We had that long thread about not having 'flash to pass'. Today I pulled on the stalk and it flashed the light. So we do have it.:yawn:

You have it if you don't have the HID lights when driving at night, as I recall.

Halogens - FTP is fine
HID - FTP is murder

From what I've been reading on the subject, if you have the halogens (base lamps), you have FTP all the time. If you have the HIDs (Performance Pkg), you have FTP only when the lights are already on.

From what I've been reading on the subject, if you have the halogens (base lamps), you have FTP all the time. If you have the HIDs (Performance Pkg), you have FTP only when the lights are already on.

Correct. Sudden off/on/off destroys HID headlights. The Bi-Xenon HIDs in the CTS don't actually get brighter when you flash them or turn on the high beams- they have a reflector inside them that rotates upward when you pull the stalk. Since they're already on, flashing the highs doesn't hurt them.

Correct. Sudden off/on/off destroys HID headlights. The Bi-Xenon HIDs in the CTS don't actually get brighter when you flash them or turn on the high beams- they have a reflector inside them that rotates upward when you pull the stalk. Since they're already on, flashing the highs doesn't hurt them.

I can see it now: an after-market company will bring out a shutter assembly similar to the old "blinker" assembly used for signaling between ships so we can have a shutter in addition to the moving reflector. In all seriousness, if someone were really desperate for this "feature" adding a flash capability to the DRL's wouldn't be that difficult but if you REALLY need flash to pass just manually turning on the lamps first should suffice for most owners.

Over and over this same wives tale is told. HIDs can't do FTP. It destroys them. Besides it takes them several seconds to come on........yada, yada,yada.

Horse feathers.
OTHER manufacturers have HID FTP and have had them for years.
My Nissan Murano has FTP AND uses D1S's JUST LIKE the CTS.

Lets be honest here. IF GM can't do it it's because their engineering is suspect.
Since I don't really believe that..... but it is a slight possibility......... GM doesn't have it for some other reason.... probably cost control......

But the reason often stated, that it causes the lamps and ballast to fail is just plain BS.

If it did, Nissan would have been out of business by now and I would have traded that thing...........
I have never had a HID problem and neither has anybody on www.nissanmurano.org
Seems that of the several thousand folks there, some would have had their HIDs burnout?
And somehow I doubt that Nissan has an "exclusive" here.

Of course, the Nissan DOES have a lot of prestige........... Sort of the standard of the world........;)

Why can't the homeboys here just admit that the CTS, as fine a car as it is, is lacking in some things readily available elsewhere?

Over and over this same wives tale is told. HIDs can't do FTP. It destroys them. Besides it takes them several seconds to come on........yada, yada,yada.

Horse feathers.
OTHER manufacturers have HID FTP and have had them for years.
My Nissan Murano has FTP AND uses D1S's JUST LIKE the CTS.

Lets be honest here. IF GM can't do it it's because their engineering is suspect.
Since I don't really believe that..... but it is a slight possibility......... GM doesn't have it for some other reason.... probably cost control......

But the reason often stated, that it causes the lamps and ballast to fail is just plain BS.

If it did, Nissan would have been out of business by now and I would have traded that thing...........
I have never had a HID problem and neither has anybody on www.nissanmurano.org (http://www.nissanmurano.org)
Seems that of the several thousand folks there, some would have had their HIDs burnout?
And somehow I doubt that Nissan has an "exclusive" here.

Of course, the Nissan DOES have a lot of prestige........... Sort of the standard of the world........;)

Why can't the homeboys here just admit that the CTS, as fine a car as it is, is lacking in some things readily available elsewhere?

I was always taught that quick flashing of HID's destroyed the ballast. I didn't realize anyone had figured out FTP on an HID car. Is it possibly another bulb (like a DRL) that flashes when you hit the stalk?

No. it is the HID. There are no DRLs on the Murano.
Besides if flashing destroyed HIDs (I'm talking a few flashes here) they wouldn't have an"auto" Position so that when I start my car in the daytime, it turns the lights on in the garage and turns them off when I back up 20 feet. Then when I get home from the grocery store 10 minutes later, they flash on again as I pull in......... My goodness, we are going to put my HIDs into an early grave.......NOT.
I actually go in and out of my garage more than I have ever FTPd................... !

Lets be honest here. IF GM can't do it it's because their engineering is suspect.

:lol:

"Engineering suspect"? It's not real hard to wire a toggle switch to the headlight stalk- they have it on the base cars and intentionally remove it on the Xenon equipped cars.

I know it's real easy to whine about features you wish it had, but they're paying the warranty cost on burned bulbs and ballasts, so they have to have a good reason for doing it. I probably use FTP once a month- if it's THAT important to you, simply turn the headlight selector ring one click toward you, then away again. That will turn the lights from AUTO to ON, then off again.

This requires no more effort than pulling the stalk, and you now have flash to pass. Problem solved.

Man, this thread is making people who are usually cool, calm, and collected REALLY MAD! Who REALLY gives a sh!t about FTP? I know we waste our time on trivial issues on occassion, but this takes the proverbial cake. Leave the ring on auto and drive. Appreciate the fact that you are driving your CTS and I am still WAITING!

