Technical Fiat 500L can't turn off DRL's

Currently reading:
Technical Fiat 500L can't turn off DRL's

pulliptears

New member
Joined
May 18, 2014
Messages
48
Points
14
Location
Staffordshire
When I bought my 500 a few months ago the woman across the road from my Mum fell in love with it, went down to Fiat and bought the 500L Popstar.
She's shouted me this afternoon looking for help. She tells me she hates the DRL's and do I know how to turn them off as she'd been back to Fiat to have it done and their mechanic was baffled and couldn't do it.

Checked the manual, followed the instructions to the letter, I got the Menu up, scrolled through options like Beep levels, passenger airbags etc but nowhere in there was the DRL option as it states in the manual. I was utterly baffled and gave up, telling her I'd ask on here to see if I'm missing something obvious or, if the DRL's just can't be turned off on this model.

Anyone help?
:eek:
 
When I bought my 500 a few months ago the woman across the road from my Mum fell in love with it, went down to Fiat and bought the 500L Popstar.
She's shouted me this afternoon looking for help. She tells me she hates the DRL's and do I know how to turn them off as she'd been back to Fiat to have it done and their mechanic was baffled and couldn't do it.

Checked the manual, followed the instructions to the letter, I got the Menu up, scrolled through options like Beep levels, passenger airbags etc but nowhere in there was the DRL option as it states in the manual. I was utterly baffled and gave up, telling her I'd ask on here to see if I'm missing something obvious or, if the DRL's just can't be turned off on this model.

Anyone help?
:eek:

You can no longer turn them off. It's pending legislation which will make their fitment and use compulsory.

(The 500L manual is actually riddled with errors like this.)
 
Last edited:
Well that explains my lost half hour head scratching, thank you. I'll let her know, she won't be pleased as for some reason she really doesn't like them :(
 
Well that explains my lost half hour head scratching, thank you. I'll let her know, she won't be pleased as for some reason she really doesn't like them :(

Some people seemingly think they are distracting to other road users and/or mask other road users such as motorcyclists.......

Some are also concerned about the additional fuel consumption cause by having two lights permanently on.......:confused:

I don't subscribe to either school of thought TBH.
 
Some people seemingly think they are distracting to other road users and/or mask other road users such as motorcyclists.......

Some are also concerned about the additional fuel consumption cause by having two lights permanently on.......:confused:

I don't subscribe to either school of thought TBH.

My other half tried telling me they'd drain my battery quicker :D I turned them back on.
I quite like them myself but each to their own.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MJG
Coming from a country where it's been compulsory driving with either DRL or low beam on since 1990 (although I only got my driverslicense in 1995) I really don't understand people NOT wanting to drive with the lights on.
It's so much easier noticing oncoming cars even in full daylight.
I even hate the new DRLs as they only turn on the front DRL and not the rear (which is not compulsory), having been used to all cars driving with normal lights on (which includes the rear lights).
Just get use to it.....You will ;-)
 
my van doesn't have drl's and it doesn't make a jot of difference in my own very humble opinion.

Thankfully, my van has windowless doors at the rear, so I don't get constantly blinded by super bright drl's during the day

So how are they blinding if they don't make a difference :confused: :devil: :eek:

[Dragged to the correct thread to prevent clogging the hill climb issue one up :)]
 
So how are they blinding if they don't make a difference :confused: :devil: :eek:

[Dragged to the correct thread to prevent clogging the hill climb issue one up :)]

Oooh errr! You know how to deliver a low blow lol!

So you agree with me then that a lot of drl's are blinding? Trust me, many of the cars I fight with on a daily basis, the drls are tragically bright in my opinion and just because they are so bright, doesn't in my opinion necessarily make them 'safer' on the road.

There are still a huge number of vehicles without drls fitted and I have no problem seeing them, whether it be on the motorway, or pulling out of junctions on country roads. My daily work run involves at least 70 miles daily on the M1 and then I use A roads, B roads and single track farm roads too and I never have an issue seeing vehicles without drls and so I just don't buy the so called 'safety' aspect of them and I'm completely unapologetic about saying I can't stand the bloody things. But like I say, I only drive a thousand miles a week, so what do I know? I'm not saying in anyway I'm a better driver than anyone else, but I believe my reactions are far quicker and my road sense is smarter than many whose daily idea of a drive is three miles to work there and back.

If the government concentrated on real driver/road safety, like making every driver have a compulsory eye test every two years and a driver assessment with a qualified driving instructor at least every five years (my employment requires an assessment every three years in the category of vehicle I am entitled to drive and a bi-annual eye test), then that would make me happier. I've got friends who admit they haven't been to an optician in over 10 years (and the dentist too :yuck:) and also freely admit their driving skills have somewhat dimishished over the years rather than improved, but hey, they've got drls on their side now, so they'll be seen every time, right? :eek:
 
So you agree with me then that a lot of drl's are blinding?

Not at all, I've no issues with them, and don't deem them blinding IMO.

There are still a huge number of vehicles without drls fitted and I have no problem seeing them

Is this 95% of the time or 100% of the time though? While I agree as a whole DRL's can be lived without, there are always times that they will help, such as when idiots don't used dipped beam headlights in fog or heavy rain, or when driving in and out of areas with dense trees etc on a bright sunny day.

It's this 5% of the time which makes me a DRL supporter, because they will make people generally more visible in this 5% (figure is an example and not an exact science btw) of cases where they'd normally be difficult to see, or invisible, at a distance.
 
