Thanks for commenting - No loss of power steering - revs drop to zero and then on pressing the accelerator it sounds like the engine restarts and revs pick up again. I have never experienced this in a car (its an auto gearbox and not a hybrid) so it just feels very unusual.

This should not happen with a 1.5 TSi EVO.

There were no Golf mild hybrids in 2019 and when we test drove one in 2023 as expected the engine only shut down when coasting at low speed.

But there was a Golf plug in in 2019 and like our Superb plug in the engine would shut down pretty much every time you lifted off. Problem is that Golf would be badged a GTE.

It does sound like classic mild hybrid behaviour, but I’ve no idea whether a car of this age/spec would be so equipped

Read my post above, a 2019 Golf Mild Hybrid did not exist. And even if it did a mild hybrid does not normally shut off at highway speeds, its only there to extend the stopped time in towns.

The OP has never said if its a Manual or Auto (DSG).

Edited by skidpan on 04/08/2025 at 09:53

I see you confirm it to be auto.

I had a diesel Golf Auto (DSG) last week as a loan car. It had an economy mode where the engine revs dropped to idle if off load?

Edited by Bromptonaut on 05/08/2025 at 13:56

Is this normal for this car ? While driving and easing off the accelerator the revs drop to zero and then when the accelerator is pressed again the engine restarts. Occurs in any driving mode, at any speed and switching off the stop/start feature has no effect.

I have another VW (tiguan) which stop/starts correctly at traffic lights for example - but the golf is doing this even while driving. A local garage didn't find anything on the diagnostics

Its a bit annoying and I am worried it could be harming the engine - normal for the make/model or something to be checked out ?

Are you coasting in Neutral? If you are, then you shouldn't!

If you are coasting in Drive then surely the engine must still be turning as long as the vehicle is moving!!!

To me, It defies all logic.

Not sure what is going on with the OP's car because, going by what skidpan said and the OP confirmed, the car is not a hybrid of any kind.

However, as I said earlier, our Hyundai Bayon MHEV with the DCT auto would coast, either with the engine at idle speed, or with the engine switched off. I would say though that there seemed no rhyme nor reason as to whether it would or wouldn't, whether the engine would switch off entirely or wouldn't. I'd have to assume it was to do with the state of charge in the (very small) mild hybrid battery pack, whether the car itself was fully warmed up, and the external temperature. To that end, we'd had the car probably 6 months before the engine actually switched off while coasting (up till then it had only ever dropped the revs to idle speed), but it was late in the year when we got it. Thing is, the Bayon was a fairly unremarkable small crossover otherwise, so I find it hard to believe this tech was rare or unusual. What did seem to be a first is that the manual gearbox version also did this. Apparently easier with an auto, something to do with not being able to rely on the clutch control of the bag of flesh behind the wheel(!). But the Bayon got round this by having a fly-by-wire clutch allowing the computers to disengage and re-engage drive seamlessly.

Edited by badbusdriver on 05/08/2025 at 15:48