I purchased a May 09 reg Golf VI GTi from my local VW dealer. It replaced my 58 reg BMW 320D convertible. That also had daytime running lights but in the BMW's case they were switchable on and off as desired by the driver. I chose to turn them off as not wishing to draw undue attention to myself. Most of the other BMW's I see around and about seem to have followed my selection and turned them off too. I was surprised to discover that although the handbook stated that the Golf's lights could be turned off by the dealer, the dealer (when trying to source the codes from VW UK) told me that they couldn't because VW had refused to issue the necessary codes which would allow them to deactivate the lights. They had the codes but simply wouldn't release them to the dealer. It seems VW has decided that THEY unilaterally wish them to remain on permanently even though their handbook says otherwise. When I complained to my local dealer in Anglesey, they telephoned VW's Customer Service who stated that it was the Dealers fault for not informing me at the time of my purchase, apparently VW had issued a direction to all dealers in March. That gave VW two months before my car was delivered to update their handbooks, issue an addendum or even put a sticker over the contradictory information in my handbook. They didn't, instead they chose to blame everyone else instead and alienating an unsuspecting customer in the process. I understand it is supposed to be a safety feature and it may well become law for all new cars built after 2011, however, as I pointed out to VW, if they wished to take a stand on this issue they should have planned its introduction so that new cars were not being delivered with handbooks informing innocent customers that daytime running lights could be deactivated. Safety is of course vital when driving but I object in this case and think VW should allow those vehicles with contradictory handbooks to choose whether they want daytime driving lights or not. What can I do now? Someone has suggested removing the bulbs. Is this safe?