I realise you may not believe it when I say, I don't have an issue seeing any vehicle, without drls or with. When you spend as much time on the tarmac as I do, trust me, you are looking twice at everything because you really do have to think for others all of the time. From the cretins who insist on sitting in the centre lane for almost their entire journey, blatently ignoring the 'Don't hog the middle lane' matrix signs who then have the temerity to honk their horn at people who undertake them, to the people who only use a motorway three or four times a year when the kids break up for half term and have absolutely no idea how to use the joining ramp and then those people who 'dilly dally' at junctions unsure of whether they're going to make it out before the Mercedes with the blinding drls ploughs through them, I get them all on a daily basis. No amount of extra lighting on the front of a car or lorry is going to convince me that it is going to make the situation any safer. So that my friend is where we will continue to disagree I'm afraid.

Think about it. Once every vehicle has operational drl's, they will become a complete irrelevance because every car will have them and so human nature is such, they will eventually be completely ignored and people still won't 'see' them, even when they're right in front of their faces. :mad:
 
Not at all, I've no issues with them, and don't deem them blinding IMO.

Is this 95% of the time or 100% of the time though? While I agree as a whole DRL's can be lived without, there are always times that they will help, such as when idiots don't used dipped beam headlights in fog or heavy rain, or when driving in and out of areas with dense trees etc on a bright sunny day.

It's this 5% of the time which makes me a DRL supporter, because they will make people generally more visible in this 5% (figure is an example and not an exact science btw) of cases where they'd normally be difficult to see, or invisible, at a distance.

I realise you may not believe it when I say, I don't have an issue seeing any vehicle, without drls or with. When you spend as much time on the tarmac as I do, trust me, you are looking twice at everything because you really do have to think for others all of the time. From the cretins who insist on sitting in the centre lane for almost their entire journey, blatently ignoring the 'Don't hog the middle lane' matrix signs who then have the temerity to honk their horn at people who undertake them, to the people who only use a motorway three or four times a year when the kids break up for half term and have absolutely no idea how to use the joining ramp and then those people who 'dilly dally' at junctions unsure of whether they're going to make it out before the Mercedes with the blinding drls ploughs through them, I get them all on a daily basis. No amount of extra lighting on the front of a car or lorry is going to convince me that it is going to make the situation any safer. So that my friend is where we will continue to disagree I'm afraid.

Think about it. Once every vehicle has operational drl's, they will become a complete irrelevance because every car will have them and so human nature is such, they will eventually be completely ignored and people still won't 'see' them, even when they're right in front of their faces. :mad:


My take on DRL's is quite simple really. I believe they do assist with the sighting of other vehicles particularly in certain lighting conditions and with certain vehicle colours. They definitely help me spot the numpty who has forgotten to switch on his headlights in conditions of poor visibility when really they should have switched their full lights on.

However some are stupidly bright and I see no need for them to be as bright as the ones fitted to some Citroën models for example. The ones fitted to the fleet of buses our local bus company are too bright too. OK fair enough choose LED's to save power consumption and improve bulb longevity but why do they have to be so bright?

Ones as fitted to the 500 and the 500L as standard are more than up to the job of assisting sighting a vehicle. I notice a lot of BMW's don't have the LED type now but rather very similar ones to our FIAT's

Some of the LED type with swirls, lines and curls as fitted to some Land Rover vehicles look, well just plain daft to me. They should be a functional thing not something decorative like Xmas lights.
 
Hey

So I understand the theory behind these drl legislations, I don't really have a preference on weather or not they are on or off..

But one annoyance has arisen.
I live in Melbourne Australia and I own a Fiat Punto Pop, I've had it for about a year with no issues at all.
Love the car.

I've spent all day trying to work out a way but no luck, this was when I stumbled across this forum and read the previous comments regarding legislation and the manuals being outta date etc..

The only annoyance I have is that I was planning on going to the Drive-In Cinema this week..
And the cinema now plays the movies audio via the cars radio..
Meaning when I have my cars ignition switch over to allow my radio to play, my drl lights also turn on :(
And everyone who's been to a drive-in also knows how annoying it is when there's that one car who has it's lights on..

Long story short, just wondering if there is any way to override the light and turn them off.??!
Or should I just give up on going to the drive-in's haha

Thanks
 
Hey

So I understand the theory behind these drl legislations, I don't really have a preference on weather or not they are on or off..

But one annoyance has arisen.
I live in Melbourne Australia and I own a Fiat Punto Pop, I've had it for about a year with no issues at all.
Love the car.

I've spent all day trying to work out a way but no luck, this was when I stumbled across this forum and read the previous comments regarding legislation and the manuals being outta date etc..

The only annoyance I have is that I was planning on going to the Drive-In Cinema this week..
And the cinema now plays the movies audio via the cars radio..
Meaning when I have my cars ignition switch over to allow my radio to play, my drl lights also turn on :(
And everyone who's been to a drive-in also knows how annoying it is when there's that one car who has it's lights on..

Long story short, just wondering if there is any way to override the light and turn them off.??!
Or should I just give up on going to the drive-in's haha

Thanks

Your radio should work fine with the ignition off (Most do in the UK market at least). It will time off automatically after around 20 mins. after which you can just switch it on again.

The movie shouldn't be long enough to flatten your battery.

Give it try and post back.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top