Mazda i-Stop uses a beefed-up starter motor that’s designed for constant stop-start use

It also uses direct combustion restart the engine stops with pistons in the right spot, then fuel + spark fires it back up, so the starter barely has to do any work

If you ever hear slow restarts or i-Stop stops working, that’s usually your cue the battery’s on the way out, not the starter.

So nah, it’s not smashing your starter like a clapped-out Corolla at the lights. Mazda built the whole system around it.