Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators

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Fri 26 Sep 2014 18:07
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - HandCart

How did Audi get away with those TINY rear indicator lights on the A3?

One was two cars ahead of me today, and for a while I thought he was just stopping in the middle of the road, and it was only as the cars concertina’d-up that it became apparent to me that the Audi’s indicator was flashing, next to its illuminated brake light.

And I also then remembered this wasn’t the first time I’d experienced that with an A3.

Crazy. And rather at odds with the fetish for dazzling DRLs being required because it’s ‘safer’.

L

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Fri 26 Sep 2014 19:34
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - gordonbennet

VW have form for invisible indicators.

They're not alone in this though, lots of cars front indictors vanish when the sun shines on them, or the billion lumen brake lights ignite searing your retinas leaving the indicators worthless.

Not to worry they look cool, maybe not so cool when impaled under the front bumper of a 44 tonner though.

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Fri 26 Sep 2014 20:17
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - elekie&a/c doctor

I agree,the rear indicators are a disgrace.The front ones are just as bad as they are invisible when the headlights are on.However there are loads of late model cars with virtually invisible indicators.Take a look at the new Ford Kuga ,the front indicator lamps are down on the ground ,next to the front fogs.

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Fri 26 Sep 2014 21:19
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - mss1tw

I really dislike cars that have the front indicators on the 'inside' of the headlights.

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 00:16
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - Bilboman

Agreed. Safety at the expense of "style". Rear indicators of the curent Astra are appalling. Some indicators are actually surrounded by tail/brake lights (yes, Seat Altea and Toledo I'm looking at YOU!), which is plain stupid.
If rear fog lights have to be spaced at least 10cm from brake lights, why can't similar rules be imposed on rear indicators, and also dipped beam and front indicators.
And across the pond, it's even worse, with nice big red lights having to serve as tail lights, brake lights and indicators/hazard lights. Amber rear indicators are "permissible" but not compulsory. US-market cars often have their rear lights changed from the original home market lights and dumbed-down to this idiotic "all-red" spec. The Jaguar "XJ40" suffered this horrible indignity. DOH!

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 00:54
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - brum

The problem is apple inspired thin fashion and young designers who think form before function and have a blind belief in new technology and no understanding of basic science.

Led lighting in light clusters on many cars are imo borderline dangerous designs. High end Audi's and BMW have front insignificant indicators, located so close to daylight running strips that have to fade or switch off so the pale yellow flicker of the indicator might be seen, then fade back again. I think I've even seen models that combine drls with indicators, just changing colour!!?

Most led implementations I've seen have terrible light distribution and narrow angles of visibilty, with over bright straight on intensity and very poor or non existent side on intensity. The colour spectrum of LEDs leads to glare aggravated by multiplexing which some models (peugeot?) leave me momentarily blinded by a line of brilliant dots when they pass me at speed on a motorway.

Even the sharp on-off times doesn't draw the same attention to me as the softer switching of incandescent bulbs in indicators or brake lights.

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 10:20
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - Ed V

A nostalgic reminder of the US-style rear lights, which doubled as indicators when in use, so when slowing to turn right, only the left brake light was permanently on, while the right light flashed your turn direction!!

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 10:37
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - gordonbennet

A nostalgic reminder of the US-style rear lights, which doubled as indicators when in use, so when slowing to turn right, only the left brake light was permanently on, while the right light flashed your turn direction!!

My 71 Mustang still had red indicators that worked like that, had no trouble passing MOT's either, the roads were a bit quieter in the early 80's mind.

I have a big problem, as do others it would appear, with front indicators being close to headlights...bit i have a bigger problem with the increasingly bright fairy (DRL) lights, only yesterday i was at work at 4am, one of our new Scania rigids was sat in the floodlit, but shadowed by buildings etc, yard with the side lights and front DRL's on, two of us standing directly in front about 20 feet away were discussing how those lights were so bright that you couldn't see anything past the front of the lorry, there could have been twenty chaps standing there, or a bus queue or even nuns carrying kittens, approaching the thing you wouldn't have a clue, the flicker effect (not all can see that and is what the poster mentioning Pug rear leds on another thread is noticing) of the bloomin things doesn't help.

It's all getting out of hand.

Edited by gordonbennet on 27/09/2014 at 10:39

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 13:16
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - twitcherman

High end Audi's and BMW have front insignificant indicators, located so close to daylight running strips that have to fade or switch off so the pale yellow flicker of the indicator might be seen, then fade back again.

No driver of such a vehicle would dream of using them anyway.

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Sat 27 Sep 2014 10:28
Audi A3 - Tiny rear indicators - NARU

Started with the golf a few years ago, where you can't see the indicator as its so close to the headlight.

VW - too much design over function.

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