2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: Headlights On With Wipers

Dan, for all the knockings D2.5 recieve, there are somethings they GET it. DRLs and the issue you are highlighting are some of them. I still can't believe that many many automakers still haven't made DRLs standard & haven't tied headlights & wipers. These simple things aren't expensive or require tons & tons of money for R&D.

These simple modifications make the roads safer for everyone else. As a Transportation Engineer, I sometimes have to look at accident reports for a particular road or intersection on a project I'm involved in. I get a knotting feeling in my gut when I see how simple $5 work could have saved so many accidents & tragedies.

I also get furious at how so many drivers act so irrationally & don't turn on their lights during inclement weather or turn their signals or check blind spots before changing lanes. For this, I blame the lax licensing standards we have in this country.

Sorry I had to vent. I read our local paper sometime early today & saw some more accident reports due to carelessness in our fair city.

Remember this: I'm drawing a distinction between DRLs and actual headlights here. In the eyes of the law, DRLs do NOT meet the definition of headlights and therefore do not count as compliance.

I would love to have this feature on my car. Very cool, although I wonder how it's implemented - if you turn your wipers off how long does it take for the lights to go out?

VERY good point on the DRL's not being lights - especially because they don't light up the tails or the side markers.

My '09 Accord has an auto-off feature for the headlights, so I just leave them in the on position 24/7. Seems like an easier solution to the problem from a vehicle design standpoint too, but what the heck do I know.

It's not hard to do, but it is hard to remember to do. And why require two steps when one will do? Furthermore, the back of you car, literally your own ass, is where headlight-on rules start to do good well before you can't see out the front.

Many but not all current GM cars turn on headlights (not just DRL's) after the wipers have made a certain number of passes. My '09 Impala ties headlights and wipers together, while my '09 Colorado doesn't. At least on my Impala, it's not a user-configurable setting; they are linked, and that's that. Works for me.

My 09 G8 GT does this. My 04 Grand Prix GTP Comp G did this too. My last 4 or 5 cars have had auto headlights. By my wife's 05 Honda Odyssey does not have auto headlights. It really annoys me that my 97 grand prix had auto headlights at standard equipment and almost 10 years later it isn't on the Odyssey.

This feature would have come in handy this weekend. It was an icy/rainy day in New York and about 50% of the drivers had no lights on. People really need to have their hands held it seems.

Auto lights are great, but often when it's raining during the day they aren't enabled as it's not dark enough!

Wobbly, I'm with you. It drives me crazy the number of drivers I see in twilight, fog, rain, snow etc that don't have their lights on. Especially drivers with white or grey cars that just disappear in the those conditions.

But if you say anything to them they will just repsond "but I can see fine" as if the only purpose of lights is to see, not also to be seen.

I wish cops were more aggressive about ticketing this sort of thing.

Most GM's do this with auto headlights. My aura does it, my camaro does it, and so does the envoy we have, and the s10.

The nice thing about GM's is that if its raining in the day and the wipers turn on, it will turn on your headlights but will not dim the interior lights at all. This allows you to not break the law (headlights on) but also will not dim your gauges or anything else, so you can still see everything fine.

My dads 08 MKZ has it, my Fusion would if it had the auto light feature but too bad it has manual lights.

How does the fusion not come with auto headlights standard? My brothers 98 s10 has auto headlights.

I went to drive my friends 2005 acura tl and i laughed when he said you have to turn on the headlights.

That would be fine as long as there is a delay like on the Dodge. I would hate if for the lights to blink on when I'm cleaning the morning dew off.

My XJ has this, but the delay is 2 min, not 10 sec. Funny thing, the DRLs on my car Illuminate all the exterior lights, including tail and side markers, but it leaves all interior lighting off. I even notice that in DRL mode, the headlights automatically aim higher than normal.

Anyone else get mad whenever they see someone driving around at night with just the DRLs? They got no interior lighting (not to mention any exterior lighting sans headlights) and they STILL ride around without realizing, hey, maybe this is dangerous!

I think all cars with DRLs should have an auto-headight feature where the full lights come on when it's dark out. Our '99 Camry has that feature so I'm surprised so many new cars do not.

My '06 Impala doesn't tie headlights with windshield wipers...it would be nice if it did. Usually when it is raining it is dark enough outside for the auto headlights to come on. There have been a handful of times where I have had to remember to reach over and turn the headlights on, though, because it was just bright enough where only the DRL's were running.

ALL cars should have at least auto headlights...I am amazed at the number of people driving around in pitch black with no lights on.

There also seem to be MANY drivers who don't quite understand what that bright blue headlight icon in their cluster means, and why it needs to be off when they are driving in dense traffic or directly behind someone.

It's scary to see people driving without headlights on at all at night! I'm pretty sure they can't see the gauges therefore they are actually not paying attention to their speed at all!! I see this every single day in Boston

The only problem I see with this is involving HIDs. Because HIDs require a very large voltage to light up, with the power going down to "idle" after warming up, its very bad for them to be turned on+off rapidly. I can see misting my windshield for the entire delay period and having my headlights flash on then off. My Mazda3 has a design flaw with regards to this in that the lows flash on/off when using "flash to pass" during the daytime. This makes me nervous to flash my headlights during daytime, and this feature on the Dodge would make me nervous to mist my windshield.

Well not to be the odd ball on the blog but I prefer manual lights/wipers. Not to mention DRL's just drive me nuts when ever I'm driving.

I think you'll find most domestic cars (Ford, Chrysler, GM) now have this feature. Chryslers with auto headlights also leave the instrument panel lights off and displays at max when the wiper activated lights are on. They call it parade mode and even if you manually turn the lights on during daylight the displays do not dim. Great feature. It is actually neat to see all the interior light turn on a adjust to darkness when driving through a tunnel then change back when you exit the tunnel even when the headlights remain on.

Sweet! Nevada isn't on the list. We don't care if you turn on your lights as long as you bring us money.

I wanted to read about a Dodge and got a political lecture instead.