I picked up our new TL and will provide a more complete post elsewhere (but I have to say that Hansel Acura in Santa Rosa was the BEST car buying experience I ever had--again I will expand in another post).

I was chagrined to find that the TL has daylight running lights and that these were default set on without any obvious way of disabling them. Without getting to a debate about the perceived benefits/detriment of having these (here is a good link for folks like me who do not like them www.lightsout.org/) I was wondering if anyone here has found a way to disable the feature. The link I provided says you can remove a fuse but then you get a warning message. Is there some way that the dealer can reprogram so that the DRL does NOT go on?

Thanks,

Doug

 

Pull DRL fuse. Agreed these DRL's are ridiculous. In fact data shows that they really make no difference in vehicle visibility/saftey.

http://www.motorists.org/drl/

 

I was wondering if pulling the fuse will result in some nonstop warning message--guess I'll find out.

Regardless of (unproven) benefits of having DRL, the practical reasons NOT to have them is shortened bulb life and needless stress on the alternator/battery (reducing fuel economy).

Let's see, I have been driving now for 40+ years and the last time I did not perceive a car coming towards me in the daytime was . . . oh yeah, NEVER.

If having DRL in the front is such a wonderful thing, then it surely would make more sense to have a strip of lights running along the sides of cars as well. I can make a more convincing argument for having PEDESTRIAN running lights. There is much more likelihood of not seeing a pedestrian walking off the curb and the consequences are much more dire. So why not require people to wear running lights all the time?

My biggest objection is, once again, the nannystateism that is behind this. I don't need some meddling bureaucrat who has nothing better to do than think of stupid ways that MIGHT make my life less risky.

Okay--off my soapbox.


Doug

 

^did you pull the fuse yet to see if the warning light comes on?

what about resistors?

 

Couldn't agree more. We don't need more rules & regs. I think there are two different fuses for this system. Do a search. Pulling the wrong one gives a warning light.

 

The DRL controller is a self-contained unit and does not communicate with the PCM, so there is no way of doing any reprogramming.

 

Am I correct and Fuse #15 needs to get pulled to disable the DRL?
EDIT: Yup, that's the fuse!

 

. Why not pull the fuses for your air bags, ABS, and seat belt warnings at the same time. That will teach those gov't bureaucrats!

 

Forgot to include this... http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/drl.html

 

You also forgot to read this www.lightsout.org

And if you are so concerned about keeping us all safe, why not start a movement to require pedestrians to wear lights?

Doug

 

Do you have any links from unbiased sources?? If you don't like the rules then don't drive. Is a simple fix.

 

In Canada, all new vehicles have to have DRL as standard equipment since the 90's.

 

Eh?

 

I don't get why someone would want to disable a safety feature on a vehicle. I understand personal preference but the main reason for the DRL's is to be seen. To me, just one person not pulling out from an intercestion because of my lights being on is priceless. Maybe I am just old fashioned and care more about my personal safety than some others.. I dunno.

 

As previously mentioned, DRL's have been standard on ALL cars in Canada since the 90's.

It really doesn't bother me, but perhaps I'm getting too old or I've been brainwashed.

 

I really wanted to avoid the debate since one side will not convince the other side in any event. But my position is that I question the effectiveness of this so-called "safety feature". I can't ever recall driving around in the daytime and thinking "gee, if that car coming at me only had lights on I could see it better". If you have problems seeing a car coming at you in broad daylight then what can I say. If having lights on in the front are so effective, then cars should also have light strips along the sides as well.

I can definitely see the use for a system that turns DRL on at dusk or early morning or when it gets overcast or foggy. But having these on in normal daylight conditions seems overkill.

Doug

 

My reason for jumping in is that you are, in effect, disabling a safety feature and wanted others to know that. That's all. It's your opinion and car.

 

No--I am questioning this being labeled a safety feature from the get-go. If some bureaucrat came up with the idea that having a feature that automatically honked your horn every five seconds so that cars and people knew you were coming, that can also arbitrarily be called a "safety feature". Limiting a car's speed to 50mph could also be called a safety feature. Moreover, it could probably be undeniably proven that limiting speed to 50mph would result in less fatalities. How could you not argue that this is not a safety feature. Having sponge rubber bumpers that are maybe 2 or 3 feet thick around the car is undeniably a safety feature. Do you want those as well? So the questions I am asking are (1) are DRL so much of an undeniable safety feature that you are forced to use them and (2) then why not force the other things I came up with which truly are undeniable?


