The lifetime of coated stainless steel bipolar plates (BPPs) is investigated using shutdown strategies as an accelerated degradation test (ADT). The effect of 1550 shutdowns is evaluated from contact resistance measurements and from cyclic voltammetry. The results show that the bipolar plate is not affected by the ADT, however, the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is adversely affected. The cathode catalyst layer is severely reduced during the cycling, causing performance loss. The results show that air purge shutdown cycling for 1550 cycles is not an effective ADT for BPP.