Does anyone know how to turn these things off so that they aren't on while the car operates during the day?

 

Go to the interior fuse box and look for a fuse marked "DRL". Pull the fuse. Done.

 

While you are at it dissasemble the seatbelts and airbags too.

DRLs are a safety item.
The car gets astonishing MPG even with them on.

 

Now Kenny, equating Daytime running lights with seatbelts and airbags is a bit of a stretch. The Daytime running lights just dont quite improve those crash test ratings much these days.

 

I agree.
I certainly don't think they add the same degree of safety.

I just can't imagine why anyone would lower the safety of their car.
But live and let die, they say.

 

I think the DRL's look dumb and do not help. However, I do think that it is benificial to have the head lights on durning the day so I usually turn them on. They are brighter and do not look like an amber light.

 

You should be careful about disabling the lights. If you get a "smart" police officer, they (depending on the state) can cite you for disabling them.

In NJ, if you have lights on the car, the MUST work for the purpose intended. IE Fog lights must be aligned as fog lights and work. DRLs must be aligned ...

PS. They also serve the purpose of satisfying the "lights on..." rules that some states have for:

• Lights on in construction zone
• Lights on when the wipers are on

 

They do help. They make it much easier for other drivers and particularly pedestrians to see your vehicle. There are loads of statistics to back this up. Why again would you want to disable them?

 

why would one disable those?

 

Apparently, car manufacturers can request the EPA disable the DRL's before doing fuel economy testing.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/dearmfr/cd9402.pdf

It stands to reason that it does take net energy out of the cars electrical system that will have to be replenished. In a hybrid I suspect that this would cause an even greater loss of fuel economy compared to a conventional ICE powered car due to the acceleration that the electric motor can provide from electrical power.