Daytime running lights
 

I'm moving from the US to Ontario and I know I need to have DRL installed. The dealer tells me that there is no provision to use the headlights as DRL on the '09 and the only option is an aftermarket kit. This boggles my mind -- anyone know if this is true, and are the LED lights sufficient to make the car legal?

It is not true. My car is a U.S. model and my dealer wired the DRL in my car to pass RIV. I posted in an earlier thread about this same topic. I'm not sure where it is now, we can both search for the thread, who ever finds it first apcan post back here. ;)

By the way, DRL is the headlights only. Everything else works as normal.

Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the law can comment, but I thought a DRL mod was only required if you were importing the car from the US.
Not just moving up here. In all my decades of driving in Canada I've never heard of anyone getting pinched for no DRL's.

If you're just visiting or have an extended stay, you don't need DRL, but if you are moving here permanently, your vehicle will need to meet certain laws, safety checks, and emissions tests.

Here is some reading for you. Hope it helps, Moving back to Canada with an American car (sales, 2009) - City-Data Forum

I knew someone would chime in with some real advice! :icon14:

Thanks Gale. That's what I thought; it just didn't make sense to me that it couldn't be done. I did search before I posted, and didn't see your post, which is why I started the new thread --apologies for the extra bandwidth. I'll have another look.

Thanks also for the link. I'm back and forth a couple times a year to visit family and I know I don't need the DRL for a visit, but I am moving back to the GTA, and so the DRL have to be done. I suppose I should just have it done there since my dealer is being clueless, but I figured it'd be cheaper to have it done here.

Not sure if serious. :icon14:

Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as "one of those guys". I could care less about new threads on old topics. Forums would be a very borning place if all people did was use search for answers without any further communication. I just thought if you knew there was a thread on this topic and both of us were searching for it, it might cut down on the time it takes to find it.

I'm still looking for you. :tup:

From my own experience, my local Nissan dealer did the RIV work but Canadian Tire needed to sign off on it because CT is the only government approved garage to handle RIV certification (or so I'm told). The mechanic that did the RIV on my car said it only needed the DRL mod to pass.

if you're driving with your NJ plates, you don't need to get DRL. Ontario plates, yes.

No worries. :tiphat: But I still haven't found your posts. Was there anything other than what you've posted here that I should know?

Which side of the city are you on? I'm just wondering if it'll be worth it to go to the same dealership you did... I'm not keen to have CT messing with my car, but I have the vague recollection from another thread that you're on the eastern side, and I'll be in Mississauga.

In answer to indyn, since it's a permanent move, I will need Ontario plates.

Was there not another member on here that said you can just program the ECU to have the DRL??? done at the dealership?

Correction it is done through consult 3 at the Nissan Dealership.

People have done both sides of this, activate and deactivate the DRL it's up to you for what you want! Check Link below

http://www.the370z.com/canada/30337-...-question.html

The mechanic at my local Nissan dealer told me you couldn't program the DRL. he had to mod 3 U.S. 370z's he ended up adding power to the DRL circuit found in the IPDM module located under the hood. I guess he doesn't know Consult 3 very well (that's scary). I'm going to ask at GTR certified dealership next time I'm there.

:iagree: the shop (I won't mention, but it's self explanatory to any one that knows where I live though lol) near my house I refuse to go to. I talked to 2 of the techs and just in talks about mods and parts in general they were asking me about things that I thought they should have clearly known about and should have been informing me of info but they couldn't! So now I go to a dealership I used about 15-20 mins away when I bought a previous nissan. They actually comprehend things when you are talking to them! lol

OK, thanks guys. I called today and told the service guy I usually deal with that it should be doable via Consult 3. He said he'd investigate and then called back to say there's no provision/kit whatever on the '09 (there is on the '10 up), and that I need to bring it in so they can investigate the best way to wire it.

i have an 09 US model and during day time i drive with lights off. The car was imported by a dealer and has passed emissions and all other legilization protocols. I am not sure to how strict the law is on this in ontario. Personally i prefer to have the option of shutting them off. Obviously keeping them on 30min-1hour after sunrise, and turning them on 30min-1 hour before sun set is still the law and it becomes abit dangerous without them. I dont think you should sweat it, you will be fine without this thing.

Not sure about programming with Consult 3. I did it myself, wired up using IPDM and relays to fogs as DRL. Been running it for two years now, thats on a G37.

Best piece of advice on this, find a tech who has done this before on a 370z/g37/g35/350z, the wiring and circuitry is finicky and if not done right has some feedback issues. Your most likely going to find someone in Canada than in US. Get contact info of the techs from the Toronto Nissan/Infiniti dealerships, or anyone a forum member has used.
Remember, handbrakes ON should disable DRL.

Yes, I've come to the conclusion that it's best to punt until I get there. The dealership here is quite good, but it's clear they've not tackled this problem before and I don't feel like being the guinea pig...

I'm going through this now. I just bought a 2009 sport Touring and was told by one dealer that on certain 2009 they can just reprogram the ECU. Another dealer told me he never heard of that. The first dealer said it depends on if there is a certain fuse in one o f the under hood fuse boxes and it's usually with the cars that have HID.
Don't all 2009 have HID?
I can't actually look to see if I have that fuse yet as the car arrives tomorrow or the next day.

Your car did not pass all the protocols if you don't have DRL. Your dealer took it somewhere that didn't pass the RIV inspection requirements properly (easy to do). DRL is the law in Canada, no question about that. Now, because you weren't the inporter and you didn't do the RIV paperwork, you can probably claim ignorance on the issue if you were ever caught. You still however can get a ticket if a cop decides to target you.

It isn't a case of sweating it, it's a case of passing the RIV registration. You need to do that to get the paperwork to register the car in Canada. If you don't pass RIV inspection, you can't register here. So, it comes down to the mechanic doing the inspection. If he doesn't notice you don't have DRL, he will pass you, you get your paperwork and away you go. But if he notices you don't have DRL, you don't get your papers and you can't register your car.

So, you ask yourself, how could a mechanic be so over sighted to miss that. Simple. First, you choose an RIV inspection site with less than the best mechanics....like...oh I don't know, Canadian Tire. Then, you take a little black marker and fill in the work "OFF" on your headlight switch so it's not noticeable. Then, you lave your light switch on auto so when the car turns on, the DRLs are on. Most less observant mechanics simply get in the car and start it. If the lights come on, you pass, if the don't, then they assume you don't have DRL. Again, the less observant mechanics don't actually turn the switch to see if the lights can be turned off (Especially if you blacked out the word "OFF").

I know lots of people that have done this and passed inspection. Maybe, MAYBE 1 in 20 will get caught. Once you have the paperwork, you're golden. Just leave the switch on auto and you're good to go. I wouldn't risk driving with them off. Sure, you'd probably get away with it for a long time, but if you ever got caught by a **** cop, the ticket and possible "how did you get this passed" wouldn't be worth the hassle.