I drove a couple GMs recently with auto headlights...I found it very annoying. I am not sure when the lights are supposed to turn on. In my friend's Vue, the lights did not come on when I started the engine OR when I put the car in gear. At this point I gave up and turned them on...maybe they come on when you start rolling but I kinda want to see where I'm going BEFORE I start moving!
The Chevy Cobalt that I got as a rental had crank windows, no power locks, no power mirrors. Oh, but it had auto lights. Talk about misplaced priorities! I would not really mind auto lights, but the car should have other more useful basic amenities in place first.

I've been in cars where the warning beep is barely audible I have no problem hearing it in either my Fit or my Civic.

 

great idea!
I'm going to look into this when the warranty expires

 

You are right- I don't think I would like that at all.

I keep bragging on the subie, and I had no idea that I even liked it that much! In that car, the lights are still 100% manual; however, they will not come on if the ignition is off. So there is no guessing if they are on or off, no guessing if I remembered to turn off the lights, and NEVER a headlamp related dead battery.

 

I don't know if this is appropriate or not but I almost think some people don't understand the difference between running lights and headlights.

 

I'm the only one with this wish? seriously?
How many of you have had a car with the auto off feature?

You don't have to turn off your radio, your environment controls, your cruise control, your nav, your dome light, your blinker, and even many sunroofs will auto close when the car is off, but I still have to turn off my headlights?

 

I had a '99 Subaru Legacy (Outback) that was the same way. I just left the headlights in the "On" position and ran them whenever I ran the car. I can't say that I am disappointed that I am missing that feature though. It isn't that difficult to tell if they are on. There is a little green indicator light on the dash and of course the beep when you open the door. I'm sure wiring it to only allow the lights to come on when the ignition is on is pretty easy. Just a matter of finding the right wire...

My wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee on the other hand has the auto lights, but also has a light sensor, and will only turn them on if it is dark, or the windshield wipers are running, but you have to put it in "auto" mode. She really likes this feature and leaves the switch in that setting full time.

 

I've had many cars and driven many in my short time so far. I've driven a 89 toyota cresida, 06 camry, 07 accord, 07 pilot, 01 is300, 06 altima, 06 m3, 00 accord, 95 civic, 07 maxima, 05 malibu, 06 corrola, 85 caravan, and now the ge fit.

I've owned half if the cars above and driven the other half for an extended period.

About half of the cars I've been in had auto on/off lights. Its a convenient feature but if you've driven older cars and are used to turning your lights on and off manually you really don't have a problem. Its just a built in feature in your mind. Its like auto lights, when its dark your hand reaches over and turns the light on and when you're leaving your hand reaches over and turns light off.

Its not a big deal. Its not a huge inconvenience.

P.s. I don't understand who consistently drive at night without turning on their lights. They drive for several miles completely unaware theyre in the dark.

 

when i'm in the desert w/ kobe tai and a shovel, it's perfect. in that situation, i don't want the keys in the ignition or else someone can jump in and kill my escape plan.

 

here's another angle-
I love all of the choices I get with programming my door locks. (even though I can't quite figure that one out yet! ha!)
How about at least the choice to have auto off lights?

 

I've been telling you to get some baja lights for your fit!!

 

Keep in ming as I said in post #2 This is an econobox. Some cars in this class don't even have electric windows standard.

It seems to me that many of the younger people here have no idea that cars used to not have all of the fancy features of their daddy's Luxury SUV's.

Cars used to not come with a radio. It was an option. If you wanted FM that was another option. Head lights have always had to be turned on and off by hand. The auto headlights is something relatively new (~20 years old) and is still considered a luxury item by most manufacturers.

As I said in my original post, the literal translation of the "bing, bing, bing" when you leave your lights on and turn the car off is "Turn your lights off dumb ass!"

 

they'll look great on my roof rack.

 

I'm very glad that I don't have automatic headlights as that is just one more thing to break. Also, I find that so many people with auto headlights are total arseholes when someone tells them that their lights are on as they're walking away from the car. "<nose in the air> They turn off by themselves". I just can't find it in myself to be such a jerk.

I'm actually chuckling over this whole thread. What's next? A "What do you mean I have to actually put gas in the car?" thread?

 

My single biggest complaint about the Fit is the dash/gauge pod lights coming on every time the key is on. They should only come on with the headlights/marker lights. I've actually driven a couple of relatively well lit city blocks with the headlights off and only realized it when I tried to dim the gauge lights.

 

I'm not asking for auto dimming timmer lights like on a freaking SUV. All that is needed is to include the headlight circuit in the ignition, along with everything else in the car. I'd take a sure thing over a beep, if I had the option.

If you are trying to size me up... I'm 38 . However, I wish you would listen to my wish, rather than figure out how I am flawed.

Unless you have owned a car that has this nifty (and virtually free by design) feature, then I guess you don't know what you are missing. (I know.. the auto off lights on your whatever car you don't like. But I think the subaru system is a great implementation, and it's too bad Honda doesn't do something similar- I know it would be popular)

That's about enough I guess.

 

I like the fact that I can turn my lights on or off whenever I want, not when my car thinks I should.

In the '88 Jetta I drove in high school, you could turn on anything you wanted without the key in the ignition - headlights, interior lights, radio, ventilation . . . although there's a good chance some of that was due to an electrical fault. Regardless, I miss being able to do it.

 

well what do you know?
More subaru owners wishing the fit had the same headlight ignition off feature:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...gnition-3.html
Seems like I'm not so crazy... more like subaru simply has a great design.

wish I had enough guts to try this mod on my fit prior to my warranty running out. I know something unrelated in the car would melt, and of course, it's "because of the relay" I installed that the dealer wont fix whatever melted.

 

Doing a systems check before exiting the car, key in hand, should be a basic part of driving a motor vehicle, period. Perhaps it is my OCD that prevents me from doing otherwise, or my fathers autocratic teachings of how to avoid a dead battery. In either case, you may modify your Fit to turn the headlights on automatically when you turn on the ignition if that is your cup of tea. It isn't mine, but to each his own.

 

Nope sorry I don't wish for it. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing but hey, ignorance is bliss.

There's really nothing wrong with giving the car a once-over before exiting or leaving it, as Pumpkin says. It's just another way of being careful with (or at least mindful of) the cars you drive.

 

so... the customer is always wrong, because there is obviously not a single thing wrong with the product.

Got it

Thanks!