JEFFIL65

Is there a way to disable or turn these off? My dealer says no but I'm thinking
someone figured it out. Thanks,

sasair

You can probably turn them off by pulling the DRL fuse, but it will likely report an error in the DRL system on the MID.

Is there a reason you don't want the DRLs on?

crazymjb

IMO it should be required by law(and I believe it is some places) to have DRLs. You could pull the fuse or bulb, but I see no reason in hell why you'd want to.

Mike

amypinseattle

One negative about the DRL...I keep thinking my lights are on. Now after the first week or so I pretty much got it for night driving.

It also doesn't help that your lights light up for the dash...you think you have turned on your lights, but you haven't!

BUT this is still a problem for rainy Seattle driving! DRL just don't quit cut it. You need your headlights in order to be seen and safe.

So I appear to be the few that think the DRL are a negative, not a postive.

sasair

Well I suppose thats why there is an indicator light if your headlights are on or not.

ArthurKnight

I've caught myself a few times driving at night without the headlights on. Usually I realize it when I come into a dark area and don't see the road in front of me lit up. You really have to train yourself to realize that if the headlight indicator isn't on, your headlights aren't on regardless if you can see light reflecting off the car in front of you or your dash is lit up.

sasair

I usually notice my headlights aren't on when I try to close my garage door. I can't find the homelink buttons in the dark. those buttons and other dash items like the radio don't light up unless your lights are on.

NemoUmbra

I'm with sasair, if I go to plunk on something on the dash or the hearters, I'll notice I don't have the lights on. DRL are mandatory by law up here in Canada so we have no choice at all. If it's really a big deal, you could leave the lights on all the time as they have the auto shut off. Probably not the best idea but at least you'd never have to worry about turning on the lights.

Texas

A thread ran on this a while back....seems best answer is to remove bulb. I too would just like the option to turn off like the VSA..????

I feel if lights are needed you need more than DRLs. Also, I do not care for the looks of the car with DRLs on......Also, down this way we have many days of full sun.....Would just like the choice and slow the nanny state a bit....If I move to an 07 I will let you know how it goes...a good local electronic/auto shop should be able to put a switch in...

crazymjb

The point is to help others see the car, not to provide lighting for you.

Mike

sasair

If you pull the bulb:

1. you wouldn't have any high beams, illegal, and I consider high beams a necessity.

2. the MID would throw an error message at you that your DRL system isn't functioning.

neo1738

IDK about you guys, but who cant really remember to turn their headlights on? I think its pretty noticeable when my headlights arent on.

amypinseattle

Yeah...that just gets lost in information bombardment! Who notices the fact that one little light is missing from that cockpit of lights?

b1207a

I got used to driving with headlights on during the day several years ago when I was on vacation up in Canada. (had a great time btw, wonderful food, people, and sights). Then I read several articles about how companies who have lots of vehicles on the road did tests and found that when DRL's were used their accident rates went down significantly. As mentioned above, they aren't to help you see but to help others see you. Do this test next time you are driving down the highway (any conditions): look at other cars indirectly through peripheral vision. You will see right away that you pick up much more quickly the cars with their lights on. It's not about the nanny state, it's just common sense and safety. It isn't a law here in Maryland but I wouldn't drive any other way. Thank you Canada!

Texas

Not clear on what the DLRs have to do with low/high beams.....Has anyone seen a MID message on DRLs?

As for the others, it is about choice....we have a choice on VSA ....If we want to turn the DLRs off or you do not...ok with me...would like the choice...

sasair

The DRL's share the same bulb as the high beams, and nobody has probably seen a message on their MID about DRLs because they haven't pulled the bulb, but if you pull your DRL/high beam bulb, and start the car you will see the message.

I was just curious as to what situation you would want your DRL's off. I know the situation where you would want your VSA off. The only situation I can think of to want your DRLs off is if you are sitting parked somewhere with the car running and you didn't want it visible that your car was running. Like especially when you exit your vehicle and leave it running unattended. But in that situation you can keep your DRLs off, so when else would you?

Texas

Ok, I think I am with you now on the DRLs H/Lbeams...I have been looking at the 07 TL and the DRLs are seperate bulbs but same fuse as head lights...

As to why off, I just do not like the da-gone things...their looks and their function...I use head lights when conditions require such...Just would like the option...

Although I see the need for some. They are pushing for a law down here that requires head lights on if wipers on. There are folks down here that will drive in the rain or fog with no lights...??

crazymjb

Do the parking lights come on automatically too? I assume they do. I hate when its raining really hard and yet people still don't turn on their lights... I can't see them until I am really damn close, and having a full size truck that could easily become their problem.

Mike

DCIANDREW

The DRL's should turn off when you are in P and you set the parking brake even if the motor on.

sasair

Sort of...the DRL's will be off if the parking brake is set when the car is started. once you release the parking brake, the DRLs come on and stay on until the car is shut off( or you turn the headlights on), but once the DRL's are on, you can't shut them off by setting the parking brake while in park.

thexster

the drl are fine but you do think your lights are on, we were stopped by cops this a.m and told to put the lights on, i thought they were.

schuchmn

So the answer, obviously, is to drive with the parking brake on.

Seriously, rain and fog scatter light. You end up with the kind of light that photographers refer to as "flat", or lacking in contrast. This reduces the visual differences between light things and dark things and between things of different colors. Without lights, your car can sort of fade into the background. If someone looks at your car he'll see it, but someone who isn't careful enough can miss it.

What most people don't realize, btw, is that, for different reasons, the lighting is flat at dawn and dusk as well, though not as extremely so as in fog or rain. I read once that the highest number of traffic accidents per passenger mile occurs at dawn and dusk.

So get those lights on early.

schuchmn

An addendum to my last post.

