Ok, I drive an 09 car and I know when I turn on my lights , they’re on ( unless a bulb is out) .
Over the weekend I had to use the Mrs car a 16 , and set off 9pm on sat evening , and I got flashed , several times before at lights a friendly face , informed me the lights at the back weren’t on.
Well on the dash , it showed lights were on , but Not specifically which ones .
I think we’ve all seen loads of cars driving like this , I think manufacturers ought to ensure this is not possible to do, either all lights are on , or none are .
When I found the right control , the light looked more like a fog light symbol
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Just switch the lights to “Autoâ€
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>> Just switch the lights to “Autoâ€
I've had a bad experience with auto lights. Sure I've mentioned it before.
Just coming out of an avenue of trees, the sensor woke up and decided it was dark enough to switch on the lights, for it to then realise it was light enough to turn them off again. Trouble was, it was not far from a T junction and the car waiting to pull out thought I had flashed my lights to allow him to come out. All I can say is thank god for emergency braking systems.
First thing I do now is to turn the lights from the auto position to off.
Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 4 Sep 18 at 10:37
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>>First thing I do now is to turn the lights from the auto position to off.
I have never used the auto lights position.
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>> I have never used the auto lights position.
I wouldn't use them if I has them for same reason as others.
I tend to drive on dipped beams a lot as the lights go leaving hone as there's a heavily shaded section on the way out of village. Going home they are needed in the gloomy multi-storey we use for work. Tend then not to turn them off.
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>> I have never used the auto lights position.
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I use auto the whole time and did in my previous Golf, never had any problems with it, like most of these "auto" features/gadgets it depends on the implementation and your particular locality.
In my case, in the Golf I had and the one I have now, I set auto lights, wipers, handbrake all on when I got them. While I may override them occasionally i wouldn't want to be without them now.
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My 2008 MB has a setting which leaves front driving lights and rear lights on all the time. That's where it stays.
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>> Well on the dash , it showed lights were on , but Not specifically which ones .
In my 2014 car, when
DRL is on, no symbol at all in dashboard, i.e. engine running = DRL on
When (only) rear red lights on, a side light symbol lights up on dash
When headlights on, it shows blue for main beam and green for dipped beam.
It also has separate symbols for front and rear fog lights (I can switch on foglamps without turning headlamps on).
Last edited by: movilogo on Mon 3 Sep 18 at 13:34
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>> Well on the dash , it showed lights were on , but Not specifically which
>> ones .
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It sounds like the dash-board instruments were illuminated (as they are on many cars all the time these days when the engine is running) but the lights were definitely not 'ON' as you found out. Common mistake with modern cars. Leave the lights on AUTO - problem solved.
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>> >> Well on the dash , it showed lights were on , but Not specifically
>> which
>> >> ones .
>> >>
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>> It sounds like the dash-board instruments were illuminated (as they are on many cars all
>> the time these days when the engine is running) but the lights were definitely not
>> 'ON' as you found out. Common mistake with modern cars. Leave the lights on AUTO
>> - problem solved.
>>
What often happens on some cars is the instrument illumination is full brightness during the day and then dims when you turn the lights on. I reckon this is why it's quite common to see people just with DRL on at night.
EU was supposed to be making auto-lights mandatory - ie removing the off position. I know Honda did it on Jazz a while ago and really annoyed the oldies.
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>>Well on the dash , it showed lights were on , but Not specifically which ones .
>>I think we've all seen loads of cars driving like this ,
>> I think manufacturers ought to ensure this is not possible to do, either all lights are on , or none are .
It is called progress. All sorts of special effects are more important.
My 1998 - yes a now 20 year old Ford Mondeo Ghia X model had an excellent system.
On the dash a small diagram that showed the location of lights .
On start up it illuminated to show the lights were all OK and then showed that the brake lights were OK before blacking out.
If a bulb failed during a journey then the appropriate indication would illuminate.
My Jaguar ( from Ford ) has warnings on a small LCD at the bottom of the dash that says nowt about lights.
Most Jaguar forums recommend removing the under tray etc to allow the bumper to be eased forward ( beware of disturbing the headlamp washers cos rubbish parts break) thus allowing access to change bulbs.
To late to force manufactures to ensure front and rear bulbs can be changed easily without tools as we will all have lifetime LEDs.
I never use the auto light setting.
