V50 General : Headlight Deactivation

Has anyone had their headlights deactivated?so they can be switched off for daylight running.

Did it make any difference to the mpg?. I read somewhere that it could make an improvement of 2%.

[pigapumbu]

Originally Posted by brogan384

Has anyone had their headlights deactivated?so they can be switched off for daylight running.

Did it make any difference to the mpg?. I read somewhere that it could make an improvement of 2%.

I had the day running lights turned off. Had to do it at dealer and pay for the software patch plus labour. All in, about 40 over quid to get it done but like another thread in this forum states,.. SHOP AROUND!!!
(volvo dealers seem to act rather independently when it comes to charging for service jobs).

Not seen any improvement in mpg by doing this but I guess one can say my bulbs might last longer since they are not turned ON all the time. I drive a V50 T5 and my mpg improved once the car started a diet of Shell Super Unleaded (V-Power). Roughly about 6% better and that means about the same in costs per year using the 99RON. With the extra gain in bhp, I am sticking to V-power.

cheers

[7050man]

Had mine turned off from day one on my 2.0D. Not really for fuel economy but on my old V70 I was fitting bulbs twice a year and didn't want same on the V50.

Curious that Pigapumbu paid for his. I just asked, and the dealer did it.

Re fuel economy, I think it does have an effect but I've never really measured it with lights on and off.
To date my average fuel economy is 48.92 mpg. This has come down lately because the car has only been used for local trips in the last few months due to me working in London, where before I was doing longer more fuel efficient journeys. Then it was up around the 51mpg mark.

[pigapumbu]

Originally Posted by 7050man

Had mine turned off from day one on my 2.0D. Not really for fuel economy but on my old V70 I was fitting bulbs twice a year and didn't want same on the V50.

Curious that Pigapumbu paid for his. I just asked, and the dealer did it.

Re fuel economy, I think it does have an effect but I've never really measured it with lights on and off.
To date my average fuel economy is 48.92 mpg. This has come down lately because the car has only been used for local trips in the last few months due to me working in London, where before I was doing longer more fuel efficient journeys. Then it was up around the 51mpg mark.

Yes I was charged for it. First asked the dealer we were buying car from to remove this feature and sales bloke told me they are not allowed to do it due to new regulation that will be coming to force where day running lights will be a must for all cars. (Was suckered well by this dealer. Never going there again.. ever)

Later at an intrim service, I asked new main dealer to do it and it was in the bill when I went to collect the car. Also checked later with an independent and he confirmed the same.
Reason: They have to pay volvo to run the software and hence will have a charge that must be passed on to me (customer). It was 1/3 less than what the main dealer charged me.

So looks like you have a dealer that is willing to give freebies. Please let us know which dealer it is. If its in a 100 mile radius to me, I would be wiling to travel to service the car there. Rare to find a reasonable main dealer service these days.

cheers

[Marmoset]

Mine are still on all the time and I've just blown the first bulb in 2 years. Gotta say I love the way the headlights pop out of the body for bulb changes, had both dipped beam bulbs changed in 5 minutes, any other car would have had me taking 5 minutes to get my hand near the bulbs!

[7050man]

[QUOTE=pigapumbu;221822]Yes I was charged for it. First asked the dealer we were buying car from to remove this feature and sales bloke told me they are not allowed to do it due to new regulation that will be coming to force where day running lights will be a must for all cars. (Was suckered well by this dealer. Never going there again.. ever)

Sorry to hear of your experience at time of purchase. The salesman never said that to me. He just said "no problem" to my request, which is just what you want to hear.

By the way, Dealer is McNaughton Ross at Ticehurst, East Sussex . Their service is the cheapest around and all the people there are friendly, easy to deal with and nothing is too much trouble. That's why I travel 23 miles to have my car serviced by them as opposed to 4 miles to my nearest (but not the best in my opinion) dealer.

By the way, I don't work for them or Volvo.
I just applaud good service when I see it.

[pigapumbu]

Originally Posted by 7050man

Sorry to hear of your experience at time of purchase. The salesman never said that to me. He just said "no problem" to my request, which is just what you want to hear.

By the way, Dealer is McNaughton Ross at Ticehurst, East Sussex . Their service is the cheapest around and all the people there are friendly, easy to deal with and nothing is too much trouble. That's why I travel 23 miles to have my car serviced by them as opposed to 4 miles to my nearest (but not the best in my opinion) dealer.

By the way, I don't work for them or Volvo.
I just applaud good service when I see it.

Yes thats the kind of dealer we are all looking for. Currently I travel about 60 miles to get the car serviced. I must give the dealer you mentioned a try. They sound decent. Worth me visiting. Thanks

eric

Thank you all for your comments, I will have it done on my first service.

[Oldman]

I have just had my V50 lights 're-activated'. Yes it cost for the software but more important, the car is not now 'modified' for Insurance terms. If it is 'modified' and you have not informed your Insurance company I was told that they might not be too sociable in the event of a claim.
Right or wrong? I would appreciate clarification

[Chris47]

I too asked my dealer to turn off the running lights when I ordered my new V50 - again, "No problem" was the reply and no charge was the outcome. Dealer is Lookers Volvo at Chelmsford.

Don't know about the insurance issue but I'd be very surprised if it is a problem.

Also, no data on fuel consumption. Average m.p.g. is slowly improving, I assume , as the vehicle loosens up.