I left for work at 6:30AM this morning in the rain. On the highways, between the fallng rain and the spray, it would've taken an idiot to not have lights on. I lost count of the number of idiots I saw.

amypinseattle

I completely agree about driving with the lights on.

My problem is that the driving lights and the "cockpit" lights that come on automatically, make me think that my lights are on.

I would just prefer to not have any lights on - inside or out, until I turn them on. Then I KNOW they are on...so I'm not one of those "stupid" people driving around without their headlights on!

Because the driving lights alone just aren't enough in rain, dawn, and dusk...you need your lights.

After droving my car for 1600 miles, it's still something I keep doing...

Dostoyevsky77

Hello. Looks like this thread is a little stale, but I just wanted to add my two cents: I have to agree with Texas that the DTRLs are really ugly. I also asked my local Acura to disable them, but I got a rude diatribe about how it would be illegal (which it isn't). I tried pulling the DTRL breaker, but got a warning light which annoyed me more than ugly lights. Acura could have done better with them, by placing them on the outside of the vehicle and lower to accent the aggressive front-end (why not have them integrated with the fog lamps instead of the high-beams?).

sasair

Because they are not as effective when pointed to the ground as they are when pointed in your eyes. As ugly as you think they are, they still make your vehicle safer. Seat belts are a pain in the ass too, but I still put it on every day. And what's uglier than that 3rd brake light? It's only a matter of time before the DRLs are required nationwide in the US.

phoward_15

Yeah I really wish they had the Auto-Off/On feature on this "luxury" car. It's really kind of an annoyance.

I'm looking at purchasing the '07 RDX in Oct. I currently drive with my lights on all the time in my '97 Honda Civic so I think I'll just continue that tradition in the RDX. The nice thing about the RDX is that it has the Auto-Off feature so really I'll never have to turn my headlights on/off ever again. I'll just keep it in the "on" position and they'll turn off when I turn the car off and they'll come back on when I turn the car on.

Granted it'll wear out the buld quicker but at least I won't be worried if I have my headlights on or not.

VeNeNo

iTrader: (1)

Before the purchase of my RDX, i was the number one advocate for disabling DRL... I absolutly hated the way they made cars look especially during the day. After actually had a car with DRL i found it wasn't even a big deal, heck i even started to like them. I think the DRL on the RDX make the car A) look more aggresive and B) Make the vehicle more noticable... just my what does the Zine think...?

Tripp11

DRL's are just another safety feature which we all should be glad to have on the RDX. If these lights prevent some dipshit from pulling out in front of me during the day because he SAW my DRL's, then so be it; however, I'm not going to complain how they take away from the vehicle's appearance - you're in the car, so who cares what it looks like?

Safety trumps appearance any day of the week.

turboted

Why would you want to turn off the DRL's, they are for your safety. Maybe you are into some criminal activities?

flar

The low beams on the RDX are HID which have a much longer lifetime than conventional bulbs. 3000 hours according to this J.D. Power article.

http://www.jdpower.com/articles/article.aspx?ID=132

Also, as their lifetime wears on they get dimmer, but they almost never burn out. Most get replaced when they get dimmer so the car is never totally without light.

RDX REX

I hated the DRL's and so I pulled out the fuse for them under the driver's side dash, simple solution and I've never had any error messages or any problem w/ anything else

phoward_15

Thanks for the info Flar. This makes me feel better that I just keep them on all the time. NOw that I think about it if I have my headlights on I believe it would dim the lights in the car correct? So during the daytime I might have a problem because my dash might be too dark but I guess I'll have to figure that out when I get one.

sasair

You can set that however you want. Your dash has settings for headlights on and off. You'd just have to adjust it manually when it is dark and light outside.

casa7

Here in Canada we have had DRL for many years and and are mandatory in new cars(can't remember since what year).To be honest you get used to it and people in this country have gotten used to them.Is just a fact of life.
There has also been research done and stats to show that DRL tend to reduce the number of accidents, specially on two lane highways(which we have a lot of them here).

mikebo

How about if you're a private detective and need to follow people without advertising? Some of those cheating spouses wanna shake me (or kill me) if they know they're being followed.

I'd like to be able to turn them off, and the fact that I can't without pulling a fuse is just plain stupid when it should be a Setup option. Ideally, I'd like to mate them to the "parking" lights, so I can have running lights when I decide it's appropriate.

I love people who think their opinion should be made law for everyone else. Run for Congress or something...

Regards,
mikebo

MMike1981

guy, if RUNNING LIGHTS are the thing thats gonna get you made, maybe u should look into another line of work.

mikebo

Yes, DRLs attract attention to the rear view mirror... I might as well put a friggin Mars light on my roof. Thanks for the career advice... moron.

mav238

Everyone is entitled to have their opinions made and heard.

But as one poster said, the DRLs are outside the car while you are driving, why would it bother you? If you are bothered by something you can't see, it only means one thing, you are a very self-conscious person, to a point of paranoia. You probably see DRLs in another car, and go "yuck! that is so ugly" and then realize your car looks like that too.

it may seem to be a stupid law to you, but it had been passed in congress or the parliament, so live with it.

If you were born in and live in a country like Singapore, you will probably be a very unhappy person. Chewing gum is outlawed there for a particular reason. Bottom line... wanna live in a certain country, respect and obey the laws of that country which had been passed with a democratic vote.

For your information, you say the DRLs look stupid or ugly and unncessary, as SASAIR put it accurately, why are you putting on the seat belt, don't you know you look stupid wearing it? Well, buddy, it's the law and it's there for your safety... So are the DRLs, they are there for your safety and think of it this way, if you can't see it, "it does not exist", so it should not in principle bother you.

MMike1981

good luck there sherlock.