Is the middle bulb in in my 2011 headlight a dummy like my dealership told me?

NO, that should be your DRL. They turn on when you are in Drive.

We should have a thread on the dumbest things a dealer has told us about this vehicle.

__________________
2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. Dark Charcoal. 18" black cast aluminum wheels. 275/65/R18 Nitto Terra Grapplers. (replaced the Firestone A/Ts in the pic) Rock rails. Skid plates. Tow hooks. Huskyliners. 33K miles.

Wait... Dealer may have been right DRLs are dumb. :-)

DRL's are absolutely necessary as a lot of people lack common sense and drive around in the near dark or on overcast rainy days without ANY lights on. I would say that salesperson is the only dummy in that situation.

I still say DRLs are dumbing down the driving population. Let the losers who don't know how to manually turn on their headlights succumb to the laws of natural selection.

DRLs have distracted manufacturers from more nobel causes like MPG gains as they have had to spend extra time on...

...figuring out how to dim them a little not to distract other drivers and reduce
Bulb consumption

...Figure out how to disable the DRL on the turn signal side so other drivers can see the turn indicator lamp

...Come up with a full auto lighting setting to prevent dumb/lazy DRL users from continuing to drive at night with ONLY the DRL "headlamps" and no other side and tail lights

and anyone who needs to have DRLs on oncoming traffic in the middle of a clear day in order to see oncoming cars ought not to be driving in the first place

I think it's obvious you are MORE visible with DRL's then without. It's a fact it will and has saved lives, not many but still........could be yours.
And turning on the headlamps instead of drl does lower the mpg, again not much, but still......
Just my 2 cents

__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2011 WK2 3.6 V6 Overland 4x4 QL Black/Saddle.

I would still vote to have them, often it is the person that doesn't have their lights on that causes the accident and the most likely not to get harmed. If we lived in this perfect world we would not need jails or police officers... but as you can see, it is just to the case.

__________________
2012 grand Cherokee Laredo
Deep cherry red
Leather Seats
Nudge bar
Tow pack
Delivered 1st March

There was a report of a study released a few months ago that proved DRLs have no effect on safety, and may actually reduce safety. If I get a chance later today I'll look up the link...

Perhaps simply thinking for yourself as to when you need your lights on would be sufficient. Personally, I don't need an auto manufacturer to tell me to run with my lights on all the time. I spend a lot of times on dirt roads in Arizona and Utah and driving around all day without another car in sight with your lights on is just wierd. Same with the seat belt light and message. I already know that I don't have my seat belt on, why do I need a message that blocks out all other driver info that say's "Driver Seatbelt Unbuckled" when there is red warning light right alongside it. Simply more intrusion into our lives with meaningless info.

I'd definitely be curious to see that study, especially since most other studies say the opposite.

The only problem I have with DRL is on vehicles that don't have totally automatic lights, and people are driving at nights with their DRLs. May be all well and good at the front of the vehicle, but DRLs don't turn on tail lights, so it's quite common to see a driver with headlights in the middle of the night, but no tail lights.

Some people just need to take the bus.

__________________
WK2 Overland 4x4, 5.7L Hemi V8 with MDS, Multi-speed Overdrive Automatic with ERS, Quadra-Drive II with Rear ELSD, Off-Road Adventure Group II, Selec-Terrain, Quadra-Lift, Towing Group IV, Advanced Warning & Adaptive Cruise Control, Bright Silver Exterior with Beige Leather Interior, CommandView Sunroof, RHB 430N Sirius satellite radio. Added: Blizzak DM-V1 265/60R18 winter tires.

It's a lot easier to make a one size fits all standard rather than try to account for some guy who drives in the middle of nowhere with no other vehicles around.

And if I'm not mistaken U.S. vehicles don't have DRLs anyway, so what's the problem?

__________________
WK2 Overland 4x4, 5.7L Hemi V8 with MDS, Multi-speed Overdrive Automatic with ERS, Quadra-Drive II with Rear ELSD, Off-Road Adventure Group II, Selec-Terrain, Quadra-Lift, Towing Group IV, Advanced Warning & Adaptive Cruise Control, Bright Silver Exterior with Beige Leather Interior, CommandView Sunroof, RHB 430N Sirius satellite radio. Added: Blizzak DM-V1 265/60R18 winter tires.