Exactly how does the auto on/off feature works? When you activate this feature, do the lights come on automatically in dim lighting and turn off in bright lighting?

 

From all I have heard and read, the TL has auto-off only, that is the headlights will shut off by themselves if left on after a time period that the driver can set via the multi-informational display.

The TL doesn't have an auto-on feature.

 

The feature is automatic, at least in my 14 year old Bonneville. When going underground for parking, or when it gets dark the lights come on, and vice versa when its bright. Very handy and you never have to guess. Would have been a better feature than homelink. Even the G35 has it. Odd for Acura to omit it.

 

The new TL only has auto-off. You can turn off or 15, 30, 90 seconds delay.

Hope this helps!!!

 

BS...If it's AUTO then It's going to be auto on and off...Acura would be idiots to do only auto off...plus I've never heard of an Auto off only headlight ever!!!

 

Uh, I believe brandomc is in possession of an 04 TL, so I would think he would know if they are auto off only.

Am I correct brandomc?

And... I do believe that a lot of cars feature an auto off to save the battery and provide you with a bit of light when you first park, not that bad of an idea.

 

well it's NOT auto on cuz you have to turn them on manually. They turn off when you turn the car off and get out, but the switch stays in the "ON" position. The "auto" feature that is being discussed here is another selection on the switch that turns them on in darkness, and off when there is sufficient light. The TL will have them on all day and night in the ON position, but then off when you get out after the preset time, OR two clicks of the door lock button on the fob.

 

I have auto off only on my 98 Honda and if I remember correctly I also had it on a 95 Maxima. Auto off is very common in new cars. Auto on is not so common.

 

The sunlight sensor could have been used to do auto-on along with the temperature adjustment.

If they were trying to add "WoW" factors they sure missed this one. (Although I can live without it).

 

BS...If it's AUTO then It's going to be auto on and off...Acura would be idiots to do only auto off...plus I've never heard of an Auto off only headlight ever!!!

 

IMHO the auto-on lights are a more pratical application of the light sensor than the auto adjustment of the car temperature a few degrees on one side using the dual-control temperature.

In fact, the light sensor could be used for both.

 

There's always a first-time for everything!

 

My only 2 foibles with the car....the sunglass holder is ridiculously inconvenient and the headlights are not automatic. I wouldnt call them auto off since if you turn the car off with the lights on, a chime rings to remind you to turn them off. So you dont even have the luxury of just leaving the car and having them turn off. You must physically do it. I guess there is a fail sale if you choose to ignore the chime.

It's pretty poor ergonomics on an otherwise spectacular car.

 

I can't believe Acura didn't put Auto on. My friend bought an old 79 Caddy just for fun and it even has Auto On headlights. The only Acura's to have Auto on and off are the MDX(2003+) and the RL(1996+). Auto on lights are starting to become more common. The Big 3 offers it on most of their cars, Audi, Toyota, Lexus, VW, BMW, Nissan, Infiniti, Jag, and even Hyundai offers it on one of it's models. ...I'm sure there are a couple other companys that I missed. A-specAZ- I'm shocked you never heard of Auto-off only...my first car a 1987 Toyota Camry had Auto-off...oh well.

Madlaw you do have the luxury of leaving the car and having them turn off by a driver changable time interval. Just ignore the chime and they will turn off in 15 sec, 30 sec, etc... depending on what you set in the multi info computer.

 

I thought the air flow adjustment was done by the navigation system, not by a light sensor. Which is correct?

 

Both are correct. If you do NOT have the Nav, then the solar sensor is used, if you have the Navi then it uses it GPS siganals to make the adjustments

 

I would say the AC system uses both the GPS and light sensor to determine the side of the car with more sun exposure, besides you don't need that AC balancing if it is nighttime or a cloudy day, thus the need for a light sensor.

 

The '04 Acura TL only has automatic lighting off feature.

page 69 of the owner manual...

"The automatic lighting off feature turns off the headlights, all other exterior lights, and the instrument panel lights within 15 seconds of removing the key from the ignition switch and closing the divers door."

As I said before, "You can change this 15 second timer to 0, 30, 60, or 90 seconds."

"The lights will turn on again when you unlock or open the driver's door."

I believe this was the same as my '02 TL-S

SSM / Q / Navi / 229 Miles

 

Hope you all do not mind....

New use of light sensor to engage auto-on lights with optional voice prompt before auto-turn on.


Car: I've detected that it is getting dark outside. May I turn the lights on for you?
Driver: Sure, turn them on.
Car: Pardon?
Driver: I said Yes, turn the lights on.
Car: That reply was not understood. Could you repeat it?
Driver: SH%t, I'll do it myself.
Car: Please repeat without vulgarity.
Driver: Who the h#ll do you thing you are.... HAL?
Car: The sound system has been disabled for 15 minutes.
Driver: F*#%-off bi%ch! (Assumes a female voice)
<Car rolls up windows and disables controls.>
Car: The temperature of the car has been set to 115 degrees Fahrenheit
<If Canadian TL, then 46.1 degrees Celsius is stated>
.... 1/2 hour later
Driver: I apologize for being an a$$ ealier. Can you please turn the air conditioner on?
Car: Apology accepted. Temperature restored.
<sound returns>
.... next day
Car: Why are we headed to the Acura dealer, John?
Driver: <silence>

 

The voice reconition does say pardon a lot.

LOL!!!

 

Eiffel,

LOL too. Hey if you ever want a really good laugh, catch the episode of "The Osbornes" where Ozzie attempts to get their new 7-series BMW to understand him. Not much real dialogue, mostly bleeps.

Really brandomc, what percentage of the time are you getting "pardon?" from the voice recognition? I played with it some on a test drive and it seemed to work but I didn't know all the commands and neither did the salesman (duh).

