The "lights out" problem.

[Morris Minor]

I see it every day: more and more cars on the road with their lights out because owners equate illuminated dash instruments with illuminated head & tail lights.

My thought is to put back the link between the car's external lights and the dash lights: if the light switch is in the 'off' position, the instrument lights will, when it gets dark, go off as well. To light them back up, turn the switch to either "on" (or "auto" if so equipped  - and with an ambient light sensor, why would a car not be so equipped?)

[Speed_Racer]

I've noticed this a lot as well.

1. Auto lights should be more common. How expensive can a light sensor be?
2. Some DRLs are bright enough to fool the driver, but no taillights.
C. Some companies have ambiguous dash lights to tell the driver when different lights are on. The icons for DRLs, headlights, market lights, and/or foglights look the same to me.

Side note: why aren't auto-off lights more common? My MR2 has it, but my parent's Suzuki doesn't. I've left lights on far too often because of habit.

[GoCougs]

I see this everyday too, and I swear I'm seeing more of it. However, at least in my car, the gauges are pretty much impossible to read without the dash lights so as a default no head lights = dash lights on (and brightest setting). I think a lot of it is drunk, impaired, and distracted drivers though.

I see two other subsets to the lighting issue also. Pretty much every day I also see blown tail lights and random random tail light lighting (reverse lights or brake lights stuck on), especially on Volvos.

[ifcar]

I've noticed this a lot as well.

1. Auto lights should be more common. How expensive can a light sensor be?

I think sometimes that's part of the problem -- someone is used to automatic lights and don't think to check if they've been accidentally switched off.

[CJ]

I see this everyday too, and I swear I'm seeing more of it. However, at least in my car, the gauges are pretty much impossible to read without the dash lights so as a default no head lights = dash lights on (and brightest setting). I think a lot of it is drunk, impaired, and distracted drivers though.

I see two other subsets to the lighting issue also. Pretty much every day I also see blown tail lights and random random tail light lighting (reverse lights or brake lights stuck on), especially on Volvos.

I think with the Volvos, you're seeing the rear fog light on.  Some people are retarded and turn it on when it's not needed.

[sportyaccordy]

Most cars in NYC are POS Crown Vics so I haven't noticed

[S204STi]

It happens mainly with cars which have electroluminescent IP lighting.  It's lit up all the time so there is no longer a visual cue within the car to turn your headlights on.

[hotrodalex]

I think manual lights are the way to go. All of this automatic nonsense just makes the problem worse when it's not automatic for some reason (faulty sensor, driving a different car, etc). And if you leave the lights on and kill the battery once, you don't tend to do it again.

[CALL_911]

There's no way to shut off the headlights on my car, save for engaging the handbrake. The HIDs are the DRLs, which are enabled whenever the handbrake is engaged. My HIDs are burning through the day, when they shouldn't be. I'd love to shut that feature off using VAGCOM. Such a waste.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

There's no way to shut off the headlights on my car, save for engaging the handbrake. The HIDs are the DRLs, which are enabled whenever the handbrake is engaged. My HIDs are burning through the day, when they shouldn't be. I'd love to shut that feature off using VAGCOM. Such a waste.

WOW! Usually the regular bulbs are used as DRLs!

[CALL_911]

WOW! Usually the regular bulbs are used as DRLs!

Trouble is, the only halogen bulbs the car has, except for the signal lights, are the fog lights. I mean, I guess those can be used as DRLs?

Honestly, I'd rather have no DRLs than what I have now. I never found DRLs to be that advantageous, or that great a safety feature.

[Soup DeVille]

I think manual lights are the way to go. All of this automatic nonsense just makes the problem worse when it's not automatic for some reason (faulty sensor, driving a different car, etc). And if you leave the lights on and kill the battery once, you don't tend to do it again.

Agreed.

Also, on bright but overcast days, a lot of cars seem to have a problem with the lights cycling on and off continuously. OK, so that's not really that much of a problem, but it annoys me.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Trouble is, the only halogen bulbs the car has, except for the signal lights, are the fog lights. I mean, I guess those can be used as DRLs?

Honestly, I'd rather have no DRLs than what I have now. I never found DRLs to be that advantageous, or that great a safety feature.

