Half the parking lights won’t shut off
12-06-2018, 08:44 AM
#1
Track Day
Thread Starter
Half the parking lights won’t shut off
So I run a quick errand just now and on return to my house I park, shut off, turn off the lights, and pull the key but I have an alert stating that I have my parking lights on. I try to ensure things are actually switched off, they are. I get out and the parking lights on only the passenger side are still on!?!?
I’m stumped, anyone have an idea what’s going on here?
I’m stumped, anyone have an idea what’s going on here?
12-06-2018, 09:42 AM
#3
As above, common feature on European cars so you can leave side markers on if you are parked up on a narrow street. Comes up every few months on the forums ;-)
12-06-2018, 03:25 PM
#5
Three Wheelin'
Took me 2 years to find this one. I got a "parking lights on" warning when getting out of the car the other day. After some fiddling I realized it was from the blinker being left on.
12-06-2018, 03:28 PM
#6
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This is a European safety feature for cars to parallel park on small narrow streets.
12-08-2018, 08:10 AM
#7
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12-08-2018, 08:44 AM
#8
LOL, no problem, as I originally hail from Europe (well the UK, but lets not talk about that) I'm familiar with this feature as its been on every car I had over there. I never realized it wasn't on US cars until someone asked this question on the forums !
12-08-2018, 09:59 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
Typo "wasn't"? The feature is on US cars...I think my 71 911T even had it.
12-08-2018, 10:10 AM
#10
Sir Thomas Lord of All Mets Fans
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Originally Posted by HAAANK
Thanks fellas! I’m guessing this is a classic noob mistake.
T
12-08-2018, 10:39 AM
#11
Three Wheelin'
I understand what happened, but I am wondering why it is made that way. Could you explain how this feature helps? So is it when you are parking on the street that the side towards the cars is turned on while you are parallel parking?
12-08-2018, 11:31 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
This "feature" as you state, is a safety mechanism so that drivers can better "see" parked cars in narrow streets and specially those where street lighting might be deficient. The idea is that you light up your left/right blinker towards the side of your car exposed to traffic so that drivers can see and avoid clipping you as they try to pass on narrow streets. BTW, the use of this feature is not intended for all night parking but rather as a temporary means while going into a store, running an errand, etc.
12-08-2018, 12:33 PM
#13
my daughter bought my granddaughter a used Subaru Outback. The GD was washing her new car ( Grandpa said it was dirty��) and then there was a panic call to me from my daughter. Dad, somethings wrong witht the car. The parking lights came on and won’t shut offf. I said RTFM, well without the expletive. On The Bu, there is a small button on the top of the steering wheel housing marked PL. Same idea.
12-08-2018, 12:53 PM
#14
Three Wheelin'
This feature is really not used in the US because most, if not all, streets are wide enough to accommodate at least two cars at a time... even if one is parked. However, this is not the case in Europe and specifically in center of older cities where in some cases there's hardly room for one car.
This "feature" as you state, is a safety mechanism so that drivers can better "see" parked cars in narrow streets and specially those where street lighting might be deficient. The idea is that you light up your left/right blinker towards the side of your car exposed to traffic so that drivers can see and avoid clipping you as they try to pass on narrow streets. BTW, the use of this feature is not intended for all night parking but rather as a temporary means while going into a store, running an errand, etc.
This "feature" as you state, is a safety mechanism so that drivers can better "see" parked cars in narrow streets and specially those where street lighting might be deficient. The idea is that you light up your left/right blinker towards the side of your car exposed to traffic so that drivers can see and avoid clipping you as they try to pass on narrow streets. BTW, the use of this feature is not intended for all night parking but rather as a temporary means while going into a store, running an errand, etc.
12-09-2018, 11:47 AM
#15
Rennlist Member
You don't know what you're missing!
Europe is nothing short of fascinating and once you go there you'll realize all the wonderful times that you missed. Please do yourself a favor and consider your next vacations over there. May and October are great times to travel over there and you can avoid most of the summer "tourist".
I would recommend that you consider Spain and Portugal both for the experience and where you get the most bang for your buck (versus England, France or Germany). For your first trip I recommend that you go via a package tour (a top tier one if you can afford it). They'll handle everything and allow you to enjoy the trip with minimal inconveniences. This way you can see the most important things/regions and which you may want to visit in the future on your own.
Disclaimer: I'm a Spaniard who travels over there twice a year, 2 months at a time. Hence, I'm a bit biased.
Europe is nothing short of fascinating and once you go there you'll realize all the wonderful times that you missed. Please do yourself a favor and consider your next vacations over there. May and October are great times to travel over there and you can avoid most of the summer "tourist".
I would recommend that you consider Spain and Portugal both for the experience and where you get the most bang for your buck (versus England, France or Germany). For your first trip I recommend that you go via a package tour (a top tier one if you can afford it). They'll handle everything and allow you to enjoy the trip with minimal inconveniences. This way you can see the most important things/regions and which you may want to visit in the future on your own.
Disclaimer: I'm a Spaniard who travels over there twice a year, 2 months at a time. Hence, I'm a bit biased.