Doug

 

To me, it is obvious how effective DRL's are. Just ask motorcycle riders. To be seen is very important to most people.

IMO, you don't like this feature being forced on you and there is no changing your mind.

 

What's funny is that on my '05 Camry, the light stalk has a "DRL OFF" position. I just leave it on AUTO.

 

To me it is very conclusively obvious that limiting cars to go no faster than 50mph is effective. How about having that forced on you? With your position on the dubious effectiveness of DRL, how can you then possibly argue against a 50mph limiter on cars?

Doug

 

Wow, talking about twisting the topic around. How does DRL's fall into the same catagory as something as silly as 50MPH limits? These are not apples and apples but you are obviously very protective over your right to stop this intrusion upon your personal freedoms. I was not trying to turn this into a fight. You didn't want debate because you have no leg to stand on. How can you support your stance?

Do you think "they" decided DRL's were added to sell more bulbs? Is it possible that there were studies made and the studies show that DRL's DO make vehicles more visible during the day? Or.. is this more "Big Brother" telling us what to do?

Wow, just wow! Hey, be my guest, turn those silly lights off. It's your car. I just hope the worst scerio never happens.

 

As I said from the outset, neither side is going to convince the other so we will just have to agree to disagree. It's just sad that you cannot see the perfect sense of forcing a speed limiter of 50mph to save lives? Oh well.


Doug

 

I am sorry that you felt attacked by my statements. As you said, we agree to disagree. I can't fathom how you don't see DRL's as being a sately item. *shrug*

Don't be sad about me not wanting to discuss speed limiters in the same topic as DRL's. Feel free to start a new thread and we can discuss it there.

Going off topic too much on this site can get you banned.

 

I agree. This entire issue really belongs off-topic with the title/theme being something like "How much of your life do you want to turn over to the nannystatists to protect you from cradle to grave."


Doug

 

DRL are indeed useful whenever visibility is mediocre: cloudy days, rainy days, snowy days. The stupidity of the regulation is that the rest of the vehicle's lights are not turned on. An unfortunate consequence is that some drivers don't turn on their vehicle's main headlights because they wrongly assume, I believe, that the main beams are on, even though they are not. My 2007 Subaru uses the main headlight at partial brightness for the DRL. The best solution is found in northern Europe, where a vehicle's main beams, side lights, and rear lights are on all the time. That makes sense in lands where the sun shines now and then, unlike southern California, for example.

 

Jeez I hoped I would not be drawn into continuing this discussion but yours is a post I can pretty much ENTIRELY AGREE WITH. The whole DRL thing started in countries where the ambient lighting was much less than say, southern Cal. I would have much less objection if the lights were set to turn on only in dusky conditions.

Doug

 

Disabling a safety feature =

Just kidding

 

No problemo

 

I pulled that fuse the day I got the car (May, 2011) and no warning issues.

The debate is interesting, but I default to Honda's philosophy from years ago - DRL were the last advantage motorcyclists had over cars. With all the new cars on the road having this feature, none of us notice the lights any more.

Just my $0.02 ....... And I don't provide change.

 

How can I change the ugly yellow light(DRL) to LED white light? Is this as simple as changing the light bulb?

 

OK, I'll pull the fuse, but wear one of these while driving,



will that make everyone happy?

 

Only real problem I have with them is the fact that they are ugly. Not sure why Acura couldn't have put a small LED strip along the top of the headlight to make the TL look super agressive and still accomplish the "safety" mission.

 

is the fuse that needs to get pulled in the cabin fuse box or the engine bay fuse box?

 

If you're going to wear something like that, you'd be better of wearing it while walking, not driving. Makes my case for there needing to be walking lights for pedestrians rather than running lights for cars.

 

I believe you will also need a decoder set/kit.

 

a resistor, you'll need.

Hmmm...I actually installed a DRL kit to add it, but purely because I like how it looks with the yellow bulbs on a black car.

 

GM is the reason we have DRL's on our cars now. They have been petitioning the NHTSA to mandate all cars have DRL's for the last few decades.

If you want some light reading - here is the NHTSA denying their petition.

http://www.federalregister.gov/artic...-equipment#p-3

 

I am surprised that anyone is against a feature that "could" save lives... *shrug*

 

^^well, that's debateable...but honestly...there are times where people don't see my car either even with the DRL's. I like them for looks...