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Comments
WELL, THAT REALLY SUCKS!!!
Yes, I may have to go into spending extra money (for a leased car it's even more frustrating) to install automatic lights on that Civic.
Unless someone here can come up some other trick?....
Without DRL, it is very likely that you will not bother to turn on the headlights when you go into a covered car park, tunnels and in bad weather (during daytime). And in case if you did turned on the headlights under such conditions, you will most likely forget to turn it off afterwards when you have parked your car in a bright place.
DRL is dimmer than low & high beam. It should not burn out the light bulbs so fast or drain your battery as much as turning on the low / high beams full-time.
Although my E320 have automatic lights, it is expensive & the option costs extra. To me, the DRL on the 06 Civic is already icing on the cake.
Planning to lease the Civic in January, I especially went this morning to my Honda dealership to check it, and the lights stayed on. On my '05 Accord I leave the lights switch on all the time and the headlights would go off about 15 seconds after I lock the car.
See, DRL is great. I am all for it. Especially when driving in a rain storm or snow storm, and/or at dusk.
BUT then I ALSO expect the modern car of the 21st century to releave me from the hassle of remembering to switch on my headlights when it becomes dark outside, and certainly the hassle of remembering to shut them OFF before locking the car at the end of the day.... THIS IS BASIC, imho.
Yes, my 1993 Camry LE (as did my 1996 and 1999 Camrys) had DRL which was dimmer during the day, and AT THE SAME TIME was automatically shutting of after the keys were taken out of the ignition.
AND THIS WAS BACK IN 1993!!! As stated before, for the past 12 years I have not touched the headlights switch, ever....
I would expect Honda TODAY to finally be able to perform a simple and such a convenient technical feature that Toyota was able to perform 12 years ago.
Wouldn't you agree?
A. The Camry had it all, the Accord DOES NOT. The Camry had (and probably still has) the true DRL + Auto Shut Off. My '05 Accord (not sure about the '06) has only the Auto Shut Off.
B. The Corolla (at least 2 models that I have been familiar with) DOES have the same DRL + Auto Shut Off as the Camry.
C. "These are economy class vehicles." -- DRL and Auto Shut Off are not luxury, but safety features (certainly DRL). And I don't believe it's involving sophisticated rocket science to install them in EVERY car.
D. "Are you simply that lazy" --- Well, you could also ask why would I demand Power Windows and Locks, would you? How about Remote Entry? Or Power Antenna?...
It's not about laziness. It's about LOGIC. For instance, you drive your car all day, with your DRL on, and so are your DASHBOARD LIGHTS. Now, what would make you remember to turn on your headlights when dusk turns into night??
.....And how many times you seen cars parked with their headlights left on, waiting for their owners to come back and find them dead? In the middle of a snow storm, late night, in an empty parking lot?
Pleasant, isn't it?....
I've been reading all this and I can't figure out if your kidding or not.....
Power windows and locks are not so much about laziness as it is being able to lock and operate windows other than the driver's side. Leaning over to try to roll up standard windows on the passenger side, say if it starts to rain, is not a safe condition.
Auto shut off is a good feature to have, I agree, but I don't see it as a requirement. If not having auto headlights is such a huge turn off for you, why not get the Corolla which you claim does have them?
B. If you are sure that the Corolla has out shut off then this is closer to what you want.
C. It's not rocket science. It's money. Again, we are talking about an economy class vehicle. You could add all sorts of standard safety feature like ABS, Vehicle Stability Control, etc. to ANY economy class vehicle. The only problem is that the cost of the vehicle would wind up being out of the economy class.
D. Why would you DEMAND power windows, door locks, remote entry, and power antenna? Power windows and door locks are NOT standard on all Corolla models and many other vehicles. Remote entry is NOT standard on the Corolla and MANY other vehicles. Power antenna? When is the last time you had a car with a power antenna?
You ask what would make me remember to turn my headlights on? How about the DARKNESS? Or maybe my limited visibility? How's that for LOGIC?
As for leaving your lights on in the parking lot, that is what the ever so annoying beeping sound is for when you remove the key from the ignition with your headlights on.
...And of course, comparing the cost of adding Auto-Shut-Off to "ABS, Vehicle Stability Control, etc." is just plain silly. Please read above about this feature available on the "five-year old cheapo Hyundai"............
"How about the DARKNESS? Or maybe my limited visibility? How's that for LOGIC?" --- That may be true for driving on a dark rural road, but certainly not on any typical street in the city or a suburb in America.