I despise DRLs! The first thing I do when I get in the Vette is cycle them off!

[SVT666]

We've had DRLs for 22 years in Canada.  I'm glad we have them, especially in the winter months and at dusk.

[thewizard16]

I despise DRLs! The first thing I do when I get in the Vette is cycle them off!

Most of the time it seems like they're just the fog lights for a car, which I don't have a problem with, or high beam halogen bulbs run at a lower brightness, which seems fine too. Extra bright/visible orange "parking"/indicator lights would work too, and I think I've seen this on some GM models. The new Audi inspired LED DRLs look sharp on most cars and last for a very long time, which seems like the logical progression anyway. In mediocre weather or lower lighting they can be quite nice for other drivers since a lot of people are dumb and don't turn on their headlights in the rain/snow/fog or wait until it's pitch black to turn them on at night.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Mine illuminate the blinkers (same in the Z28) but I still turn them off. Just a pet peeve of mine.

[Secret Chimp]

I remember my my mom used to holler at people for driving around with their lights ON during the day when I was a kid.

[280Z Turbo]

I think manual lights are the way to go. All of this automatic nonsense just makes the problem worse when it's not automatic for some reason (faulty sensor, driving a different car, etc). And if you leave the lights on and kill the battery once, you don't tend to do it again.

What? No. What you just said is nonsense.

[Laconian]

Automatic lights = bleeding edge technology. Better give them a century to work the kinks out.

(I love 'em on the TSXagen.)

[CALL_911]

Dad has them on his car. They work very well, but I find them so damn pointless.

[S204STi]

I disabled my DRLs.

[CALL_911]

I disabled my DRLs.

I can't wait to make a friend with a VAGCOM. I'll disable DRLs stat.

[Morris Minor]

We've had DRLs for 22 years in Canada.  I'm glad we have them, especially in the winter months and at dusk.

Consuming all that extra gasoline has to play havoc with your carbon emissions; you'll probably end up leaving the Kyoto Treaty. Oh wait, you just did.

Welcome to the dark side 

[565]

My thought is to put back the link between the car's external lights and the dash lights: if the light switch is in the 'off' position, the instrument lights will, when it gets dark, go off as well. To light them back up, turn the switch to either "on" (or "auto" if so equipped  - and with an ambient light sensor, why would a car not be so equipped?)

If you are going to have the money to have such a sensor, you might as well have automatic headlights.  Automatic headlights cost money, no matter how small it may seem to be.

[AutobahnSHO]

My friggin SHO had autolights, pretty cool- you could even set the timer for how long they stayed on after you shutoff and got out of the car.

I'm seeing lots and lots of 1-2yr old cars with blown tailights. Wussupwithat?????

[GoCougs]

I think with the Volvos, you're seeing the rear fog light on.  Some people are retarded and turn it on when it's not needed.

Oh, that makes sense then. I just couldn't get it through my head that Volvos had such pervasive issues with tail lights.

[Onslaught]

Two things I hate the most about modern cars is DRL and doors that lock when you put the car in drive. I can turn my lights on and lock the fucking door when I want thank you.

[SVT666]

Two things I hate the most about modern cars is DRL and doors that lock when you put the car in drive. I can turn my lights on and lock the fucking door when I want thank you.

You can turn the autolocks off on our Explorer.

[Speed_Racer]

Two things I hate the most about modern cars is DRL and doors that lock when you put the car in drive. I can turn my lights on and lock the fucking door when I want thank you.

Most cars are programmable for stuff like door locks, but sometimes it's complicated to get into the programming mode. On, off, on, off, parking brake up, on, brake down, off, up down up down B A start.

[hotrodalex]

What? No. What you just said is nonsense.

I'd hate to drive a car with automatic headlights that stay on after you shut the car off and close the door. I feel like I'd walk away every time wondering if the lights are going to turn off or if I'll have a dead battery soon. With manual headlights, I turn them off every single time and know they are off. If you need a reminded to turn them off, that's what the buzzer is for when you open the door with the lights on. And when I want to turn them on, I turn them on. It's not that hard. Automatic headlights just seem pointless to me. If you're too dumb to tell it's dark outside and you need to turn your lights on, you shouldn't be driving.

(/thread resurrect)