In a couple of posts in this thread, people have claimed that, with the Generation 6 ES, when the headlights are in the manual On position, theyh can be turned off with a double press of the lock button on the fob. I think that those people might mistakenly be thinking that what they did with the fob caused the headlights to turn off, but the reality is that they turned off because of the the personalized setting for the Exterior Lights Timer.

I just went out to the car again and did a bit more experimenting. I could get the headlights to turn off with a double press of the lock button when the lights were in either the Auto position or the On position.

 

 

 

Are you saying that, with the headlights in the manual ON position and after you shut down and leave the car, the headlights don't turn off by themselves after the delay time set with the Exterior Lights Timer setting?

All Generation 6 ES, regardless of packages or options should operate this way.

 

 

 

Just tested my 2015 and this is a Canadian car, so perhaps a different lighting system since we have Daytime running lights on vehicles in Canada.

Lights to Auto-exit car, with lights still on. press lock 2x on keyfob, lights turn off

Lights On-exit car, a reminder on dash and a beep saying "Lights on", immediately on exit press lock on keyfob 2x, lights go off.

So, same thing whether auto or lights on--pressing keyfob lock 2x turns them off. Again, I am only talking about cars for Canadian market. I cannot comment on US cars.

(PS-I have the auto off set to 30 second delay but generally turnithem off with keyfob within 5 seconds of exiting the car. It works. I do this multiple times per week going to work. When I arrive it is pitch black.)

 

I just ran the experiment on my 2013. It works just as I would expect. I turn the headlights to the On position and ignore the audible and visual warning and exit the car. I then press the lock button 2x, just to check that function, the headlights are still on. I then went into the house and did a few things. About 10 minutes later, I went out and checked. Guess what? The headlights are still On. To me, this is the very reason we have an Auto headlight setting.

No one has responded as to why they would even have a need to leave the switch set to "On". Do you really need your headlights and taillights on at all times while driving? If for some reason I felt compelled to do this, I would just cover the sensor on the dash and leave them in Auto mode.

 

I put them in On position at times when it is kind of misty outside or visibility is poor. It's not dark enough to have the headlights come on with the sensor, and in the misty conditions I want my tailights to be on so people coming up from behind can see me more easily. Unlike your car though I have mine set to turn the headlamps off after 30 seconds if I inadvertently leave them on after turning the car off.

 

I totally understand the occasional need to turn them on, as I also do at times. What I don't understand is the need to leave them in that position at all times. My timeout setting is also 30 sec's and works just fine when set to Auto.

 

I thought I spoke to that earlier in post #15.

I don't think that the value in having a Timer Off setting for the On mode is necessarily to allow people to keep their headlights on at all times.

Instead, there are other times when there might be value in having a Timer Off capability for the headlights in the On position. Let's say that I'm driving home as daylight is fading. It is dark enough that I want the headlights to be on, but it is not dark enough, yet, for the headlights in the Auto position to turn on. So, I turn the headlights to the manual On position. By the time I get home home, it has become quite dark out. So, when I shut the engine down, I want the headlights to stay on until after I get into the house. I intentionally ignore the audible warning and leave the lights on. Then, shortly after I get into the house. the headlights turn off automatically with a delay based on the setting for Exterior Lights Timer. That situation is one that occasionally does occur for me.

Also note that, for the Exterior Lights Timer to work, you have to have turned on the headlights when the engine was running (or the ignition was in the Acc position). If you turn the headlights on when the ignition is turned off, the Exterior Lights Timer will not shut the lights off. I suspect that some who are saying that their headlights don't turn off automatically are testing this by turning the headlights on when the ignition is in the off position.

Finally, I will correct a mistake that I made in an earlier post. Earlier, I said that pressing the fob lock button twice turns in the headlights off when they are in the Auto position but not when they are in the manual On position. Earlier this morning when I was out running errands, I tested that again and found that the double press of the fob lock button shuts the headlights off when they are in either the Auto position or the manual On position. As above, I suspect that this only works if the headlights were turned on when the engine was running or the ignition is in the Acc position, but I didn't test to see if that was the case.

 

Thanks, Les. You are correct that I did not have the car in Acc, or running. I will retest at a later date.

I guess I'm just old enough to remember the old light switches that you had to physically push in to deactivate. I've always looked at the "On" mode as being the same thing, so I've become used to switching back to Auto before shutting down the car. I also hate leaving a vehicle that is screaming at you.

 

Mike,

My home is tucked back into the woods. There are times when I might come home at night and, with no artificial light, you wouldn't be able to see your hand if it was 6 inches in front of your eyes. That is when it is nice to be able to leave the headlights on so that they can provide some light along the way to the house.

 

But, "Auto" setting does the same thing. They stay on for as long as the timer is set.