2019 Signature Auto-headlight DRL action

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2019 CX-5 Signature Soul Red Crystal Metallic
Hello,

I noticed today when driving behind a dark colored vehicle in crummy weather, that after being stopped at a red light for more than 10 seconds, the headlights would turn off. Even the DRL's.

As soon as I pressed the gas, I was able to see the lights flash back on and stay on until stopping at the next light.

I thought DRL's were supposed to stay on constantly when the car is in Drive? (particularly where I live, here in Canada).

Can anyone else confirm if theirs do the same?

Thanks!
 
I have the same issue, seems to be when you have the headlights and windshield wipers both on auto. I end up just turning the headlights on to avoid this as it is very annoying seeing the headlights go on and off.
I have brought it up to my dealer but they cannot re-produce the issue as I'm there when the weather is not bad.
 
Hello,

I noticed today when driving behind a dark colored vehicle in crummy weather, that after being stopped at a red light for more than 10 seconds, the headlights would turn off. Even the DRL's.

As soon as I pressed the gas, I was able to see the lights flash back on and stay on until stopping at the next light.

I thought DRL's were supposed to stay on constantly when the car is in Drive? (particularly where I live, here in Canada).

Can anyone else confirm if theirs do the same?

Thanks!

That's interesting.
Are you at risk for a ticket?

edit to add: The Switch Position chart on Page 4-71 and 4-72 of my manual says "*1 The [daytime running] lights are turned on while the vehicle is driven" when the headlight switch is in the Off or the Auto positions. I never really noticed.
 
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This seems due to the "feature" where if the wipers are on for a few minutes, in the auto mode along with the headlights in auto, the lights will turn on due to bad weather. This will happen no matter how bright it is out as it is considered a safety feature as many states require headlights on when using wipers.
This works, but when you come to a complete stop at a traffic light, the system shuts off all of the lights, including the drl, then turns everything back on when you press the gas.
 
That's interesting.
Are you at risk for a ticket?

edit to add: The Switch Position chart on Page 4-71 and 4-72 of my manual says "*1 The [daytime running] lights are turned on while the vehicle is driven" when the headlight switch is in the Off or the Auto positions. I never really noticed.

I'm sure 'technically' I could get ticketed. I mean, they DO turn on when I step on the gas though.

And, as others have pointed out, it was pissing down rain yesterday, so I had the auto wipers turned on at the same time - I checked this morning, and it appears to ONLY happen when the auto-wipers are on.

it's either designed this way, or its a major flaw in the system which will be extremely difficult for them to replicate!
 
This seems due to the "feature" where if the wipers are on for a few minutes, in the auto mode along with the headlights in auto, the lights will turn on due to bad weather. This will happen no matter how bright it is out as it is considered a safety feature as many states require headlights on when using wipers.
This works, but when you come to a complete stop at a traffic light, the system shuts off all of the lights, including the drl, then turns everything back on when you press the gas.

I certainly hope it doesn't turn my lights off at nighttime. I hope its only the DRL's that turn off with the wipers - and good call, it was pouring rain yesterday and I had the auto-lights and auto-wipers on at the same time! I've never noticed it before until yesterday, so that makes sense!
 
Same as our 2018 Touring. Noticed it the other day driving in rain, headlights turned off. We use AUTO for both headlights and wipers almost always.

At least this is common and is how the system is designed to work....though I'm not sure the reasoning behind it.
 
You guys using the auto-hold brake function? Or are you stopped on a hill when seeing this (so the anti-roll feature is active, I forget what it's called).

Auto hold and the hill hold assist appear to use the e-brake. When the DRL are on, if ebrake is activated, DRL turn off (try it in your driveway). Mazda uses wheel sensors to determine vehicle motion to turn them back on rather than a sensor saying the ebrake is off. This is why it takes a half second of rolling to turn them back on.

When headlights are actually on, either manually or by the auto function, neither of these features turn the headlights off.




Also FYI the headlights DO NOT turn on automatically in the rain when the wipers are active. This is a feature that I wish we had, as it makes absolute sense, but it isn't there. Auto mode only works via the light sensor, which does have a user adjustable sensitivity. If in the rain and it's too bright for the light sensor you need to turn the lights on manually if you want to have all 4 corners illuminated for visibility.
 
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So is everyone talking about headlights or DRLs doing this?

As I commented, my manual states that that DRLs always turn off when the vehicle is not in motion regardless of the weather or what the wipers are doing.

I'm retired & live in the country, so not only do I not drive every day, I'm rarely stopped behind anyone long enough to notice how these behave. I find it odd that the headlights would turn off merely because you're not in motion. I wonder if the ambient light while stopped in traffic is enough to turn them off when in Auto mode, and if adjusting the sensitivity might help.

I read that the wiper Auto mode might cause the headlights to come on when not technically necessary, not turn them off: If the headlight switch and the windshield wiper switch are in AUTO, and the wipers are operated at low or high speed by the auto wiper control for several seconds, bad weather conditions are determined and the headlights may be turned on. Pg 4-73
 
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