The only time I recall being flashed for " No Lights" was driving daughters old Yaris where the dash is always lit so when it got to dusk in a well lit area ( her lights are poor) I wrongly assumed that if the dash was lit then of course the lights were on.
Yes auto lights would have prevented that situation.
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The "lifetime" LEDs that BMW fitted to my 2008 3 Series...failed and had to be replaced in pairs (225 pounds)..."They all do that squire"
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Auto lights are good to a point.
They dont necessarily pick up poor visibility due to rain, and certainly dont in daylight fog situations. Last winter I was on the top of the M62. The lights had been on but the sun came out as the fog worsened. I went to put my rear fogs on and was surprised to see the lights werent on at all. Visibility was very poor and nearly every other newish car had no lights (from the rear). It really wasnt good.
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Big DRL fail is that most (if not all of them) don't show rear lights
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My 2006 Golf came with auto-lights as part of the GT trim level (so I've had them for quite some time).
It wasn't that long ago that on the 'other place' real drivers were berated for the use of auto-lights...oh how things have moved on.
Last edited by: Rudedog on Mon 3 Sep 18 at 21:39
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>> My 2006 Golf came with auto-lights as part of the GT trim level (so I've had them for quite some time).>>
My 2007 Jetta also has an "auto" lights setting which is configured to be on permanently - shame so many drivers forget to turn their lights on in poor visibility.
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>> Big DRL fail is that most (if not all of them) don't show rear lights
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Agree, although I think some Peugeots show rear lights with front DRLs.
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>> Big DRL fail is that most (if not all of them) don't show rear lights
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You should find that your MX-5 DRLs come on when the car is moving (they go off when you stop, even if the engine is running) and that when the DRL's are on, the tail lights are on.
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>> The "lifetime" LEDs that BMW fitted to my 2008 3 Series...failed and had to be
>> replaced in pairs (225 pounds)..."They all do that squire"
>>
The ones fitted on my 2010 3 series also failed about 6 months after my son bought it from the leasing company when I was finished with it in 2014, not covered by the warranty as that excluded "light bulbs" as a normal wear and tear item.
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The other benefit of leaving the lights on Auto (on BMWs at least) is that it puts the DRLs on when you unlock the car. Handy for busy or dark car parks. When you turn the lights off, this feature is disabled.
Apart from this initial experimentation, I don't think I've ever turned the light switch away from Auto. It seems to work well enough.
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The BMW auto on system is very good, Its not fooled by tunnels or bridges, and seems to get it right most of the time. Even using the rain sensor to decide its lights on time.
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>>Its not fooled by tunnels or bridges
My auto on system (Mapmaker-powered) isn't fooled by tunnels or bridges either, and always puts the lights on for tunnels (and sometimes bridges). On the other hand it does get fooled by twilight and the fact that the dashboard is always lit.
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The VW system is good too. I guess that we have all forgotten to switch on our lights at some time. Auto eliminates that problem.
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That reminds me about the tunnel thing..
On the 2006 Golf the auto symbol is a funny upside down U shape with light beams pointing from one side, I had no idea what it was meant to represent until I went on holiday to France (Jura then Swiss boarder), over there you must put your lights on when going through the many tunnels, the same auto symbol was on signposts at the entrance to several of the tunnels so I guess it's linked to that (?)
Although when I was in a new Golf the symbol seems to have changed slightly and looks less like a tunnel entrance with light beams on it.
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>> I guess that we have all forgotten to switch on our lights at some time. Auto eliminates that problem.
Even when it's foggy?
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Mine come on even in direct sunlight, although foggy conditions can fool it.
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>> Mine come on even in direct sunlight, although foggy conditions can fool it.
Your auto light tech is 12 years old.
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Fog does normally actuate the lights although it can be fooled by low level fog where there is some sunshine.
It is of course sensible not to totally rely on the auto system in fog but it does remove the issue of forgetting to switch on the lights at dusk, something which I am sure everybody has done at some time and which can be witnessed most evenings.
Not to use the auto setting at all because it might be inappropriate in limited circumstances seems a little perverse but that just me I guess.
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I reckon cars that have auto/off/sidelights/headlights steps in the switch is one reason why you get so many cars driving with sidelights on in fog - people are used to clicking the switch twice.
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The only ones I have used have auto as the first step after the off switch, and mine never moves from the auto position.
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Lights - CGNorwich
