The Kia Sportage’s turn signal light switch is used to turn on the fog lights. Using this approach is more effective than starting your car and using the interior controls to turn on or off the fog lights. It’s recommended not to tamper with things like switches when you’re driving in hazardous weather since you don’t want to wind up hitting another car or getting into an accident.
Turn to the left and depress the middle of the steering-wheel-mounted lever as soon as the fog begins to roll in. Once more, the lever is employed to control your front and rear lights, but this time, you’ll push it in your direction rather than drag it away from it.
You should have a control knob on your rear fog light switch that can be adjusted to either side to turn on or off the rear lights. If your vehicle lacks this switch, you will need to tap the turn signal stalk twice to turn on/off the rear fog lights.
You can feel a little more at ease taking those shortcuts in the dark now that you know how to turn on and off your Kia’s foglights (like feeling safe enough to take that country road shortcut).
In This Article...
Where are the fog lights on your vehicle?
Fog lights, also known as fog lamps, are tiny, block- or sphere-shaped lights that are situated below your car’s headlights on the front end. Since they are slanted differently than standard headlights, the light immediately illuminates the road in front of you rather than shining several feet over it.
Front fog lamps are used when visibility is compromised by bad weather, such as when it’s foggy, rainy, misty, or dusty. Fog lights are safer and more desired by many drivers because headlights can be overly bright in low visibility situations and reflect into the driver’s eyes.
The absence of fog lights in your car can now be considered the standard. Since fog lights are only compatible with a few makes and models, not every automobile has them. In fact, fog lights are now found on fewer cars than ever before as newer models do away with them entirely. The phase-out of fog lights, however, only applies to the front: Many states still have laws requiring rear fog lights because they are thought to be essential for sharing the road with other motorists.
How Do Fog Lights Work?
Fog doesn’t actually touch the ground, despite the appearance; hence, fog lights are oriented to be as close to the ground as feasible. To avoid blinding you, the lights are directed steeply downward so that only the ground in front of you is illuminated (and other drivers).
The most frequent light bulb to use while replacing the front fog lamp bulb is yellow. White lights frequently produce a glare that can be perilous, blinding, and disorienting when they are in contact with snow and rain. Yellow lights, on the other hand, can cut through the poor vision without glare, making it a less taxing drive on the eyes.
What Are Rear Fog Lights?
Frontal fog lights are intended to improve your ability to view the ground in low light conditions. Similarly, rear fog lights (sometimes known as rear fog lamps) are intended to prevent accidents with vehicles following you. Rear fog lights provide an additional pair of low-level lights for other drivers to view while assisting with distance perception.
What does the fog light represent?
A green light with a wavy line running through it that represents front fog lights is illuminating to the left. The rear fog light emblem, on the other hand, shows an amber light pointing right with the identical wavy line running through the beam.
Why don’t all vehicles have fog lights?
Nearly 20% of fatal multicar pileups involving ten or more vehicles involved fog.
In some areas, such as parts of the Southeast, northern New England, the Pacific Northwest, and the Central Valley of California, fog is particularly common, and it appears most frequently in the winter. When cars and trucks going at interstate speed drive into what is essentially a low-lying cloud and soon lose vision, deadly multicar collisions typically happen. It is possible for drivers to miss the slowed cars up ahead until it is too late, resulting in large tractor-trailers and other vehicles colliding with each other.
Since fog can be dangerous, many people who buy new cars make sure they have fog lights. The lower lights are really anticipated on more expensive cars, trucks, and SUVs.
However, some automakers are getting rid of the lights since they are no longer thought to be necessary as headlamp technology advances. Yes, you can now add fog lights to the list of once-common automotive features that are no longer available.
Turn the windows. lighters for cigarettes Tires to spare. ignitions with a turnkey. manual gearboxes. Audi, Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, and Genesis have already added fog lights to the list of now-obsolete features on new automobiles by removing them from some of their newest models.
According to automakers, headlamp technology has advanced to the point where additional fog lights are simply unnecessary. In actuality, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor any other organization even tests their efficacy.
