Enlighten me, please

[DjinTonic]

On p.149 of the Civic coupe owner's manual, under Automatic Operation (automatic lighting control), it says "We recommend that you turn on the lights manually when driving at night, in a dense fog, or in dark areas such as long tunnels or parking facilities."

1) So I have my lights on the Automatic setting, it's after dusk, now dark, the headlights are on. I'm supposed to change the setting from Automatic to On? Is this instruction for liability should the headlights go off suddenly when on Automatic?

2) I thought that in a dense fog you're supposed to turn your headlights OFF and turn the fog lights ON.

Can anyone enlighten me?

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[inv4zn]

1) Yes, most likely some lawyer snuck it in there.

2) Opinions differ, but foglights light up very very close to you, and are designed more to make you visible to other people. Use whatever you feel gets you best visibility - but for god's sake don't use high beams lol

 

[DjinTonic]

1) That goes against what they say on the very same page: the headlights will go on and OFF automatically! So yes, they will go off, but Honda suggests you don't use the OFF feature. I'm entering a long tunnel, the lights come on, then I turn them to ON, then I turn them to OFF or back to Automatic exiting the tunnel. Lol. Were Honda to follow its own advice, Automatic would not be a lights setting on the steering column, but rather a display setting that just lit amber dash messages Turn Headlights On and Turn Headlights Off. I guess this is just Do as I say, not do as I do.

2) Page 151 says about the fog lights, "They go off when the headlights turn off." I assume this refers to an automatic OFF and doesn't mean when I turn the headlights off.

3) I do like the the feature that turns the headlights on when in Automatic and the wipers come on or are turned on. Wish all cars were built with headlights on whenever the wipers are kept on. Up North if you flash your high beams in the rain the other driver usually gets the point; here in NC I've given up trying... despite what the law says, divers go right by me in the pouring rain with all lights still off, oblivious. And I'm talking about a large percent of drivers, my estimate is about 1 in 10.

 

[corbygray528]

I'm pretty sure if the headlights aren't lit, the fog lights aren't lit either. Whether the headlights were turned off automatically or by putting the headlight switch to the off position.

 

[DjinTonic]

Yes, you always have to turn the fog lights ON manually. I'm referring to the owner manual statement about their going OFF. I'm assuming that's an Automatic off, not a driver off. If my headlights are on and I then turn on the fog lights, I don't want the fog lights to go off if I then turn my headlights off.

 

[Snoopyslr]

It just sounds like lawyer speak so that the headlights aren't based on the light sensor in case of an incident where it fails.

My lights never leave auto.

 

[DjinTonic]

Not sure how persuasive that would be to a jury -- it's just "recommended" and language elsewhere is leading you down the garden path to do just as you say -- leave them on Auto, which will turn the headlights on and off for you.

 

[corbygray528]

Yes, you always have to turn the fog lights ON manually. I'm referring to the owner manual statement about their going OFF. I'm assuming that's an Automatic off, not a driver off. If my headlights are on and I then turn on the fog lights, I don't want the fog lights to go off if I then turn my headlights off.

That's exactly what I'm saying. If your headlights are not illuminated, your fog lights are not illuminated. Full stop. Whether the fog light switch is in on or off, your headlights must be on for the fog lights to be active.

Headlight switch set to ON, fog light switch set to ON, fog lights will be active

Headlight switch set to OFF, fog light switch set to ON, fog lights will not be active, but will activate when you turn the headlights on.

 

[DjinTonic]

iI thought in very dense fog you're advised to drive with the fog lights on and the headlights off, if that improves visibility. Are you saying that can't be done in the '16 Civic?

 

[corbygray528]

I thought in very dense fog you're advised to drive with the fog lights on and the headlights off, if that improves visibility.

I've heard to not have your high beams on (brights), but I have heard to have headlights on low. Though that may be because a lot of cars don't have fog lights at all and low beams are better than no lights. Either way, Honda wired the fog lights in a way that they don't work without the headlights on. And when you turn on the brights the fog lights will turn off as well.

 

[DjinTonic]

Gottcha! Thanks.

Came across https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/headlight-use-laws-for-all-50-states
Seems most states require headlights on if visibility low, regardless of any fog lights, which gives justification to Honda's wiring logic.

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