This is why your simple Perodua Axia can't have a simple 'Off' mode for its headlamps
Hans · May 11, 2023 11:53 AM
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The D74 generation 2023 Perodua Axia is one of the simplest, cheapest new car on sale today in Malaysia. Barring the soon-to-be-announced basic manual transmission E variant, prices for the 2023 Perodua Axia range starts from RM 38,600.
Drivers of cheap and simple cars like the Axia ought to be able to do simple like turning off the lights without flipping through the owner’s manual (which by the way, is now only available in electronic PDF format).
Except that we are now in 2023 and sometimes things are just unnecessarily complicated, even for the cheapest, most basic new car like a Perodua Axia.
Unless you are driving an Axia G or (soon-to-be-launched) E variant, there is no ‘Off’ position in the new Axia’s light control stalk – a very basic function that was available in the previous generation Axia.
Some elderly drivers or retirees who had just replaced their old car with a new Axia may be wondering why they can’t turn off the headlights of their new Axia, as in completely turning every front lighting off.
There are only three modes on the light control stalk– Auto, main beams, and side lights (clearance lights, colloquially known to as ‘small light’) – none of these three modes turn the headlamps completely off. One of the three front lighting components will always stay lit – either the main beams or side lights or daytime running lights located at the sides of the front bumper.
Why is it like this? The short and simple answer is that today’s regulations make it difficult to offer even simple things like having a clearly defined ‘Off means everything turns off’ OFF mode in the light control stalk.
Enter United Nations WP.29
The reason is because some bureaucrats in Geneva, Switzerland have decided that cars shouldn’t be driven without any exterior lighting, even when it’s driven in bright daylight.
Since 1998, the United Nations has formed a very, very long name working group whose role is to establish a common international regulation for modern cars.
It’s called the “Agreement concerning the Establishing of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted and/or be used on Wheeled Vehicles,” which is also known as the “World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations,” which is also known as the WP.29 working group.
Bureaucrats....
Under WP.29, there is a long list of technical regulations – known as United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, or UNECE regulations that signatory countries, which Malaysia is one of them, have to follow before a new vehicle can be issued its Vehicle Type Approval (VTA).
Not every UN regulation is adopted in its entirety, but it forms the basis for our VTA.
A VTA is like a birth certificate, but since cars are not humans and every unit of the same car model can be treated as clone, a local car company in Malaysia only needs one VTA issued by JPJ to register the first unit of the model.
Subsequent units, the cars delivered to you, don’t need a VTA so you will never see a copy of your car’s VTA.
Enter United Nations Regulation No.48
The UN Regulations No.48, also known as UNECE R48 OR UN R48 states that passenger cars should have so-called daytime running lights (DRLs, the ones at the sides that you can’t switch off) illuminated when the car is shifted out of Park (or in a manual transmission car, gear engaged).
Daytime running lights is not yet compulsory in Malaysia, but many manufacturers are happy to include it because customers see it as a styling element that they are happy to pay extra for.
All high-end cars no longer have an OFF position in their light control, and if you're wondering Mercedes-Benz use knobs and not stalks, here's an explanation
Article 6.19.7 in the UN R48 document concerning electrical connections for headlamps states:
“6.19.7: The daytime running lamps shall be switched ON automatically when the device which starts and/or stops the engine (propulsion system) is set in a position which makes it possible for the engine (propulsion system) to operate. However, the daytime running lamps may remain OFF while the following conditions exist:
6.19.7.1.1. The automatic transmission control is in the park position; or
6.19.7.1.2. The parking brake is in the applied position; or
6.19.7.1.3. Prior to the vehicle being set in motion for the first time after each manual activation of the propulsion system”
It’s a legal document so there’s a lot of legal and function-descriptive terminologies used, rather than feature-specific ones, because the legal document must be technology neutral.
Older models or cars that received their VTA years earlier may still be sold with OFF mode on their light control
Previously, cars can still have an OFF position even if it’s fitted with daytime running lights, but a subsequent revision to the UN R48 document adds:
“6.2.7.6. If daytime running lamps are present and operate according to paragraph 6.19., either
“6.2.7.6.1. The dipped-beam headlamps shall be switched ON and OFF automatically relative to the ambient light conditions (e.g. switch ON during night-time driving conditions, tunnels, etc.) according to the requirements of Annex 13; or”
And it keeps going for another four more even longer clauses and we’re not going to go down that route but you get the picture.
In simple words, if the car is fitted with DRLs, automatic headlamps is compulsory, and you are not allowed to manually disable it, so there's no OFF mode.
Ativa doesn't have DRLs, so OFF mode is still present
This is why the Perodua Ativa, which doesn't have DRLs, can have an OFF mode in its light control stalk.
In conclusion, the reason why there is no more OFF mode on even the simplest Perodua is because:
Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) are regulated by UN R48 regulations
UN R48 is not fully adopted in Malaysia, but vehicles fitted with DRLs must comply with it
Automatic headlamps are now compulsory when used with DRLs, manual override to disable automatic illumination is no longer allowed
Some manufacturers like Honda still offer the OFF mode in their cars' light control, but it only works when the car's transmission is in Park.
Over 15 years of experience in automotive, from product planning, to market research, to print and digital media. Garages a 6-cylinder manual RWD but buses to work.
