Turning off the daytime running lights

Hi everyone

I have just purchased an S80 T6, 52 plate and am on my second day getting to know this rather smart car. I had to say goodbye yesterday to my trusty Ford Scorpio 24v Cosworth (152,000 miles, 11 years with me). If the S80 does as well I will be very pleased!

I know this question comes up a lot but I haven't seen a definitive answer for the S80. I'd like to turn off the daytime running lights, but my nearest main dealer is quite a distance away. I see from other posts that some models allow this to be done with a cunning combination of switches and ignition key. Does anyone know the trick and whether it will work with my 52 plate S80?

I'm looking forward to picking up lots of tips on the forum over the coming weeks and months!

[the great one]

dealer only im affraid

Thanks for this. I think I'll save it up with other minor things to be worth a main dealer visit!

[Viper_7]

out of interest and to anyone else who wanted to - why do you want to turn them off? the bulb failure rate with them being on all the time isn't that much higher than without.

[squelchy]

The day running lights cost you money, Its not about bulb failure, (although that is another valid topic), its about the diesel, or petrol that is used to run the alternator to charge the battery to supply the 150 watts of power that is wasted during daylight hours.
"Its not much" I hear the skeptics repeat.

“It’s free because the engine is turning anyway"
One will hear from those who don’t know better.

Well Its only free if you are going down a hill with your foot off and your miser meter reading 99.9 mpg, and even that is debatable.

Take 150 watts of power and multiply it my 10, 000 Volvo's and you will soon see, that it is a waste, for the person who pays for the fuel, and in times of awareness of global warming, it is also adding to unnecessary pollution. Most Drivers will tell you that when they have a switch that says "Off" it should mean off.
Viva the freedom of choice.

[dav_o4]

If only it was as simple as the 440. All I used to do to get the lights off was jam the switch between the "off" and "sidelights" position.

[chiptivo]

Apart from the 8 bulbs that are in use for it, and the dangers of people pulling out on you with DLR's running (pothole flashes and that). They are pointless in the UK. Just get the dealer to switch them off, and when you want them on just turn the dial 90 degrees.
Yes, they are becoming law on new cars next year, but not as Main Dipped beam, just as a little array of LED's that some manufacturers are starting to use.

Get the dealer to turn the floodlights off, and you will never regret looking like a pompous tart with your one and a half tonn christmas tree.

[V70RMW]

I'd never thought if the fuel I'd save by switching off DRLs. I could usefully look forward to saving 150W of the 150kW a T5 will produce (0.1%).

May be over inflating tyres or refusing to carry over weight-passengers would all add up too.

Better still buy an economical car, not a Volvo. It's not that the fuel used is 'not much', it's insignificant.

Yours, Don't know better.

[Aardvark S60]

A partial fix is to set the light switch to the sidelight setting, negating the dipped beam.

A downside for doing this is that even with the deafening warning beeper it's easy [for the missus] to park and leave the car with these lights on. Result = flat battery whereas the daytime/dipped beam settings auto switch off.

[Bill_56]

Originally Posted by Aardvark S60

A partial fix is to set the light switch to the sidelight setting, negating the dipped beam.

A downside for doing this is that even with the deafening warning beeper it's easy [for the missus] to park and leave the car with these lights on. Result = flat battery whereas the daytime/dipped beam settings auto switch off.

Also, side-lights don't really resolve the frequent bulb-blowing, as it affects the rear lamps as well as the fronts, which would still be on. It would also cause the front sidelights to fail sooner though, arguably, that's less of a road-safety issue.

Incidentally, I don't agree with other recent comments playing down the problem of short bulb-life. At about 20k miles per year, I probably average about 2 headlamp bulbs and 1 tail lamp bulb each year. That doesn't sound much, but it's a heck of a lot worse than any other car I've owned recently.

Other half's Polo is 7 years & 60k miles, and I've only ever changed one headlamp bulb and two brake lamps.