Anyone who has ever driven through fog while using their high beams is aware that the lights do not pass through the fog; instead, they reflect back in the direction of the vehicle. Fog lighting lights a tiny area of the road beneath the fog to help the driver see painted lines and potential hazards, going beyond what regular low beams can offer.
But even for slower highway speeds, the area they illuminate is insufficient, raising questions about their efficacy.
Future innovations like LIDAR and infrared should solidify the end of fog lamps.
Although the removal of fog lights is hardly a revolutionary change, it does hint at what the automobile industry may look like in the future. Could headlights experience the same situation as fog lights once they become obsolete and unnecessary? Will future automobiles be able to perceive without using visible light?
How do fog lights work on a car?
In many parts of the Western United States, dense fog presents a danger to drivers. It mostly surfaces during the winter in the Pacific Northwest. In the Central Valley of California, where fog has made some roadways among of the world’s most hazardous, With the first significant downpour in the fall and lasting until March, the fog season begins.
How to Drive in Fog
Fog comes in a variety of forms, just like there are several kinds of snow. In Oregon, freezing fog can cover the roads with a black ice-like coating. Bulrushes (tule, pronounced “too-lee”) commonly grow in low-lying places where California’s “tule fog” typically occurs. While some parts are practically clear, tule fog can decrease visibility on a section of highway to just a few feet.
Anywhere there is fog, this is true: You may be driving along with enough visibility, and then all of a sudden, you may only be able to see a small portion of the road.
- Turn off your cruise control and accelerate slowly. The main cause of crashes is driving speed in poor weather conditions.
- To stop in the distance you can see, drive with ample stopping space.
- Avoid using high beams while driving. They won’t shine through the fog; instead, they will simply bounce light back into your eyes, making it more difficult for you and other drivers to see. Employ low beams.
- Use your front fog lights in addition to your low beams, if you have them, in extremely deep fog. NEVER drive with only your fog or parking lights on. It’s forbidden and dangerous. If your vehicle has rear fog lights, turn them on if the visibility is less than about 300 feet.
- When vision is normal, fog lights ought to be switched off. They may divert approaching motorists’ attention.
- According to Oregon law, fog lights must be turned off when a vehicle is 500 feet away from you and when you are following another vehicle at a distance of 350 feet.
- Cut back on interruptions. Turn down the music and avoid using your phone while driving so you can hear any traffic you might not be able to see.
- Keep the headlights shining. Make it a practice to wipe them off after every gas fill-up.
- To prevent fogged windows, keep the windshield clear and use the defroster.
- Be on the lookout for stationary or slow-moving automobiles. When you approach red taillights, slow down even more.
- When you are going, don’t flash your hazard lights; other cars could assume you have stopped.
- To stay in your lane, use the right shoulder of the road, the white fog line, or the side reflectors.
- Be tolerant. Never attempt to pass lengthy traffic jams in fog, change lanes without a reason, or pass other vehicles.
- Avoid moving slowly because someone else might collide with you. Exit the freeway or find a safe location to pull over if visibility is really bad. To assist drivers in taking exit ramps in dense fog, several Californian freeways include 3-2-1 countdown reflective pavement markers and signage that estimate road visibility.
- If you have to stop and there isn’t an exit close by, move off the pavement as far as it is safe to do so. To ensure that your taillights are not lighted up, turn off your lights, engage the emergency brake, then release the brake pedal. Your emergency flashers should be on. Wait till the situation gets better.
- Never make a stop in the fast lane. If you are unable to stop, move slowly and sometimes honk your horn.
What You Should Know about Fog Lights
Fog lights are made to be utilized slowly in poor visibility conditions like fog, snow, heavy mist, and fog. Compared to daytime running lights, they are distinct. They are a second set of lights that are installed low on the car in the belief that fog hangs 12 to 18 inches above the road rather than settling on it. They shine light into this clear air layer. Additionally, they are positioned such that the driver can see the solid, white “fog line” at the side of the road as a guide.
Should I use my fog lights while driving?
You must turn off your fog lights once the fog has lifted to avoid blinding other road users. Keep an eye on the weather. Fog typically accumulates in the morning, but it will disappear as the sun rises. If you started the day with your fog lights on, make sure you keep an eye on the situation and turn them off when the weather is clear.
