver lifts off the brake. Unlike full hybrids, it cannot propel the car using electric power alone. The system relies on an absorbent glass mat battery to handle the constant heavy draw of frequent restarts.
Make sure you quote an AGM battery for that microhybrid, a standard flooded lead-acid won't survive the start-stop cycles.
Also heard as
- start-stop vehicle
Related terms
Hybridization
The process of adding electric propulsion to traditional internal combustion vehicle platforms.
EV
An electric vehicle uses one or more electric motors for propulsion instead of an internal combustion engine.
Accessory battery
A secondary 12-volt battery used to power electronics rather than start the engine.