DRL, waste of energy or worth keeping on?

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wemay

wemay

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Both our vehicles have automatic headlights, but they only work if you turn the switch to AUTO which also keeps the DRLs on until the sensor detects dimming daylight. I leave the wife's in this mode because well...she may forget. I keep my DRL off and just switch on the headlights as needed. But I look around and every freaking vehicle has lights on during the day. I thought they were initially intended for long single lane, straight stretches of road so oncoming traffic doesn't attempt a pass.

How much energy does it take to leave them in AUTO?
 
I never turn them off. It helps other cars see you. Could save your life one day. I see zero downside to them.
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
They're only running at 1/3 to 1/2 power, so not a lot, but DRL seems to be hard on the bulbs. Not sure if it hurts LED life or not?

The high beams on my DRL Corolla last as long as any Halogens I've ever had. Can't say I replace them any more often than the low beams.
 
Leave them in auto. People are just lousy drivers these days. I heard an accident and then saw the aftermath behind me in a tunnel. Guy sideswiped another car in the lane. It was an older civic which didn't have auto headlamps so I guess the driver was too lazy to actually check their blind side or for whatever reason didn't see the civic in the lane and bounced off him. Heard the bang and then looked up in the rear view mirror and saw the car swerve back into their lane. Pretty much 90% plus of the other cars in the tunnel had auto headlamps and had their lights on. I have the auto headlamps and leave them on auto all the time.
 
I drive with my full headlights on 24 hours a day. Don't care how much "energy" is wasted doing this either.
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
They're only running at 1/3 to 1/2 power, so not a lot, but DRL seems to be hard on the bulbs. Not sure if it hurts LED life or not?


I thought this, too, but my highbeams don't seem to be noticeably affected after 67k miles. You can definitely see some browning of the high-beam bulbs, but they haven't burned-out and the high-beam output seems to be sufficient.
 
According to some studies from the 70's-90's in Canada and Scandinavia, DRL's reduce multi-vehicle accidents as much as 32%, mostly around dawn and dusk and in bad weather. Energy use is minimal since your alternator probably produces excess energy during the daytime.
 
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Depends on the car. If it's a halogen, LED, or even D2S bulb, I'm fine with DRLs.

I coded them off in my Phaeton because not only were the D1S bulbs expensive, but the whole stupid front of the car had to come off to change one.
 
Depends on the car. If it's a halogen, LED, or even D2S bulb, I'm fine with DRLs.

I coded them off in my Phaeton because not only were the D1S bulbs expensive, but the whole stupid front of the car had to come off to change one.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Depends on the car. If it's a halogen, LED, or even D2S bulb, I'm fine with DRLs.

I coded them off in my Phaeton because not only were the D1S bulbs expensive, but the whole stupid front of the car had to come off to change one.


Yeah, but Xenons last a lot longer than halogens. I'm still running the original set on my 2008.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Yeah, but Xenons last a lot longer than halogens. I'm still running the original set on my 2008.

Like I said, depends on the car.

HID bulbs do also degrade over time. You might be surprised what a new bulb would do for you.
 
In Ontario Canada the DRLs are mandatory, so both of my cars have it and I can't turn them off. Both are hallogen and they last normal amount of time. I'm yet toreplace one on my 15 GC and on my Mazda it seems every three years, or so seems to be the norm.

The added visibility is definitely worth it IMO.
 
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I don't think it matters anymore. More and more stupid "I gotta have my phone in my hand morons" are texting, talking, ordering stuff or face booking to notice you with your headlights on. At least 3 out of 10 people I meet on the road have their head down when they pass by me. They are worse than a drunk driver.
I'm old school.....I turn my headlights on.......and off.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Yeah, but Xenons last a lot longer than halogens. I'm still running the original set on my 2008.

Like I said, depends on the car.

HID bulbs do also degrade over time. You might be surprised what a new bulb would do for you.


Right, they degrade just like halogens, but in terms of hours, they're a lot longer than halogens. They also take a little time to warm up completely to reach full brightness.

I believe halogen is 500-1000 hours and Xenons can be up to 10,000 hours.
 
My old 1999 Deville had DRL and had the original Halogen bulbs for 17 years and 165K Miles. I only changed them since I found a pair of new bulbs on sale for $6
 
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