Mrs S's 98 Hyundai Accent has always bong'd when she tries to exit the car with the lights on; yesterday we were puzzled to find it doing this when the lights were definitely off. Today I noticed that I had inadvertently left the rear foglight switched on after demonstrating it yesterday for the MOT tester; therefore even though ignition and foglight were off there was an audible warning as well as the dash light that we were being prattish by driving round with this light on.
We don't have front foglights so I don't know if this feature would also apply to them, nor if this is a standard feature on all cars, but it seems a remarkably good idea. Obviously if someone likes the idea of their foglights being on, a bonging isn't going to stop them, but it would be helpful to the merely absent-minded.
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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Yup, this is a Hyundai feature, and a damned good one as well. If all cars had it, it might deter some of the idiots who insist on driving around with fogs, front and back, on for weeks after a little bit of mist.
Can't say I've noticed it on other cars. In my experience Hyundais have a number of little thoughtful features which don't shout out their presence, but just seem to be good practice to me. This is one of them.
Others include the black protective plastic strip over the rear bumper to stop the paint getting scratched when you load the boot up, and the ability to run the front wipers at double speed whilst running the washer jets just by pushing the stalk in a certain direction. Like I say, nothing that will set the world alight, but nice sensible features nonetheless, and ones that a lot of more expensive cars lack.
The one it doesn't have, which is intensely annoying, is a screenwash bottle empty light. Why do cars lack this simple indicator?
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My Vectra fog lights self cancel when either the ignition is turned off, or the headlights are turned off. Been a feature on Vauxhalls since approx 1996.
Fords, Peugeot, & Citroen, (to name but a few) also self cancel when the headlights have been turned off.
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My Peugeot 206 self cancels the foglights whenever the headlights are switched off or the ignition is switched off whichever happens first.
A lot of the Ford & Vauxhall foglight issues are over the pull out type headlight switch, twist for headlights & then pull for fogs, they are just a stupid idea.
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Most European cars since around mid-90's have turned them off, which is better IMHO.
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A lot of the Ford & Vauxhall foglight issues are over the pull out type headlight switch, twist for headlights & then pull for fogs, they are just a stupid idea.
Vauxhall don't use this system (separate switches for the fogs), but I do agree that Ford's way is a stupid idea. Even more stupid on the Ford's is that if it's got front fog lights, then you can't put the rear fog lights on without first putting the front ones on.
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I thought a rear foglight was only supposed to be on with dipped headlights anyway - or am I ten years behind as usual?
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Hi Mike,
You are of course quite correct, the rear foglight doesn't illuminate unless the headlights are also on.
I was a bit vague in the OP; what I meant was that with headlights, sidelights, ignition, everything switched off, if the rear foglight switch was in the on position, the bonging starts as soon as the door is opened; a useful reminder now that I have found out what it means!
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One mans junk is another mans treasure
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You're right, very useful. Just to stir the pot a bit I've done a bit of investigating myself and found that on my old Accord the foglight only illuminates with dipped headlights but on the later Prelude it stays on with main beam as well. ??
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My Vectra fog lights self cancel when either the ignition is turned off, or the headlights are turned off.... Fords, Peugeot, & Citroen, (to name but a few) also self cancel when the headlights have been turned off.
2006 Toyota yaris, rear fog can only be turned on when headlights are on and switches (the switch) off when side lights are turned off
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