 

I have not take the time to learn commands and I say what I think would work and it confuses the system. When you cuse at it, it states the time. Mother FCUKER...The time is 4:53 PM.

 

Guess I'll always know the current time during rush hour if I get a TL huh?

Thanks for the info brandomc. Saw pics of your car on another thread, nice ride.

 

My 02 Type S also turns on the lights when you unlock the door with the remote. It does that only if you have left the lights on when you shut off the engine. They stay on for about 30 seconds and then go out.

 

Same with all 99-03 TL's. 15 seconds.

 

True, but it doesn't work the same way nor it gives you the same result.

If you have the navi, the ac will adjust according to what angle the sun light is hitting the car. If the right side, then the passenger vents will decrease the temperature to adjust to the sun rays hitting you in the face. I would like to see this work going around a circle a few times, sun on the right, sund on the back, sun on the left, sun on the front, etc.

Without the navi, is kind of usless. Not worth explaining....the car knows the sun is there.....only one sensor.

 

Did the previous TL have Auto off headlights, meaning they turned off if u pressed lock on your remote twice?

I think its extremely cool that u can use your remote to turn off headlights

My friends IS300 does this and it is cool..

Someone said it will restore lights when u unlock..

So if I press Unlock on the remote, will my headlights turn back on? THATS TIGHT!!

My uncles Lincoln does that, did the 2nd Gen do that?

 

The 2nd generation TLs also had auto off headlights (auto OFF only), but it was not controllable by the remote. If you left the lights in the "on" position, once you shut off the car and left the car for a preset amount of time, the lights would shut off. When you unlocked the car with the remote, the lights would come back on. So although they would turn back on with the remote (coinciding with unlocking the doors--you couldn't do one without the other), you couldn't do the opposite and turn them on with the remote. That was strictly a timer function.

 

THANKS A LOT!!

I feel like an idiot after I read the posts before mine, which answered my questions


THANKS AGAIN PIANOMAN!

 

one thing I find annoying about auto-on is that they are on a slight delay, so that when you go under a bridge, it starts counting.. then just about the time you exit the shade, they come on, then go right back off.. you really want to be blinking your lights that much ??

I just leave mine on, they go off when I exit, and on when I get back, whoopie.. is it THAT F'ING HARD to turn the stick to ON ?? Turn it on and leave it on. then you have auto on.

 

eiffel: very funny. Yes, the car does have an auto-off feature. I wasn't even familiar with an auto-on feature which you folks have described here. Send over the sugestion to Acura- maybe they'll incorporate it for the '05 models. I think we forget sometimes that we're driving a $33k/$33k car, not a $60k car. They can't put every bell and whistle in for the price.

 

I agree, but this one is in many many cars that cost much less! And they already have a sensor. How much can a relay cost? I honestly don't think this was omitted to save $$, but to add another reason to buy an RL.

 

They were actually embarrassed when I said my 10 year old Pontiac even had it as standard. Does this mean its another reason to buy a Pontiac?

 

I hate to be the only person who says this but I believe that I'm intelligent enough to turn on my lights when it gets dark, because honestly, i hate auto on/off lights, they look ugly to me when i see them on Lexus, BMW, MB, Infiniti...etc
If your over 60 years old, well, that some thing different, but other than that I love the car they way it is.
And put in mind that in order to have something like that, you'll need to give up something else, because I believe that the 04 TL model in Canada doesn't have fog lights, because that is where the daytime running light go (Auto on/off).
It's just my point of view, I DON NOT WANT AOTU ON/OFF LIGHT and thank Acura for not putting one in my TL.

 

I'm not certain what you are talking about. Auto on/off Headlights don't "look" like anything. When it get's dark, your regular headlights come on without flipping a switch. They go off when it is light out or you turn off the car. It is obviously nothing critical. When I can't see anymore, I turn on my head lights! But how many of you have seen a car coming at you at night without their headlights on? On a well lit street, when you are used to them coming on by themselves, you might forget to turn them on.

The cost could not have been that much and it is a nice feature. This should have been a no-brainer for Acura with all the bells and whistles otherwise included. It's not a deal breaker (or I would not own the car), but it is something I'd like to see changed. Considering they added it to the MDX in the third model year (2003), you'd think they'd have figured that it would be good for the TL as well.

 

I think it is odd the new TL doesnt have Auto on headlights also....my 02 Maxima has auto on/off standard equip............TL is very nice car but Honda did omit a couple of things that it shouldn't have considering it is entry level lux....( auto headlights, heated/power wheel)........still love the new TL though if and when I trade my 5th gen Max it will be for a new TL not the new Maxima.....

 

fyi...
i had auto-on headlights on my IS300 and i NEVER USED THEM. i didn't even use the auto-off feature and still don't on my tl.
IMO there are some things that the car shouldn't be in control of.

 

You really should understand what it is before condemning it. It doesn't "look" like anything, all it does is replace you manually turning them on or off. Many times I have seen people at dusk who don't have their lights on and should as you can barely see them. The sensors eliminate this as they can accurately tell when the light is too low. Daytime running lights are not auto on/off unless you have auto on/off headlights as they go off when you switch to headlights. You can still manually turn on the headlights anytime you want. Let them get rid of Homelink as its probably more expensive.

 

im sure acura need somethign to add to the 05 model which is why they didnt put in auto-on lights.

 

That doesn't make sense. If they can include voice everthing, dvd audio, led lights etc, why would leave out something that GM included as standard even on some of their cheapest non-anti-lock brake models, for a decade? They can add the power steering wheel and piles of things that are just being offered like laser speed control. From what I have heard its just a mistake. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the car and since I have not one thing wrong with it this is the only thing I can complain about.