Last night for the 3rd or 4th time since I got the car, I forgot to turn on my headlights, as I am used to a dark dash at night that lights up when the headlights are turned on. So if I am not thinking and see the dash lit at night I subconsiously assume the headlights are on. I gotta think that I am not alone among new 05 G owners in making this potentially dangerous error.

 

leave your headlights on "Auto" then.

 

I have the same problem at times. I don't leave mine on auto usually, because I don't want them on for a few moment if I am in heavy shade since the manual says the life of the xenons is related to the number of on-off cycles. I have no idea how long they will last or their replacement costs, though. In my I30 with conventional lights, I left them on auto.

No easy answer, I guess.

 

you could always set your night dash lights to a dimmer setting. That's what I did for the first few weeks and it helped me remember if my lights we on or off.

 

If you turn the dashboard dimmer below the "notch" at the brightest setting, it's dim when the lights are on and uber-bright when not. To me, if it's dark enough for the lights to be on, I remember to turn them on as soon as the overly-bright dash lights have burned a hole in my retina.

 

Same trick here! The dash lights are noticeably "too bright" at night unless your headlights are on. I only wish that we'd have the day time running lights that our Canadian neighbors have. I know many here don't like them, but with more manufacturers coming on board, it's noticeable on the road when the cars without them are harder so see.