Road Observations

[jake75]

Driving back from Cleveland to Columbus on I-71 yesterday I noted a few cars that despite the fact it was way past twilight did not have any lights on. I am glad to have the automatic lights on feature on our Vibes to save me from that potentially dangerous oversight. Also - got over 32 mpg on that trip which included some city driving. And the highway driving was mostly 70 mph. I have so many short in town trips that I often see mpg figures in the 23-24 mpg range which causes me to think there is something wrong with my Vibe. But 1 mile here and 1 mile there does take its toll on fuel economy. When I use my T&C that way I am about 15 mpg.

[KITT222]

I've notice most drivers must just turn their light stalks one click and think its all good. What they're actually doing is just turning on their parking lights. IMO auto lights, auto wipers, and blindspot monitoring all contribute to making ignorant and bad drivers which are more prone to forgetting these simple things. Or its Facebook/texting, which is why I don't answer my phone or read texts while driving. Then again these systems can prevent an oversight, which is their point. I usually average 33 in the summer and have been getting 30 with winter blend gas, and I'm suburban driving: 50mph on long stretches, but with frequent stop lights. But there was a time when I wasn't as well-attuned with my right foot and I was averaging 24.

[psiu]

Average 30mpg in mixed driving...I do like the auto lights and yes they can make it easy to forget in cars without...

[09vGT]

I don't understand how one can "forget" to turn on the lights. It gets dark and you can't see the road. If you're lights aren't that bright and you can't tell, then why would the interior lights not be one, i.e. the radio, HVAC dials; it could only possibly be one thing. . . LIGHTS! I noticed the other day in a neighboring town, the road was repaved. Much needed, but the lines are white, not yellow. BIG mistake on their part; its not a one way street.

[psiu]

Well, I was thinking more of when you start when it's still light enough and it gets dark and you haven't noticed just yet...although not seeing the gauges is a bit of a giveaway

[KNINE]

When I drive my truck I often forget to turn on the lights. I keep waiting for them to turn on by themselves. Then I forget to turn them off. One evening I was going to drive my girlfriend's daughter's Nissan. I started the engine and sat there waiting for the lights to come on. I thought there was something wrong with them. She thought there was something wrong with me.

[Caretaker]

jake: if you are speaking about your 2009 Vibe, I agree, I think there is something wrong with your car. A corolla engine should not get so low a mileage. I get 32 in suburb traffic. If I was doing total stop and go in Manhattan, I would expect 27 or so. Your numbers seem too low to me. Good luck.

[Serj22]

When I had my 1996 Silverado, I could attest to the automatic features of some cars making you oblivious to some lighting issues. The headlights would come on when the car is on, but the tail lights did not, you had to turn the switch manually to basically just turn the brake tail lights on or off. Many a time did I start off driving at night and not turn it on because the headlights were on, and that's all I'd notice. I think Chevy has since changed it to just be auto on for everything, or just manual turn on for everything, or at least I hope it's fixed...

[03VibeOttawa]

Quote, originally posted by KITT222 »I've notice most drivers must just turn their light stalks one click and think its all good. What they're actually doing is just turning on their parking lights. This is extremely common here. It's most often on domestic minivans built in the late 90s to early-mid 2000s...90% of them driving around with their parking lights on in the morning and evening. Used to be a pet peeve of my dad and I. It seems to happen less frequently among vans built in the past couple of years, thankfully. Now my pet peeve is people driving around the city at night with their high beams on. It happens to me almost every night the last couple of years.

