[Soul Man]

this is one thing that just bothers me in general, and i cant grasp the point of it. This is the orange LED that comes on on EX, EXv-6, and LX v6's might be involved, when the headlights are on. its near the true front passenger courtesy lamps and the manual calls it a courtesy light. ive been trying to figure out its use, and just cant, as a light to help for seeing it doesnt really help at all, and is pretty much useless, the best thing ive come to find of it is during the day while im driving i cna see insure if my headlights are on, since the gauge cluster is always on. my friends brand new pilot has it too, and frankly i just cant grasp what its purpose is, does anyone happen to know?

sorry if this is a thread soemways back, but im new here, ill work a little more with the search engine and if i find it ill delte this and hopefully find this answer there

 

[stiller fan]

just an extra light to help you see the gear shifter..... there is a thread stating that if you look for it..... you can change the color of the LED light as well....

 

[BenjiBoy650]

It's called ambient lighting, it's just kind of like mood lighting but it only has one mood.

If you don't like it just remove the LED

http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1024

 

[Soul Man]

oh i really have nothing against its execution, its just an odd little light and i was curious if anyone had found a use or knew of some use for it, becuase i really havent yet, and i cant really think of one past the now being said personalization through different colored LED's

 

[fastball]

As has been stated, it serves no purpose other than to softly illuminate the center console for an "ambient" mood - put a little jazz on the XM, your hand on your girlfriend's lap, and you know the rest :naughty: .

Actually, in all seriousness, BMW and MB has had this center console ambient lighting for years. So, for Honda to put that feature on a car with a price tag in the mid-20k range is very upscale and classy.

 

[BenjiBoy650]

The 06 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT we rented had ambient lighting but nobody would say it was classy :lmao: IMO it's lame and if it was my car I'd remove it.

 

[fastball]

The 06 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT we rented had ambient lighting but nobody would say it was classy :lmao: IMO it's lame and if it was my car I'd remove it.

In a minivan, yes, it's very lame. But, in an Accord EX-L V6, it's a different story.

Lexus has gone and one-uped all the luxury marques by making ambient footwell lighting standard in all their cars now (as well as the console).

 

[BenjiBoy650]

In a minivan, yes, it's very lame. But, in an Accord EX-L V6, it's a different story.

Lexus has gone and one-uped all the luxury marques by making ambient footwell lighting standard in all their cars now (as well as the console).

My opinion is that it's lame on any car, Mercedes Honda or Dodge. Same with footwell lighting, neon/undercar, engine bay, etc. It's just another unnecessary fire risk and more weight and something else to go wrong.

I don't get why it's lame in a minivan but not in a Honda. Just cuz it has an H on it doesn't make it special. When I'm driving at night I'd like it if the interior was just dark so I could see everything in front of the car better. Instead, now they're putting all these lights into the interior...blah

 

[dougm]

OUCH! I've fumbled in the dark with every Japanese car I've ever owned. Nothing is lit up. My first Subaru (197... many many years ago...) didn't even have lit heater controls. You had to adjust the heat at night by brail. In our 2003 CRV, they didn't bother to light the window switches other than the one switch that says "auto". Finally Honda listens and adds a little better lighting and we complain. I can actually see my drink in the holder on the Accord and don't have to look down to put it back after I take a sip. My wife can read a map without using the useless, light up the entire car, and blind the driver map light while I'm driving. American cars have always done a much better job of lighting and I've been spoiled by them for the past decade or so. You may not realize how much well lit controls can help you keep your eyes on the road until you have them. Honda has a little ways to go, but they're trying. Fire hazard? From an LED? One more thing to go wrong? Na. Maybe they just need to add a switch so they/it can be turned off. Kind of like the mode that turns off the radio display.

BTW: I changed my LED to white. It blends in with the color of the console and radio lights much better and gives better light without bothering me while driving. I still want to add a couple LED's to give a slight glow to the front and back foot wells so they aren't big black holes at night. Ever drop your driving glasses on the floor just as you pulled out of the driveway down the dark alley or drop a quarter just before you're about to enter the toll booth? Now that I think about it, maybe it's just an older person thing... aranoid:

Doug M.

 

[andysinnh]

Wow, I must be living the "high life". My '06 Pilot LX stripper/base/nofrills model has ambient lighting in the center console area under the dash so you can see the garbage your kids pile in there. :thmsup: :biggrin: :nuts:

andy

 

[BenjiBoy650]

I don't know what cars you guys been driving but I've been doing fine with what's lit up in my car? Windows switches are fine being read by braille. You shouldn't need to look down from the road to lower your frikkin window. And for the cupholders, I rest my wrist on the armrest and literally drop the cup...easy as pie. And my car has maplights. :dunno:

 

[stiller fan]

the ambient light is nice, i like it....

took a test drive recently....

 

[sneezel]

the ambient light is nice, i like it....

I love it.

 

[stiller fan]

like the orange on the coupe....

 

[stiller fan]

i think that red would look better tho

 

[stevencrosbie]

I really like the ambient lighting. I didn't even know what it was for, but I enjoyed being able to see into storage compartments as well as the added visibility in the dash. The light is not bright enough to interfere with driving at night, but it sure is a nice touch.

 

[trainchaser]

...sorry Benji, I'll keep my 'ambiance light'...I like it...and its not so bright that it has any effect at all on your night vision, just enough to give you a faint glow on the console area...
...and I'll keep my lit window switches as well, not a big fan of the braille system of finding things while I'm driving...I think you may be in the minority on this one...

anyway, cheers,

Lorne Miller
05 EX-L deep green pearl with ivory
96 Odyssey taffeta white with sage

 

[fastball]

My opinion is that it's lame on any car, Mercedes Honda or Dodge. Same with footwell lighting, neon/undercar, engine bay, etc. It's just another unnecessary fire risk and more weight and something else to go wrong.

I don't get why it's lame in a minivan but not in a Honda. Just cuz it has an H on it doesn't make it special. When I'm driving at night I'd like it if the interior was just dark so I could see everything in front of the car better. Instead, now they're putting all these lights into the interior...blah

Well, I guess it's your opinion (asside from your statement about them being fire risks or something more to go wrong: I've worked in electronics for 8 years. LEDs are as close to the perpetual light source as you can get - so long as power is applied to them, they will illuminate. They pull almost immeasureable amounts of current, and proper operating temperature is about 72 degrees. Hardly a temperature even close to starting a fire.)

 

[SSMV6]

Ben was talking about the gas in the neon tubes... They (under carraige neons, at least) are made illegal in many states...

-edit- I stand corrected.

 

[dougm]

Neon is inert. Not flammable... I'm not sure why the undercarriage lights were made illegal, but they can be quite distracting.

I think Ben was actually talking about any of many different frivolous lighting additions people make to their cars that really serve no purpose and add to the possibility of failure. He's right, but some feel it's worth taking the risk and that's their decision to make. We're all wierd in some way or another.

Doug M.