alt Hacker News> As far as I can find, there's only one start-stop starter related recall in the US (Honda) and it wasn't even a mechanical issue.
A start-stop starter issue seems more likely to be handled quietly with Technical Service Bulletins rather than a recall, IMHO. Unless the issue is a critical safety issue or is likely to affect every vehicle, manufacturers seem to prefer TSBs that have much less visibility than a recall. If you're lucky, the dealer will take care of it at your next scheduled service; but many TSBs are only taken care of if you specifically ask about trouble you're having and the dealer is aware of the TSB and you bring it up during the TSB period... my Ford hybrid had a major bearing issue and they replaced the whole motor/generator/transmission assembly under the TSB but only because I happened upon the TSB and brought it in specifically complaining... they had it for scheduled maintenance while it was exhibiting symptoms but it wasn't bad enough for me to complain and they didn't mention anything ... had I known to ask, I would have gotten a new replacement rather than a remanufactured, but oh well.
> They assume that because they can be janky to use (they often can be), that they must be jankily designed.
I think it's a fair assumption, because cars tend to be jankily designed or at least designed around the edge of viability. Most of the modern vehicles I've owned have had successful class actions about drive train problems that almost always come down to running things close to the edge to meet emissions requirements.
There's this one for start-stop https://www.carscoops.com/2025/08/honda-paying-millions-to-s... but there were a lot in the 2000s related to oil leaks etc related to running thinner oils for emissions. It's a consistent pattern; push the envelope for emissions, deal with the powertrain problems via class action.
> almost 20 year old tech
It's closer to 10-15 years old for the North American market, discounting systems used for hybrids because they tend to be significantly different.
> It's a consistent pattern; push the envelope for emissions, deal with the powertrain problems via class action.
Sure, I can definitely see that being a pattern, especially for things like modern Diesel emissions systems that are notoriously unreliable. I just haven't seen that pattern materialize for start-stop. You found the same recall I did, which for the mast majority of people was fixed with just a software update. Where are the class actions for these shoddily designed systems?