"annoying beeping sound"? --- Well, this morning, while at my dealership, I checked it on the Civic... No, it's not annoying, it's actually VERY FAINT, and hardly noticeable....
So yes, I WILL spend the extra $250 or so, and have a professional install the Auto-Shut-Off on the Civic.
...And I will keep being very disappointed. And will insist on calling whoever made that decision at Honda -- STUPID.
"if left in the auto position they do not turn on fast enough when the light begins to dim." -- Yes, this is intentional and very logical, a least on my 3 Camrys, so that the headlights don't keep changing their intensity every time it travels under a bridge, for instance... I don't see why it should be bothering you, enough to not use it....
As to "a distracting buzzer-noise that sounds that you can't possibly ignore unless you're deaf!" --- Again, you must be talking about your cars, whichever model they are... The Civic's I checked this morning was anything but distracting, actually it was VERY faint.
Infinity FX45 and Lexus RX330 - considering a Civic as a third car.
"I don't see why it should be bothering you, enough to not use it...."
Doesn't really bother me - I just prefer to KNOW FOR SURE that my lights ARE on, WHEN I WANT THEM TO BE ON.
That being said, one of the most logical, simple, and intuitive "auto-off headlights" design has been in every SAAB since the late 1960's. The headlight switch circuitry is simply interfaced through the ignition switch. When you turn off the ignition switch with the headlight switch in the parking lights position, the parking lights stay on - unless you manually switch them off. However, when you turn off the ignition switch with the headlights on, they turn off. And, turn back on again when you start the car. Simple, and idiot-proof, and surely not very expensive to implement - just wiring the voltage source of the headlight circuit through the ignition switch, rather than through an unswitched source.
...And so does Volvo, for the past 2 decades if not longer.... Why? 'Cause both Saab and Volvo are so very safety-driven companies, and use plain LOGIC.
Of course, someone here would come up with the claim that anybody buying Saab or Volvo must be lazy...
"what does one get in exchange for not having an auto on and off for headlights? 40mpg and a car that will last 150k plus if taken care of properly." ------ Really. And had they added an auto on and off, you WOULDN'T be getting all those goodies? What does one have to do with the other?
"ya cant have it both ways!!" Really. Says who? Are you a car engineer with the information on hand to show us that adding an auto on and off is gonna add $8-9,000 to the price of the Civic?
The new Civic seems to be a really really great car. Still, the people at Honda (and some other car manufacturers, I admit) made a STUPID decision not to add this really BASIC feature called Auto-Shut-Off, especially when many other modern cars have had it for years.
How many more expensive cars do not have it?
Why do you expect this on a Civic when most other new cars also don't have it?
I like the Civic EX I purchased, but the stereo sound just doesn't make it. I did a stereo upgrade in the last car I had and added a Pioneer head unit and some Polk speakers that made a world of difference. That upgrade is pretty far from the $10,000 system in Shaquille O'Neal's car, but it sounded twice as good as the Honda sound.
I suspect that the head unit in the Honda is fine, but does anyone know the specs on any of the speakers in the car? The car has 6 speakers but the car is so small that I'd bet that putting in one good pair in the front or back would completely change the audio.
Thanks.
The fact they added it now to the '06 Accord, means Honda engineers acknowledge this feature's advantage. Now, maybe next year, they'll be smart enough to do the same on the '07 Civic.
In the meantime, when I get my Civic, in January, I will spend the extra $$$ and add it myself.
Little motors that finish closing the trunk would only cost a few dollars per car also.
> "How about the DARKNESS? Or maybe my limited visibility?
> How's that for LOGIC?" --- That may be true for driving on a
> dark rural road, but certainly not on any typical street in
> the city or a suburb in America.
Many times I drive at night in my neighborhood which has VERY WELL LIT streets that I forget to turn on the headlights (that's with my previous car that didn'y have DRL or auto-headlights). Only later when I happen to be in a dark area I notice that I don't have the lights on. This used to happen rarely but even once every few months is still pretty bad not to mention dangerous.
DRLs are a basic feature which relieve the driver from having to worry about the headlights. You obviously never used it so maybe that'a why you can't understand it, but PLEASE PLEASE try to not sound like a fool by talking about stuff you have no clue about.
It is a shame that Honda overlooked this basic feature when designing the new civic. My Mazda3 has it (in fact it's ambient light sensing) and so should the civic, which is an overpriced, under-equipped car with a fuel efficient engine but nothing more.
