An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

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Arya2.0S
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An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by Arya2.0S »

Has anyone else noticed this stupid new trend where some modern cars turn on their fog light upon turning? I thought i was seeing people driving with their fog lights on (despite it not being foggy, but you know what people are like) and one was broken, but as i paid more attention and saw more and more cars with only one fog light on i noticed a strange pattern.
This was always happening when the car was turning a tight bend, so roundabouts, car parks etc.

I thought that it could just be that they're all broken as people dont maintain their cars well, but i was seeing so many on such a regular basis it and they were brand new or newish cars it couldn't be that so it was really bugging me, then one night i had it confirmed.

I was watching this car in a car park and as it turned left to right, the fog light on each respective side came on and then went off as its wheels straightened.
Then i started seeing this pattern repeat over and over so now im sure this is just some new "feature" of modern cars. Im seeing cars make sharp low speed turns and as they come out of it the fog light for whatever direction the car was turning turns off.

Its bloody stupid! I can only assume this is to light up dark turns where your headlights cant shine around the bend, but this is so stupid because weve had headlights that can do that since the 60's, i think Citroen invented the idea on one of their old models, and i thought most high end cars these days had adjustable headlights that swivelled from side to side anyway, so why the hell are they using fog lights to do this now instead?

It just makes your car look crap as it looks like you're a numpty that likes to use they're foglights in clear conditions and one is just broken.

Keep an eye out and you'll see what i mean if you haven't noticed it already.
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by Paul G »

You're right that is was the original first (proper) Citroen DS that had the swivelling headlights. At least the Citroen hydraulic system worked as it was intended to. They were a brilliant car well ahead of their time.

I have seen what you mean about the foglights and it is some see round a corner system but i've also seen cars going in a straight line with the foglamps seeming to flicker on and off and one on one off. I don't know if this is something to do with the automatic turn on system that has been around for a few years now. Bonkers.

What's wrong with flicking a switch if you want your headlights or foglights on? Technology gone mad.
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by mjcapri »

They’re called kerb lights and yes, they are pretty pointless. I seem to notice them mostly on VAG products and Mercs.

They’re not nearly as annoying as electronic parking brakes though!
andyd
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by andyd »

Paul G wrote:
What's wrong with flicking a switch if you want your headlights or foglights on? Technology gone mad.
:cheers:
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Andrew 2.8i
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by Andrew 2.8i »

Arya2.0S wrote:Has anyone else noticed this stupid new trend where some modern cars turn on their fog light upon turning?
I haven't seen that, but I have noticed that some cars automatically switch off the daytime running lights on one side when the indicator is used. That, for once, seems to be a sensible safety feature because it's sometimes hard to see the indicator flashing when they are integrated into the same light units as the DRLs.

On the subject of lights, there seems to be a noticable increase in the number of cars driving in the dark without their rear lights on. I attribute this to cars having DRLs and because the road ahead is illuminated, drivers are not noticing that their lights aren't switched on.

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Lord Flasheart
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by Lord Flasheart »

My daily drive is a VW Touareg & yes it has both the headlights which turn as per the Citroen DS & the kerbside lighting / fog light illumination when turning left or right. For the most part this is no big use but when it comes into its own is down dark country lanes when I have to go to the wifes horse stable yard or when avoiding the snarled up motorway commute & use the back roads ;)

Talking of which, SWMBO's Audi does the DRL dip thing when she indicates, that is a good thing as folks have said, it makes the indicator flash stand out more for other road users.

That said, non of these tricks are on our Wrangler or the Capri & we still survive without them :) ..... the bigger concern is idiots with no lights at all, people don't seem to realise that at this time of year when its murky & gloomy in the day time lights are needed.
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Re: An annoying new "feature" of modern cars.

Post by Caprifan Rob »

My wife's car does this, its a really pointless idea. She gets fed up of people at work telling her one of her foglights are not working.
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