No. it is the HID. There are no DRLs on the Murano.
Besides if flashing destroyed HIDs (I'm talking a few flashes here) they wouldn't have an"auto" Position so that when I start my car in the daytime, it turns the lights on in the garage and turns them off when I back up 20 feet. Then when I get home from the grocery store 10 minutes later, they flash on again as I pull in......... My goodness, we are going to put my HIDs into an early grave.......NOT.
I actually go in and out of my garage more than I have ever FTPd................... !You are both right and wrong. Back in the day when HID's were brand new, the ballasts were weakly made, and flashing them on/off would kill them. I had it happen on a Mercedes a few times, actually. This would have been in the mid 90's.

But todays HID systems use much stronger ballasts, as because of this, are not as succeptable to ballast failure.

My 2006 CTS in auto mode at dusk, will flash on/off continuosly. I've had the car for 55k kms and the HID's haven't failed yet.

:lol:

"Engineering suspect"? It's not real hard to wire a toggle switch to the headlight stalk- they have it on the base cars and intentionally remove it on the Xenon equipped cars.

I know it's real easy to whine about features you wish it had, but they're paying the warranty cost on burned bulbs and ballasts, so they have to have a good reason for doing it. I probably use FTP once a month- if it's THAT important to you, simply turn the headlight selector ring one click toward you, then away again. That will turn the lights from AUTO to ON, then off again.

This requires no more effort than pulling the stalk, and you now have flash to pass. Problem solved.
Tony, with all due respect, I think you are wrong here. The ballasts just arent weak like they used to be.

As someone who retrofits frequently...and ONLY use OEM systems, flashing HID's on and off is no longer a big deal.

***Edit*** To be honest, I have had 2 failures, but in each case, both ballasts were overclocked...

I don't claim to be an engineer (unlike a lot of folks on Internet forums), so what I've heard about ballasts burning out very well may be incorrect. All I'm saying is that GM must have some valid reason for disabling the FTP feature on their cars with HIDs, otherwise they would have simply left it intact from the base model. Why would any company remove a feature that doesn't save them any money if there weren't a valid reason? To claim that they don't have the ability or that their engineering is suspect is silly.

If I seem a little short today, it's frankly because I'm amazed at how nasty some people in this section of the forum get about the little things. No car is perfect, from Rolls-Royce to Kia- they all have minor little niggles that will drive you crazy and ruin your enjoyment of the car if you get hung up on them. You all have amazing cars- drive them, enjoy them, and stop looking for tiny little nitpicks to be enraged about.

I have to say I didn't realize how much I used FTP until I didn't have it. There are a number of occasions that I want to use this feature to let people know that I am letting them pull out in front of me, or signaling at a 4 way stop when no one knows whose turn it is to go, or warning oncoming traffic that there is a speed trap ahead. :lildevil:

I agree with Southern on his earlier post. The FTP feature was also available on my '04 Nissan Maxima, and my '06 Audi and both had HID's.

And yes, there are some pretty trivial complaints on this board, but what's trivial to some is important to others. The lack of FTP is a big blunder IMO, but at the same time, I could care less about the lack of a rear view camera, and I skip over all the posts about how long it's taking for their ordered CTS's to come in. :yawn:

I just figured it out, maybe it isn't an HID issue at all, maybe it has to do with the eyelid action of the HID headlights? (Could prove to be an issue?)

If it is an eyelid problem, Cadillac must be using a compeltely different system than that of the Buick Enclave. That HID system has a very pronounced eyelid feature for it's high, low beam. You can acrually hear the eyelid go up and down while moving from one mode to the next, and it works instantaneously back and forth for as long as you want to play with it. It's got to be something else....

Good point Dan.
Bluetooth, which is a life or death thing to some here, is of absolutely no importance to me.
I do not use, and do not even approve, of the use of cell phones in cars while they are in motion.
I only use my cellphone occasionally......as a matter of fact I have a "Go phone" from At&T with prepaid minutes for the year....100 minutes are more than enough :)...... And I will use the Onstar a bit too I am sure......but I not only wasn't born with a phone in my ear, but question the mental stability of those that were......;)

No ngiardina (nick?) I don't think so. You are talking about the shutter that is used to partially block the HID for "low" beam?
That's the same system most every other car that has HID Projection uses. Every one that I know of uses a D1S bulb
and most I would think have FTP.......Audi too, as per Danv

FTP is also not a big deal to me regardless of what Tony says.
Would I like to have it? Yes.
Is it important?
Couldn't have been. I wrote a check for $45,738.71 without it.
It's a nice to have, not a must have.
Would I have paid $50 for it?
Sure.
$500?
No way, unless that was the only way to get Homelink...........;)

As Tony says, he's not an engineer.
I am.
I have no bone to pick with Tony. He contributes mightily in areas I have no or limited knowledge of, and it is appreciated.

See, now there is a real love vibe in here! So much better. FYI - I knew it wasn't an eyelid issue, just trying to calm things down and change the subject!

Southern and Tony - You two contribute more to more threads than most everyone else does. thanks.