In many European countries you don't even have an option... It's the law! As soon as you turn your vehicle on - the main light will light up - and stay on until you power down. I used to think it was silly to drive around in the sunshine with the lights on, but it has been proved to reduce accidents - as people notice an oncoming car more easily when they are on.
We leave our lights on all the time. Since they go off when you open the door after turning out the car, no harm. It's like having DRL
Well, there is ONE possible downside to this... I remember pulling over for a nap one time, and the lights never shut off because I never opened the door. Lights stayed on for about a good hour... It didn't discharge the battery or anything, but who knows if it had been 2 or 3 hours... I think the worst you'll do is have to replace your headlights 4 years down the road instead of 5.....
On our old Dodge minivan, we used to leave the lights on and it seemed I was changing them all the time. Every 1 to 2 years. They were halogens. What about the HID lights? Anyone know if they are a longer lasting technology?
I remember reading this in my manual, so I just looked it up. Page 102 (with auto light control sensor) and page 104 (without auto sensor) both state this: "If you are going to park for over one week, make sure the headlight switch is off." I don't know why this is the case, if the headlights aren't actually burning, but that's what it states. But it's okay to leave the switch on with the car off as long as it's not for a long period of time, and as long as you open your door.....
It's safer, particularly on the highway, and especially for a motorcycle. PS I'm surprised we haven't heard something rude fom Squid on this one yet.
Yes. That's what we do. Unless my wife has turned the lights off without my knowing it, our switch has been in the "on" position since the day we bought the car.
Does leaving the lights on all the time give any significant hit to the mpg like running the heater or the cooling?
I currently do that on my 92 Camry. I keep the lights on and never have to worry about it. I am going to do that with the Prius as well.
i remember reading that the HID lamps draw like .1 of a KW. so do a little math, it found out that running the HID light for an Hour will affect your fuel usage for that hour by 0.0027692307692307692307692307692308 gallons or 6 tenths of a penny with gas at 2.50
I never turn my lights off. Mostly because I'm lazy and it is one less thing to think about. B) Britt
Leaving the lights on in a regular car will discharge the battery in a rather short time, so it seems to me that they will draw a certain amount of power, which does not seem insignificant. Running anything electric in the Prius is bound to affect mpgs. The air conditioner is a big mpg reducer... the lights surely less, but they mut have some impact.
The reason they want you to switch it to teh OFF position if keeping it for more than a week is to minimise battery drain. HIDs use very little power. The A/C would draw the most. The radio is miniscule too.
I think in California it's the law NOT to drive with headlights on durring the day. About 50% of drivers have them on though. I don't. When someone pulls behind me with thier lights on it feels like they are being agressive and trying to intimidate me. People argue that headlights on makes you safer. I don't understand that. I can see cars just fine. And your headlights don't light your way better in the day. Just researching the laws and found that we (cali) must have our lights on if our wipers are on in rainy weather. The first ticket is $45. The second is $150. Still searching...
How is this different from the 'daytime running lights' we have to have in Canada? My lights are on all the time, and if I'm staying in the car after I power it off, I just open and close the door to turn them off.
California requires that lights be on during hours of darkness and while the windshield wipers are on during anytime of the day [CVC 24400(a]; however, there is nothing in the vehicle code that prohibits driving with the headlights on during daylight hours. Many cars, including late model GM and Volvo cars, are equipped with Daytime Running Lights. Those are probably the ones you see while driving. Take a look at Vehicle Code Sections 24250 - 26106.
Susan, if these are on a Prius, can you tell if the daytime running lights are the same lights as the nighttime headlights? If they are, do they burn with the same intensity?
