I miss the daytime running lights that my 3 previous cars have had, so I've started just leaving the headlights on.

This seems to work fine. The car ding-ding when I pull my key out of the ignition, but then the light shut off when I lock the car.

I just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something stupid. Is there any "harm" in doing this?

(And on a side rant, why does such a sophisticated car now have automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers)?

 

There was a thread about this a while back... There isnt any harm in doing this, you just may go through your bulbs faster - Acura didnt put in auto headlights supposedly because everytime you start the xenons, it causes such a shock to the bulb that thats where the wear and tear comes from, not from leaving them on for long periods. And when you are in a garage, they turn on, and when you pull out they shut off. Thats causing un-necessary strain on the bulbs or something like that. Thats the reasoning I think. Rain sensing? I wish we had them but oh well. You get 5.1 surround sound instead.

 

You can go into the MID and set the headlights to go off at 0, 15, 30, or 60 seconds after you turn off the ignition. See page 69 of the owner's manual.

If you set it a 0 seconds, it will go off when you turn off the ignition and open the door and close it, and it will go on each time you open the door, but will not stay on until you turn on the ignition again.

 

Leave 'em on..it looks good & no harm wil be done

 

I don't think there will be a problem. In Canada, I believe all new vehicles must be equipped with DRL since 1995 I think. I haven't heard of any problems.

 

Having the headlights "on" when you start the car...doesn't that strain the battery?

 

Our DRL's would be fine with the auto on/off since they use the equivalent of the U.S.'s fog lights. They should have at least given us that since the U.S. gets XM radio!

 

This is exactly correct; the wear and tear on xenons comes from turning them on and off.

If you are a salesman or someone who drives a lot and is in and out of your car many times during the day, I would NOT recommend leaving the lights on so that they come on everytime you start the car. Just be careful because if the bulbs go out when the car is out of warranty, YOU will be paying for it. I have heard horror stories of replacement xenon bulbs costing as much as $1000...yes that is three zeros!! I know that for a BMW 3-Series there are about $875 EACH!!! Luckily mine was replaced under warranty in that case.

However, if you are a normal driver and are only in and out of the car a few times a day then you should be fine.

 

Texas Acura,

I heard that the bulb is the only thing you have to change, and it only cost you $70.00 for the bulb.

If you have to change the hold thing than it will cost you a couple of G's

 

edwards,

that is correct, but in many cases the whole unit has to be replaced, not just the bulb. some manufacturers build it all as one unit and you MUST replace the whole unit.

-tx

 

tx acura which manufacturers do you refer to? I don't believe that at all. I just had to replace mine due to collision and the bulb cost was $120 in Dallas, but I also had to replace the rest of teh crashed HID components, which totalled about $500 for one side.

 

That must be for the entire headlight and not just the bulbs. Bulbs should only cost between $150 and $300. Not cheep but not wallet breaking.

 

Nope....not on the TL.

 

$875 is too much for just the bulbs. like all the other posters said the bulbs are generally about $120. if the whole system has to be replaced then we are talking about 600-800 depending on the brand. the ballasts are about $300 for the set and most the time the ignitors come with it. some of the older systems have the ignitor as a seprate piece.

 

They probably didn't have the dough to throw it into the "all inclusive" package, and didn't want to charge as an option like MB and Benz and such do

 

both those functions are nice but is far from perfect. the autoheadlights come on even when it might not be needed. the rainsensing wipers sometimes wipe too often or not enough. if i had those options on the TL i would likely turn them off anyways.

 

I know for a fact that in my 2000 BMW 3 Series that the whole unit had to be replaced and it was $875 per side. Also, I used to have an S2000 and I checked out of curiosity to see what those would cost. The dealer told me the same thing...the whole unit had to be replaced and it was $515 a side. In other words, you could not buy just the bulb. Honda may have chosen that route on the S2000 since their production numbers are not that high. In the TL, you might be able to buy just the bulb if in fact that is what is bad.

 

List prices for the bulbs is $169, and the Headlight Assy is $524.75, according to Acura Carland http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...A5AT&catcgry5=

 

i bought a set of xenons off a e46 bmw and its not an entire unit. it comes with bulb, ballast and ignitor. the mount everything in the headlight assembly(outside of it) but can be removed easily. i have not come acorss any system that has it all integrated without being able to remove the parts. the headlight assembly for a e46 is gonna run you 300-400 bucks a side if you are getting it from a dealer. the hid components will run you another 300-400ish from dealer. so your price of 875 per side is for the headlight assembly and the hid components. if you know for sure that the bulb in the bmw is out you can easily replace that for $120.

 

thanks for the info...however that was covered under warranty so I aint too mad if they lied to me cause i didn't pay for it...anyways i am about to get rid of the 3 Series to buy a new TL!!!!!!!!!!

 

My last car had the "twilight" feature - lights went on when it got dark. I really miss that feature after using it for 12 years.

And, from being used to it, in the beginning would sometimes forget to put them on right away. So I got a ticket one night from asshole for not having headlights on. Had only gone 2 building length when he pulled me over.

Now, I also read on this or another board that keeping headlights on during day means that tailights are also on and that someone behind you might not be able to tell difference from brake lights???? especially if they're not paying attention.

 

where did you hear those horror stories from? My dad's xenon bulbs have gone out twice and is only charged 70 a bulb (on a 540)... i mean 1000 bucks is even more then the option is to have them on a 3 series