[vibenvy]

I hate when people are driving with no lights on when it's foggy or raining or snowing. I also hate when people are driving at night with only their DRLs and parking lights, or in some cases, just their DRLs or just their parking lights. I pass a newer (08-09ish) Honda (Accord I think) pretty much every morning on my way to work and they have nothing but their DRLs on, so their taillights and marker lights are not lit up and their "headlights" are very dim. It's pretty dark when I see them and I can't believe they do that every day it seems. You'd think they'd wonder why their headlights are so dim . I also pass an older guy almost every morning who always has his brights on in town (early 90s Chevy truck) .I personally disabled the AHLs and DRLs on both our 09 GTs because I prefer to have full control over all the lights, but my mom and I are smart enough to turn the lights on when need be, whereas many people these days obviously are not . As far as gas mileage goes, I typically do 50% city/50% highway and have been averaging about 28 mpg. In my opinion that's pretty darn good for the 2.4L .

[09vGT]

This is when I give them my bright lights of doom If they have theirs on bright, or if they don't have them on at all. I only average 24/25. Always have. Never gotten anything better than that, unless it was all highway.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by 09vGT »This is when I give them my bright lights of doom If they have theirs on bright, or if they don't have them on at all.LOL! You want to talk about bright lights of doom... I have the independent fog light mod done so they get bright lights of doom plus fog lights of doom, and SilverStars of doom to really get the point across !

[09vGT]

Quote, originally posted by J_TO_ENVY »LOL! You want to talk about bright lights of doom... I have the independent fog light mod done so they get bright lights of doom plus fog lights of doom, and SilverStars of doom to really get the point across !

[Whelan]

I hate auto-lights. Disabled them in my Matrix cause I was tired of them popping on and off and my dash dimming and brightening while driving to work on the parkway. Lot's of trees in the NE and I am perfectly capable of knowing when my lights are on. Oh I disabled my DRL as well

[Persephone]

Ohh, I have a hilarious story about driving when the sun is setting!!! I was going home from work the other evening and a guy driving toward me turned his lights on when he passed me. I wondered for a second if he was trying to tell me something. The next person I passed did the same thing, and then the next person! "What?! What is this, do I need to--. . . No. . . I have daytime running li--OHHH!! I have daytime running lights!! HAHAHAHA!!" Very nice to have them at that time. It's a judgement call as to when you should turn on your lights in the evening, and one I appreciate not having to remember to make before it gets dark enough that I need them. lol I am also very pleased that I found out the parking brake secret for turning them off from you guys. SO WONDERFUL!!

[tpollauf]

I actually like the"auto" headlight feature in all of our 09' Pontiacs. Now my 2007 Chevy work Van is another story. You see I start out the morning with the lights manually turned on (no auto option on the work van model) this means someone has to manually turn them off Anyways, I'm constantly forgetting to turn them off as it is usually "light" when I reach my destination. There no longer is a headlight reminder chime (no chime of any for that matter) because I ripped out the lame stock radio in lieu of my Pioneer Super tuner and the stock radio is needed for all "chime" audible reminders (low fuel, headlights, etc.) It's a good thing that after 15 minutes the car turns off ALL lights if detected by the computer, or I'd have had a LOT of dead batteries by now

[09vGT]

I also like the auto feature. I wish it was a little more sensitive though. The sun is already disappeared and is right at dusk before my lights actually come on. My car is one of the last on the road to have the lights off. The one time I would ever say this about our annoying chime, but I wish it WOULD "beep beep beep" to let me know I need gas. A lot I look down and notice it on and it would be great to know HOW LONG.

[Whelan]

1) Extend left arm2) Grab stalk, lever, dial3) TwistWhile I get the "convenience factor" I still would rather be the determining factor of when/where I will put my lights on. I love driving during dusk/dawn with just parking lights and gos on. Dunno, it's an old habit and I love doing it. The new GLI has DRL's but they are small bulbs inside of the main headlamp. It doesn't come with autolamps, and I am thankful for that.

[vibenvy]

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »I love driving during dusk/dawn with just parking lights and fogs on. Dunno, it's an old habit and I love doing it.x2! This is exactly the reason why I disabled the AHLs and DRLs and did the independent fog light mod ! Vehicles look so bad a$$ with just parking and fog lights, especially the Vibe !