I have owned several vehicles with a delay of up to 30 seconds before the lights actually turned off in automatic mode. The headlights of my 2010 Kia in automatic mode turn off instantly when the key is turned off but the remaining exterior lights stay on until the key is removed. Curiously the manual calls this “The Battery Saver Feature”. LOL
For both my Pontiac and Acura, I can program how long the lights stay on after shutting the car off. I like zero. Otherwise I’m always looking back to make sure the lights actually go off. Plus driver 1 and 2 are programmed separately which is another pain in the neck.
I’ll bet all cars sold on the world market have the wiring. There are a few countries, including Canada, that have mandated them for years.
European Union Directive 2008/89/EC requires all passenger cars and small delivery vans first type approved on or after 7 February 2011 in the EU to come equipped with daytime running lights, Sweden, Iceland, and Denmark also require them.
It would seem foolhearty for any manufacturer planning to sell a vehicle worldwide not to include the wiring for DRLs. Many cars use the headlights to meet the requirement rather than adding more bulbs. It might just need a reprogramming of the Body Control Module, but that is admittedly a guess. But a guess worth looking into.
About twenty years ago when I was at a Chrysler training center the instructor told us to never switch on the DRL no mater what the customer might offer the tech. On those vehicles at that time the DRL can be switched on in the Front Control Module or similar module.
The reason this was not allowed was that the U.S. vehicles did not have specific instructions in the owners manual for DRL operation, some people think they have automatic headlights are driving in the dark with the headlights (and taillights) off. This becomes a liability issue for the dealer and the corporation. There should be no problem having the DRL switched on after arriving in Canada however.
That’s probably the situation! Years ago when we bought our '99 Dodge Intrepid as a “program” car everything was to our liking except it had no remote door locks (My wife wanted them).
I bought an OE kit from the dealer that came with 2 key fobs. It cost far less than that factory installed option on a new car. It came with complete instructions.
I plugged its small module into the BCM and had to have the vehicle reprogrammed. Voila! Factory remote!
CSA
The Austrians proved that DRLs are not (repeat: NOT) good for safety. They mandated DRLs, and fatalities went up. Then next year they banned them, and fatalities went back down. This was 10 years or so ago. I have defeated them on all my cars, one way or another. I can’t figure out a good way to do that on my WRX. And I guess this is the wrong crowd to ask for advice…you all seem to like them for some reason.
I find it hard to believe that by having headlights on causes more accidents. Maybe people just looked for the lights and didn’t realize some cars didn’t have the feature yet. I know eve now you have to be careful because out of a long string of cars, there will be one or two with the lights out that was harder to see. I guess I’m willing to listen but will keep the shovel nearby.
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One year of data does not show a long term trend. Especially in a first year, I would not expect to see data that was in line with trends as people are adjusting to new rules/regulations/etc…I would prefer to have seen at least 3-5 years before making the assumption that DRLs cause more accidents than they prevent
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Sorry, but I’m having a hard time accepting that. Without a link to some data, I’ll continue to believe they help. I’d bet that at most accidents the first thing cops hear is “I never saw him”. Anything that helps to be seen helps prevent accidents.
I AM open to new data, however.
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Well wasn’t hard to find this I guess. Seems like the lights blind on-coming cars and make it hard to see bike riders and pedestrians. The DRLs here are at much reduced light levels and find it hard to follow this line of thought. I hope we aren’t going back to the days when people had those center lights on their grills. I’m going to put this in the file marked “No matter what someone will disagree”.
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The Reason is that they work , especially for motorcycles. It is also a benefit to help you see those vehicles driven by people who will not turn their lights on in the rain.
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Amen!
It looks to me like someone, possibly the Australian government, might be confusing correlation with causation.
Anecdotal report here, I started driving in the early 70’s, no DRL back then, now at first I thought it was fine whatever, but nowadays, I expect DRLs, and every now and then a car without them in certain situations seems to sneak out of nowhere, when backing out of my drive or whatever. I am the lucky GM guy with set it and forget it I guess. I remember when it became mandatory to use the motorcycle headlight always, and lights on if the windshield wipers are on, I have not experienced a wreck that could be attributed to one way or the other.
I am sure someone could come up with a study the middle brake light causes more accidents, it is not the padded room of safety, it is driver awareness imhop.
I personally feel that the safety benefit of daytime running lights is going to be about as hard to prove or disprove as the “loud pipes save lives” slogan on the T-shirt of every Harley rider who took the mufflers off of his bike.
Some things are essentially unprovable. That’s because in the scientific world, proof is an absolute, it’s like checkmate, it can be no other way. Statistics can support a hypothesis, but can never prove it.
In certain situations DRLs work. There is a rural highway near me with the forest close in on either side and hanging over the road. It is difficult to see oncoming cars if they don’t have their headlights on. The situation is bad enough that drivers are required to turn their lights on. With DRLs, the lights are already on. I’m sure there are other situations where cars at a distance are obscured by their surroundings until they get closer. DRLs help drivers see oncoming traffic earlier, and it seems to me that is a good thing.
I think you are right. Unfortunately, if the marketers in the car companies feel that a majority of potential customers “feel” that DRLs increase safety, then we all will continue to have to pay for them on our cars.
But why make them so hard to defeat? If I don’t want them, I should be able to turn a switch or pull a fuse
---- “B.L.E.” cartalk@discoursemail.com wrote:
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I have no idea if the DRL on our vehicles kept someone from pulling out in front of us or not. But they might have, and that is enough for me to want them. If someone really does not want them just don’t buy a vehicle that has them or find something else to obsess about.
That’s easy to say when DRLs aren’t likely to be a defining feature that makes you choose one car over another.
Personally, I care more about criteria like expected reliability, safety, and comfort, so to suggest I or anyone else should choose a car based on how its headlights work seems rather absurd.
There are logical reasons to give customers a choice on features such as this as long as they’re not mandated. It’s not a trivial matter.
Years ago before DRLs, we’d always turn the lights on when on a trip, particularly on two lane highways. Going 60 mph and seeing a car on a crossroad, I feel a little better knowing my lights are on. I just put “lights on” in the same class as seat belts.
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