(It's annoying because it interjects a slight delay when I make a left-hand turn.)
Here you go: https://www.idlestopper.com/
Sad that this is what it's come to, but here we are.
I was considering purchasing a Honda recently, and this was one of the things I investigated. Like you, I consider the hesitation imposed by this mechanism to be annoying, and in addition, dangerous.
Too bad. It seems a great vehicle otherwise. Like it a lot more than my previous 4Runner.
Bingo. This is exactly where it scares me, particularly when I'm already in an intersection.
> I've pretty much just made it a reflex to hit the turn-off button when I turn on the car. At least it's easy once a reflex.
My daily driver is old enough not to have auto stop/start. My problem is my wife's vehicle has it. She instinctively turns it off as soon as she's in the vehicle. Because I only drive her vehicle sporadically, I don't have the muscle memory to do that, so it inevitably catches me by surprise.
I also appreciate that it reduces cancer in city residents. Diesel consumption in city driving seems to be some 30% lower and I expect emissions to be around the same factor.
If we are talking about the US, AFAICT, it is legal to do this in all 50 states. However, neutral coasting on a downgrade is illegal in several states. I was taught to put the car in neutral whenever a longer wait is anticipated to reduce stress on the clutch (I don't know if it actually reduces stress or not).
> You’ll fail your driving test if you do that
This is possibly true; at least where I am there are about a dozen perfectly legal things that can potentially cause you to fail your driving test.
I had points deducted on my test for not pressing the button on the automatic gearshift selector when changing from Reverse to Drive.