If you’ve stopped traveling, there’s a good probability that the fog lights turned off automatically when you turned off the ignition of your car; they will only turn back on if you do. If you must drive with your headlights on, attempt to make sure they are turned off completely.
In Rule 236 of the Highway Code, it is specifically stated when fog lights shall not be used:
“If visibility is not significantly impaired, you MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights (see Rule 226 for more information), as they can blind other drivers and block your brake lights. When visibility increases, you MUST turn them off.”
Here, the issue of covering brake lights is crucial. Since rear fog lights are brighter than regular tail lights, other drivers might not be able to see when you brake.
Fog lights are obviously unnecessary in dry weather, and they serve little purpose at night either. It is unlikely that the lamp housings will provide you with any additional light to aid in seeing where you are going because they do not have the same type of reflectors as main beam headlights.
Using fog lights when it’s damp is another no-no. The reflection of fog lights off wet road surfaces doubles its brightness, while rain can make the bright red light glare through other vehicles’ windscreens. Also distracting are front fog lights, especially if they are misaligned and create brilliant reflections.
Are headlights and fog lights the same thing?
Only a particular kind of people appear to have this tendency. Let’s make sure you don’t unintentionally blind someone or use your car’s wrong lights at the wrong moment.
The primary driving lights of your automobile are its headlights, which are mounted in the front of the vehicle and are designed to illuminate a wide area of the road and vehicles in front of you. Smaller auxiliary lights called fog lights are placed beneath the bumper to illuminate the road right in front of the automobile. For safe driving in foggy weather, fog lights are vital.
Do fog lights automatically turn off?
When the headlights turn on automatically when the light switch is in the AUTO position, you can also utilize the fog lights. When the headlights are turned off, they will turn off.
The rear fog lights are not present.
Goals and Plan The rear fog light on a European car is frequently a source of great mystery for the new owner because it’s likely that they’ve never seen one on a domestic car or truck. One inquiry that we frequently receive is “Why is there only one fog light on my European automobile.
Or another typical query, “Only the driver’s side appears to function, thus I believe my rear fog light is broken.
Although uncommon in the United States, rear fog lights are required in Europe and are particularly common on Swedish and German cars. The rear fog light often has the same intensity as your brake lights and is a brilliant red color. Two rear fog lights are typical in Europe, although they are now illegal in the US. Why are dual rear fog lights not permitted in the United States? There are other explanations I’ve heard, but the most frequent one is that it prevents vehicles from mistaking your two rear fog lights for brake lights. The theory goes that in foggy situations, an overtaking driver may mistake the car in front of him’s twin rear fog lights for brake lights, causing him to hit his own brakes and maybe cause a rear collision.
When you’re driving in fog, snow, or other situations that reduce visibility, the rear fog lamp’s purpose is to make your car’s location clear. Considering how dim your standard taillights are, they are less likely to be spotted in foggy conditions. To aid in identifying the corner of the automobile while vehicles in front are passing it (overtaking it), rear fog lights are frequently mounted on the left side of the car. Other motorists are alerted to the approximate location of the car in a travel lane by this bright light, which resembles a brake light on. Rear fog lights increase your visibility to drivers behind you, much like the fog lights on the front of your car help increase your visibility to oncoming traffic. The many types of rear fog lights are as follows. Some rear fog lamps use LED lights, while others use xenon or halogen headlights. Modern vehicles with rear lighting often have LED lamps since they are brilliant, durable, and common.
Pushing a button causes the rear lights of the 2016 Volvo S60, shown above, to turn on. This makes the Volvo considerably easier to spot on the road in bad weather, such as fog. One of the most typical types of rear fog lights is the Volvo light. Although the rear fog lamp is a helpful safety feature, problems can occur when drivers fail to recognize it and turn on the fog lights while driving normally. You might gain a little bit more forward road lighting, sure, but you’re also unintentionally blinding traffic in your rear, sometimes even leading them to believe you’re stopping. Therefore, it is not recommended to utilize these optional fog lights as regular driving lights. If your car has rear fog lights, turn them on only when driving in fog, snow, or other conditions that could make it difficult for other drivers to see your car.