How could I NOT take offense to this? This statement was CLEARLY made to offend me. PLEASE PLEASE do not insult my intelligence by prefixing this with "no offense".
"DRLs are a basic feature which relieve the driver from having to worry about the headlights. You obviously never used it so maybe that'a why you can't understand it, but PLEASE PLEASE try to not sound like a fool by talking about stuff you have no clue about."
Well, my IQ is high enough to know the difference between DRL (Daytime Running Lights) and auto headlights.
Think about how the addition of DRL was received? How many people are complaining and even trying to figure out how to defeat this useful safety feature? Same for Airbags (they are dangerous, Oh My!!) and ABS (they cause accidents, Oh My!!). I have even heard people say that seatbelt pretensioners would cause greater injury in an accident.
The fact that many automatic headlight systems can be easily deactivated right at the dashboard will not keep most people from complaining. There is never a shortage of idiots out there.
Frankly, I don't blame Honda for not adding them. Nevertheless, I would welcome their addition (as well as heated side mirrors). But I'm not complaining. It is a great car considerig the overall package and price. And no, there is no way to offer a finite set of trim packages that will give every consumer the exact combination of features that he/she would want and keep the price realistic. But the good news is that there are hundreds of car models available from dozens of manufacturers. The Civic does not have to be all things to all people.
Look, if this feature, or lack thereof, is a deal-breaker for you, then don't buy the car. Honda chose not to spend this money, but did spend it in other places in the design. Get over it. Of all the things to obsess about, this one has got to be very close to the bottom of my list. If, somehow, it is at the top of yours, then you should buy a Corolla instead.
Maybe that's why more and more people in the USA and all over the world are switching to JAPANESE cars (and Korean too)?
Let me mention the basic fact again: I leased my first Camry in 1993, had 3 of them since, owned a Volvo 850... and for the past 12 years have NEVER EVER touched the lights switch.
I am disapointed. If Hyundai can have auto-off, I'd expect ANY Honda to have it.
Anyone here thinking I am nuts, is invited to spend a few hours stuck with a dead battery in an empty parking lot, late at night, 'cause he (or his wife, or teenage kid) forgot to switch off the lights...
...Or being involved in an accident involving a car that was driving with no lights, at dusk, in a blinding rain storm... I witnessed one... The driver, a woman, was defending herself saying "why would I need my headlights on, I could see the road perfectly. The other guy didn't see me? It's his problem".
Anyone here thinking I am nuts, is invited to spend a few hours stuck with a dead battery in an empty parking lot, late at night, 'cause he (or his wife, or teenage kid) forgot to switch off the lights...
...Or being involved in an accident involving a car that was driving with no lights, at dusk, in a blinding rain storm... I witnessed one... The driver, a woman, was defending herself saying "why would I need my headlights on, I could see the road perfectly. The other guy didn't see me? It's his problem".
Honda is Honda, not Hyundai. No need to sweat if a Hyundai standard feature if not found on a Honda. All Chinese can use chopsticks, do you expect ANY American to be able to use them?
I'm driving a 2002 Civic. Although it does not shut off headlights by itself, it will make a warning noise when you open the car door without shutting the light off. I guess anyone that is not deaf or stupid can avoid a dead battery that way.
As for DRL, it's required by law here in Canada. So, every new car's got it. If you want to complain, go to your American lawmakers.
I have a 04 BMW 325ci. It has DRL's and auto-lights. Do you have a BMW??? How old is it??? If you don't or haven't, you should probably do more research before posting this erroneous statement.
abfisch
I had an older E46 M3. It had everything else at the time but not DRL or automatic lights. I recently particpated in the Ulimate BMW drive and did not remember the cars having auto-lights. However, just checked a couple of BMW models and you are right: DRL and dusk-sensing lights.
Cheers,
MidCow
Abfisch was right, new BMWs have DRLs and dusk-sensing lights.
Motor On,
P.S.- Watch out for creep if you get those non-standard floor mats without the holes.
That is the original post I was replying to. If the his post had mentioned that was the price for an Si I would agree with you but that $20k price is for the EX, manual, and no navi. I'm sure it is a nice vehicle but I'm not sure if it is worth that much $$ for the EX
Yes, I love my 06 Civic Coupe EX because I have much fun with the 5 speed manual, get great MPG & I can save money using regular gas (P.S. it is rev not revive). Although my E320 is comfortable, it is automatic, get worse MPG & burn more expensive Premium gas.
Yes, abfisch is right....you should do more research before posting your ** statements.