Poor lighting while turning

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ChrisA

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2017
Messages
7
First of all, love this Leaf. But I could use some guidance. I notice while turning into my driveway, that the turning area is completely black until I nearly complete the turn. In other words, I could turn off a cliff and wouldn't know it until I was halfway down. I can't see a thing on the sides of the car when I'm turning either direction. My Leaf, like most, has the "plugs" where fog lights could go. I'm tempted to have them installed to see if I can improve my turning sight. But if all they do is light up the road in front of me, then that won't help. I imagine some of you have fog lights. Do they help you see when you turn? Thanks for your help. Chris
 
Fog lights tend to spill a lot of light to the sides so they would probably help, but I can't say for sure because I hardly ever make sharp turns in poorly lit areas. I suspect most owners would say the same - streets in most urban areas are so brightly lit that you could see fairly well with no headlights at all.
 
Thanks for the input. You're right, in town is not so bad. But I was on a country road one night and had to make a hard left turn, and couldn't see a thing. It was very uncomfortable, and I was surprised at the poor vision. I'd like to hear from someone who has the fog lights...do they help with turning vision?

Thanks again.
 
I installed aftermarket fogs in the lower grill area as full time running lights. I picked 18w LED units with 6 horizontal LEDs in each. They certainly throw a lot of light to either side. I can actually use the new lights instead of the low beams most of the time. I also replaced the standard high beams with LEDs as well. The standard high beams threw a yellow tinged light and didn't throw any further than the LED low beams. The new LEDs are a lot better. I just didn't want to hassle with finding the bits and pieces to fit the standard fogs in place.
 
Reading your post again, it sounds like you didn't use the punch-out light holders in the front bumper for your fog lights.
 
Is this a job I can do myself? It would be nice if the wires were just laying behind the caps where fog lights go, but that would be asking a lot!
 
ChrisA said:
Is this a job I can do myself? It would be nice if the wires were just laying behind the caps where fog lights go, but that would be asking a lot!

This is why it's helpful to put your year and model in your signature line...
 
ChrisA said:
I imagine some of you have fog lights. Do they help you see when you turn? I'm very surprised that I'm not finding more people who are concerned about this, as it is a safety hazard, especially for pedestrians who may be approaching,
Shrug. I've been driving a '13 Leaf for almost 6 years. I have no concerns about this. My leased Leaf had fog lights. I don't recall them ever being that helpful nor helpful in your scenario. The LED headlights on the '13 SV as part of the quick charge + LED headlight package are way better than the crap halogens on the '13 SV w/o it. I have the latter now since my leased Leaf was returned.

Also, my owned '13 SV has no fog lights.

What if you turn on your high beams before turning?

Sorry, I have no cliffs near home nor my driveway. I have no trouble seeing pedestrians before turning, esp. if use my high beams.
 
I am amazed how clever people find deficiencies in products that have been in use adequately for decades.

Headlights are made to see forward, and a little to the right (on right hand drive roads).

Lights are highly regulated, so I cannot imagine that the Leaf's lights are deficient. I have had mine almost 5 years and note no lighting deficiency on my base S model..
 
I appreciate everyone’s input, especially those that focus on solutions. I don’t demand that you to have the same experience I have.

I once owned a car that had special side lights that lit up when the turning signal was engaged, which provided a great side view. Most people don’t need that kind of light, since they are not driving on dark country roads at night. If I can find a way to add that feature to my Leaf, that will be a major upgrade.

I’m not suggesting the Leaf is deficient. (I did remove my comment about pedestrian safety from the original post--that was overstating it). I accept that there may be only a handful of people that are interested in this. All I need is to find one Leaf owner who has found a way to light up the turning radius.
 
my saab and lexus had those side lights that lit up with the turn signal, they sort of worked, but i don't live near dark country roads so i usually didn't even notice. It would be difficult to install side lights as there is no spot in the leaf for them (unless you would want to hack into the bumper), the best i can recommend is install some higher power / aftermarket fog lights that throw more light down low and to the sides.

newer cars also turn projector housings along with the steering wheel angle, but that is more for curved roads than driveways.
 
ChrisA said:
I imagine some of you have fog lights. Do they help you see when you turn? I'm very surprised that I'm not finding more people who are concerned about this, as it is a safety hazard, especially for pedestrians who may be approaching,
I was responding to that and from me being here since 2011, this has not been a common topic at all. I wouldn't think it's been even in the top 50 things talked about re: Leaf.
ChrisA said:
I appreciate everyone’s input, especially those that focus on solutions. I don’t demand that you to have the same experience I have.

I once owned a car that had special side lights that lit up when the turning signal was engaged, which provided a great side view. Most people don’t need that kind of light, since they are not driving on dark country roads at night. If I can find a way to add that feature to my Leaf, that will be a major upgrade.
The '11 and '12 US-market Leafs had two side marker lights on the front fenders. They were removed starting w/'13+ Leafs (for the US market) since there's no legal requirement for them here. I have no idea how much those marker lights would've helped.

What's wrong with using your high beams and looking way ahead (and to the left) before slowing to turn along w/making the turn slowly? Are you not looking down the road far enough ahead while driving?

At the risk of sounding totally hokey, how about a bright flashlight that you point out the window before turning? I have two of the LP600 flashlights at https://www.luxproflashlights.com/flashlights.html. I also have a https://www.anker.com/products/variant/bolder-lc40/T1421011.
 
Leaf owners aren't defensive unless someone is offensive first. Our exchange helped me clarify my perspective, and that's what exchanges should do. I could've been more clear from the beginning. What I'm looking for is to augment the side view, and I should have focused on that.

As an astronomer I seek dark skies. When I was out on the trail--which can barely be called a road--on my way to the observatory, I would have used that flashlight and been reassured taking a hard left turn with the Leaf. It's not hokey if it works!
 
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