Im pretty sure it does not...but does the TL have light sensors or a way to activate it so the headlights turn on and off according to outside lights?

 

Nope...

But you could set headlight auto-off timer. It's inside MID setup.

 

you would think a car like this have it, alas, a minor thing that would have been nice

 

And after they add that, they would add the other thing, and then something else, and the car would no longer be the bargain it is. Yes, it would have been nice to have a lot of stuff as long as the price didn't go up, but it doesn't work that way.

 

Personally, I'm glad the TL doesn't have auto-on headlamps. My '02 Altima SE had them and I don't care for them at all. I much prefer to be able to take the decision myself when or when not to use my headlamps.

I do, however, like the auto-off feature.

 

I agree with SouthernBoy, they're useless (at least as far as I'm concerned). My wife has them in her IS, and they never go on/off when *I* want them to. So, I do the same thing in her car that I do in the TL - just leave them on. I figure there's no harm/foul doing this. The Xenon lights are supposed to last for the life of the car. If that's not true, I won't be happy, but until then, I just leave them on night and day and let them turn off by themselves.

 

i agree i do not like auto-headligtht feature. they are usually always too over sensitve and turn of when it still light out. i know its better to be safe than sorry but i would like to control the lights myself.

 

The HID's will last the life of the car under normal use. I think they are rated at 4,000 hours, so do the math. If you leave them on 5 hours a day, that is 800 days, or 2 years and two months.
Figure out your average daily usage to apply these figures to your car (or for a slight fee we can do it for you).

 

I've also read (on this forum) that the HID's take a lot of power to start up. I had a car with auto-on headlights and they'd turn on when I stopped under an overpass and shut off when I left. Also when I start my car in my garage.

All that unneccessary on/off would cut the life of HID's considerably.

 

I will be very surprised if dusk sensing headlights on not standard on the '05 TL. Off hand I cannot think of another car in this price range that doesn't have that feature. I had it in my '00 Toyota Avalon and I liked it a lot. If you don't like the sensitivity you can often get it changed by the dealer.

I think it is a safety feature. I can't recall how many times I have been on the road and I suddently realize thereis a guy in front of me with no taillights on that I didnt' see before my headlights lit him up. The real problem is if the guy is in the adjacent lane and I don't see him until he changes lanes into mine (usually without a turn signal). I have forgotten to turn on my headlights on occasion. It is an expensive ticket that carries points and this feature eliminates any possibility of ever getting such a ticket.

 

I agree that the automatic lights may not always work WHEN you want them to, but it is yet another GREAT safety feature that Acura cheated us out of, like the mirror turn signals. The TL already has the light sensors AND the relays, it is only a little programming for the computer.

When you are driving near the end of the day, it is easy to forget to turn on your lights until it is REALLY dark. You see this all the time. It is just as important to be SEEN as to SEE. The auto lights take care of this.

Of course if we weren't also cheated out of having DRLs (that Canada has) this wouldn't be so critical.

 

I also believe that the older generations of TLs had them...I don't know why they did not have them in the 04. That was one of the first things I noticed during the test drive.

 

The 2nd gen TL does not have automatically controlled headlights. I cant even think of a Honda/Acura that has auto headlights. When I say automatically, I am referring to a light sensor to determine whether or not the headlights should be on or off.

 

Not even the RL?? Wow! The salesguy said that the old TL had it during my test drive. I am not doubting you but I don't understand his motivation for saying that....

 

Caball, when you have the auto on you can always override the settings and turn it off or on manually. Thats the way it is in my SUV.

 

The RL has had automatic light since '96, and the MDX has had automatic lights since '03. The new generation JDM Inspire has them too.

 

I can't remember the last car I had that did not have auto headlights until my new TL. And what makes it really bad is that the instruement lights are on all the time. At least in the old days, you had a clue that your lights were not on when you looked at the guages and realized it was getting too dark to read them.

Acura needs to wake up on this one. And please don't talk cost. I had a 97 Z28 Camaro that had them (ALL GM cars have them).

 

If you just leave your headlights on all the time, you'll be set. They'll be on while you drive and off when you get out of the car. I've done this on the past 2 TL's I've owned (one for almost 3 years) and currently do it on my '04. I've never had a bulb burn out, either.

In addition, I find that the additional clarity provided by the gaues being lit all the time far outweighs the "confusion" of whether or not your lights are on. Besides, there's a light on the dash to tell you that, too.