Whats up with the white backup lights in new GMs?

[friendly_jacek]

My parking garage at work has tight spaces and poor visibility. If one needs to back up, the regular traffic must yield the way to avoid accidents as there is no visibility whatsoever. I often stop and and wait for a car with white backup lights on to back up to find that the car is not moving and the driver just entered or left the car and the white lights lit for a few minutes by default. The cars (or trucks) are invariably newer GM. The stupid engineer who thought or implemented this should be shot. What a stupid idea. Even worse, how this stupid idea saw full implementation? This crazy stuff is just one more thing to prove that people working for GM are just cretins and I refuse to buy any GM cars.
Sorry, but I had to went.

 

[brianl703]

I'm surprised that there isn't a FMVSS or DOT regulation that says backup lights can only come on when the transmission is actually in reverse.

 

[eljefino]

To quote Hank Hill, "(horns) are for highway emergency use only." Involving them for alarms or Remote keyless entry is wrong. Some day I'm going to snap and get in someone's face in a parking lot after they arm their stupid SUV and say "are you honking at me?"

 

[brianl703]

What major automaker has configured their cars to honk the horn by default when remote locking the car?

I've been hearing more and more cars honking late at night.

 

[Anduril]

My car uses the horn for the alarm. It doesn't have a second speaker.

 

[meep]

Hondas honk per factory alarm. Chryslers honk per factory alarm (some can disable by user settings). Ford (wifey's escape) honks per factory alarm. Some of these have a 1-click= lock with delayed arming, 2-click=lock with immediate arming, so you CAN avoid the beep, but how many owners read the manual?

I actually at first thought the reverse light activation was a good idea for when loading/unloading/etc. BUT, I've never owned that and the point above is excellent re: it confuses drivers.

I put a manual switch in my old car to activate the reverse lights for loading/unloading and hooking up the trailer in the dark.

M

 

[wapacz]

My bet to illuminate the area around the car. You know so you are able to see that big bad guy that is sitting there readdy to jump out and get you.

 

[JTK]

My 2005 Trailblazer could be set to illuminate the back-up lights when the "unlock" was activated from the FOB. IIRC though, once the all the doors were closed, the back-up lights would go out. I suppose open doors (and occupants milling around) in conjunction with back-up lights is a fairly good indication the car isn't backing up. Then again, in tight quarters it might not be so easy to tell.

Joel

 

[rpn453]

Interesting. Just last night I was out running and some guy parked on the street and got out of the driver side of his SUV with the back-up lights still on. I thought it was strange that the guy would set the park brake and leave it in reverse. I didn't really look at the vehicle since it was dark and the back-up lights were blinding me, but it looked new and GM-ish. It not only makes no sense to me that they would do that, it also seems wrong. They should have a separate high-mounted light for illumination if that's the purpose, like many pickup trucks have.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
To quote Hank Hill, "(horns) are for highway emergency use only." Involving them for alarms or Remote keyless entry is wrong. Some day I'm going to snap and get in someone's face in a parking lot after they arm their stupid SUV and say "are you honking at me?"


I absolutely hate the honking keyless entry. You walk through a parking lot and you're constantly getting honked at by them. Isn't it enough to hear the actuators and see the lights flash? Can't they just pull the handle after if they really want to be sure it's locked? Do they actually like the honking or are they just too dense to turn it off?

 

[brianl703]

The lights won't flash if they're all burned out.

 

[Colt45ws]

My Vic came with the honk on lock feature. Luckily it can be disabled, which I exercised.

 

[moribundman]

My Audi makes a very muted honk when the car is being locked. It doesn't give a visual clue other than one slowly blinking LED in a dash switch to show the alarm is armed. I don't have a remote door opener. When unlocking the car there is no honk or light show.

 

[cousincletus]

My 2004 Impala can be set so the lights either come on don't. Your choice. You can also turn off the horn when you lock or unlock it. Wife's new Malibu can't be set. You get the lights and horn whether you like it or not. I think it's a bad idea too. You should be able to turn it off if you want. Not a big enough problem for me to boycott GM, though.

 

[eljefino]

I'm not impressed that the horn feature can be turned off. It's on by default and probably on again when one gets a new battery. Just seems like another "Hey look at meeeeeeee" ego stroker on top of the usually overdone & garish sheetmetal. Just like fog lights that tie into the parking lights so the driver forgets they're on, and the automakers are okay with that b/c the car looks cool, like from the brochure photo.

 

[Buffman]

I do disklike the fact my viper alarm beeps and so forth arming and unarming, along with the lights blinking and so forth, but I deal with it.

I thought GM called the feature Perimeter lighting?

 

[cousincletus]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I'm not impressed that the horn feature can be turned off. It's on by default and probably on again when one gets a new battery. Just seems like another "Hey look at meeeeeeee" ego stroker on top of the usually overdone & garish sheetmetal. Just like fog lights that tie into the parking lights so the driver forgets they're on, and the automakers are okay with that b/c the car looks cool, like from the brochure photo.


If the battery is replaced the settings are saved. They will be the same as you last set them. I have mine set for a short "chirp" beep of the horn so I can be sure the locks are locked, because I only lock them with the clicker. This saves you from ever locking your keys in the car.

 

[harley145000]

My Camary's alarm has a nice little chirp when the alarm is set.My wifes G.P. gives off a nice loud blast from the horn.Maybe I'am too critical but her alarm is annoying.

 

[Tosh]

Would this be accurate, then? Back-up lights plus brake lights means reversing, just back-up lights means 'courtesy' lights?

 

[INMY01TA]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I'm not impressed that the horn feature can be turned off. It's on by default and probably on again when one gets a new battery. Just seems like another "Hey look at meeeeeeee" ego stroker on top of the usually overdone & garish sheetmetal. Just like fog lights that tie into the parking lights so the driver forgets they're on, and the automakers are okay with that b/c the car looks cool, like from the brochure photo.
We do this to annoy you. Seems like it works.

Doesn't seem to take much to annoy you tho huh?

 

[Matt_S]

The lights are a safety feature so you can see any hazards around the car at night. I park in a deck, too. The cars are 90% GM here and I've never been confused by backup lights coming on. As was pointed out, if you see brake lights along with the backup lights, then the car might start moving.

With regard to the horn, my Monte Carlo lets you turn that feature on and off. My wife's Terraza and her old Civic as well as my mom's Aztec all require a second press of the lock button to get the horn honk (which is how most cars are that I'm aware of). Either way, you can certainly choose to get horn or not.