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day time running lights

4K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  mot250 
#1 ·
:confused: I noticed on my new G.C. Overland that there are no day time running lights.....I tried all the head lights settings but only if I put the parking lights on, I have them....and I thought it's a law....????
My Dealer insists that there are......:eek: Am I missing something ??
W.
 
#2 ·
Are you in the USA? If so, DRLs are not required by law in any of the 50 States.

Your GC Overland (and Limiteds) come standard (unfortunately) with DRLs. The Jeep needs to be running and in DRIVE with the headlight switch in the off or automatic position. I have not verified if they are also on in reverse (I pulled my relays long before even feeling the urge to test reverse). If in the automatic position, it needs to be light enough outside so that the headlights and parking lights are off.

I'm not sure why Jeep decided to take away the ability in 2012 models for the owner to decide to turn on or off the DRL feature. Since try are std only on the Limited and Overland models (and not std in Laredo) I can only imagine that Jeep simply wants these higher end models noticed on the road for "advertising" reasons.

The only way anyone has found to disable the DRLs is to pull two relays from the small "fuse box" on the passenger side of the engine compartment. Any dealer service tech who claims this is an illegal activity or that it will cause an error code is flat out lying.

Additional details on which relays to pull can be found using the search feature.
 
#6 ·
Are you in the USA? If so, DRLs are not required by law in any of the 50 States.

Your GC Overland (and Limiteds) come standard (unfortunately) with DRLs. The Jeep needs to be running and in DRIVE with the headlight switch in the off or automatic position. I have not verified if they are also on in reverse (I pulled my relays long before even feeling the urge to test reverse). If in the automatic position, it needs to be light enough outside so that the headlights and parking lights are off.

I'm not sure why Jeep decided to take away the ability in 2012 models for the owner to decide to turn on or off the DRL feature. Since try are std only on the Limited and Overland models (and not std in Laredo) I can only imagine that Jeep simply wants these higher end models noticed on the road for "advertising" reasons.

The only way anyone has found to disable the DRLs is to pull two relays from the small "fuse box" on the passenger side of the engine compartment. Any dealer service tech who claims this is an illegal activity or that it will cause an error code is flat out lying.

Additional details on which relays to pull can be found using the search feature.
Canada is not a state in the USA. Almost, but not quite.
 
#3 ·
I love personal freedom and would prefer that the turnoff option had been retained. Especially on a Jeep, which is still something of an icon of American freedom.

That said, why would anybody want to turn them off? Like chicken soup, they just might do some good and can't do any real harm.
 
#4 ·
My DRL's work regardless of the light switch position and also they work while in park.
They turn on as soon as the motor starts.
 
#11 ·
Yes my '12 Laredo has no DRLs. Does seem odd that some do and some don't. I recall someing from about 1964 saying that the Greyhound Buss Company had reduced accidents to busses but turning their headlights on during the day.

Have noticed some really dumb omissions like the lack of a TPM readout. Suspect both might be returned with a flash, maybe Jeep should offer that as an option.

Despite the lack of manuals, I am slowly building a picture of the WK2. Nice thing about reverse engineering from a device without doumentation is that there are no controls over dissemination. Is how a number of software companies made their fortunes.
 
#12 ·
That sucks!
Drives me crazy when I see cars without any lights driving around, even worse when it's getting dark and you can only see dim front lights and completely dark in the back, maybe it's only me but I wouldn't start driving away without lo-beams on, goes automatically just as safely belt...maybe it's the motorcycle guy in me and the motorcycle has added LED's for better visibility (see and being seen).
 
#16 ·
On the Laredo, another thread on this forum talked about switching the country code to Canada for a US Laredo and that turned on the DRLs. I'm not sure if that was done via an EVIC function from the steering wheel or if a dealer service tech accessed it through a scan tool.
 
#17 ·
If Greyhound's data can be trusted, it is still based on 1964 era vehicles and traffic/road conditions. And it was related to freakin' busses that drive way different than average cars (generally slower, more stop and go, more pulling into and out of traffic). At that time there were no cars with DRLs and many states in the US actually had laws against private vehicles running headlights during the daytime. Doing so was deemed a rude, agressive and offensive driving technique as in "hey, notice me and get out of my way as I'm more important than the rest of you drivers."

That said, 1964 Greyhound busses would have been some of the few vehicles on the road with headlights so any "perceived" benefit would be due to the rest of the traffic not having headlights on. With the increase of DRL use over the last 10 years, there is now a sea of headlights on during the day so the benefits are muted (how does one car stand out with its DRLs among all of the other DRL cars) and make it harder to notice pedestrians and other vehicles that do not have lights on.

Personally, I don't see why I need to easily see a car 2 miles behind me changing lanes in the middle of a clear afternoon with its headlights on when I'm just trying to take notice to the cars in my immediate vicinity.

So call me an old fart if you like.
 
#18 ·
On a bright sunny day, I agree but spent five years close to that point in the US that gets the least amount of sunshine in a year. On a dark overcast day up in the slow corner it can make a real difference.

Didn't think the greyhound study had anything to do with being slow and ungainly, more that some people would not see even a bus.

Now with headlights that automagically turn on when it is dark, maybe that is enough but was just commenting that it is odd that some Jeeps are "haves" and others are "havenots".

Do know that the engineers and managers were charged with removing content from the Larerdo to justify a price drop in 12. Better they picked DRLs than the dual zone a/c and didn't require any tooling charges.
 
#22 ·
I'm wondering if the OP knew that he had to have the vehicle in drive to make the DRL's come on.
I would be SHOCKED to find any new vehicle (let alone a Jeep) sold in Canada that didn't have DL's as standard equipment.
 
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