Guide How To Disable Daytime Running Lights (instructions)

Rhino_66

Member
Here are the ridiculous instructions for disabling the 2013 Mazda CX-5 Daytime Running Lights. This is no longer done through the diagnostic computer.

Timing for the procedure is critical. If you miss a step, the procedure will fail and you will have to start over.

The tech at my dealership could not get the procedure to work. The service manager and I did get it to work, but it took several tries. I think the tech was pushing the hazard switch on and off 10 times, not 5 (he was pressing the button 20 times, not 10).

Daytime Running Lights are NOT required by law in the U.S. Other countries DO require daytime running lights, so be warned.

This thread is not for the debate of disabling the daytime running lights. If you want to do that, start a different thread.

The daytime running lights can be reactivated with the same procedure.
 

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  • Mazda CX-5 Daytime Running Light DRL Deactivation.pdf
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Thanks for the info. I do however feel dumber having read that. What a joke.

Why is that? It works. Manufacturers put things in this so you don't inadvertently activate or deactivate some option. I had to do something similar to turn off the seat belt warning in my Fathers F-150.
 
Why is that? It works. Manufacturers put things in this so you don't inadvertently activate or deactivate some option. I had to do something similar to turn off the seat belt warning in my Fathers F-150.

Because it's stupid. DRL is not a major system or high safety feature. Traction control is and can be disabled with a single push. Traction control can and does safe lives, DRL doubt factors into anything calculatable.
 
@ park ^That^ Well said nXt. Oh, by the way, I think they forgot a step. Pat your belly three times and turn two circles. Unreal.
 
I tried this last night on my 2014 touring, and it didn't deactivate the DRLs. I've re-read the procedure and I may have paused more that 2 seconds after pressing the brake and starting the switching, so I'll try again. I like the DRLS during the months that are generally overcast and rainy. During the summer, I'd prefer to have them off.
 
@ park ^That^ Well said nXt. Oh, by the way, I think they forgot a step. Pat your belly three times and turn two circles. Unreal.
While I do agree with you, its not a huge deal to me. In my 335d, everything is programmable with easy clicks on the iDrive screen. This fun dance isnt too bad.
I tried this last night on my 2014 touring, and it didn't deactivate the DRLs. I've re-read the procedure and I may have paused more that 2 seconds after pressing the brake and starting the switching, so I'll try again. I like the DRLS during the months that are generally overcast and rainy. During the summer, I'd prefer to have them off.
I thought I had done it correctly on my 2014 as I switched into D and didnt see lights, but sure enough next morning I saw them again. Ill have to try the procedure once more. Ill let you know if I can get them to stay off.
 
Because it's stupid. DRL is not a major system or high safety feature. Traction control is and can be disabled with a single push. Traction control can and does safe lives, DRL doubt factors into anything calculatable.

Having DRL's is one of only two discounts my insurance company offers for safety features. The other discount they offer for is automatic seatbelts, a feature that hasn't been built into a car since the mid '90s. I love USAA, but they seriously need to catch up on more modern safety features, and offer a discount for them - BSM, SCBS, Anti-lock, Traction control, etc. are all items for which I should get a discount.

Just my two cents though - I can not fathom why someone would want to disable DRL's.
 
Good info, thanks, glad (US) CX-5 owners have the choice.
 
Is it possible these instructions are missing a step? I ask because I tried them without success, but something about Step 7 (confirm DRL setting) seems off. It says verify by releasing the parking brake; if DRL is activated DRL will come on with park brake off and go off when park brake is on (so if you've succeeded in turning it off, the DRLs won't come on when you release the parking brake). However, starting this procedure from a stopped and parked car (engine off), Step 7 won't work because the car is in park, so the DRL won't come on regardless of park brake engagement. So it would have to be in neutral for Step 7 to work, right? But the instructions don't say anything about the gear selected. Am I missing something?
 
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Worked for me on the first try. I have to admit, I felt like the dupe of some joke while I was turning the lights off and on. But the instructions looked real enough. No misspelled words like that email from that Nigerian prince. I don't like DRLs because when it gets dark, it looks like my lights are on when they're not, so I'm running around with no tail lights.
 
Worked for me on the first try. I have to admit, I felt like the dupe of some joke while I was turning the lights off and on. But the instructions looked real enough. No misspelled words like that email from that Nigerian prince. I don't like DRLs because when it gets dark, it looks like my lights are on when they're not, so I'm running around with no tail lights.

The Grand Touring model should have Auto setting for the headlights which will turn them on automatically when it get dark. There are even settings in the radio that allow you to select how dark you want it to be before they turn on.
 
I tried again this morning on my 2014 to toggle the DRL setting with no success. I noticed that in the 2014 service manual, it references that it can be changed, then shows no procedure for changing it.
 
Worked for me on the first try. I have to admit, I felt like the dupe of some joke while I was turning the lights off and on. But the instructions looked real enough. No misspelled words like that email from that Nigerian prince. I don't like DRLs because when it gets dark, it looks like my lights are on when they're not, so I'm running around with no tail lights.

So did you start the procedure from an engine off, parked vehicle? Did you leave it in park throughout the procedure?
 
So did you start the procedure from an engine off, parked vehicle? Did you leave it in park throughout the procedure?

Engine off, Ignition on (press button twice w/o brake pedal), car in park, parking brake on. Foot on brake, light switch on/off 5 times, hazards button 10 presses, light switch on/off 5 times. Foot off brake. Parking brake off, no DRL, switch into gear, DRLs come on.
 
From the OM:
Daytime running lights turn on automatically when the ignition is switched ON. They turn off when the parking brake is operated or the shift lever is shifted to the P position (automatic transaxle vehicle).

This is why these instructions puzzle me, especially Step 7, because no mention is made of what gear the car is in, and Step 7 won't work if the car is in park.
 
Engine off, Ignition on (press button twice w/o brake pedal), car in park, parking brake on. Foot on brake, light switch on/off 5 times, hazards button 10 presses, light switch on/off 5 times. Foot off brake. Parking brake off, no DRL, switch into gear, DRLs come on.

This is exactly my experience (note that per the instructions, I turn light switch to parking, not all the way to on). I have also tried switching into neutral before executing the procedure, but also without success.
 

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