If you’ve been wondering how to turn off the interior lights on your car while the hatch is open, this article will answer your questions if you own one of the models we’ve included. The steps you need to take depend on the model of the car you own. This concise guide includes instructions for Ford Escape, GMC Yukon, Toyota Prius, Honda Pilot, and Audi Q5.
Sometimes you’ll find yourself in a situation where you need to keep the hatch of your car open while making sure that the interior lights remain off. In order to turn off the lights with the hatch open, you’ll need to follow a few simple steps and prepare some common household tools like a screwdriver.
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Ford Escape
Every Ford model has a built-in feature whose purpose is to switch on the interior lights when the car doors are open. Once the doors are locked, the lights will automatically go off. Despite that, it’s still possible to make the interior lights go off while your hatch is open.
You’ll first need to open the hatch of your car and push the hitch by using a screwdriver. After that, push the hatch down to circa 75-80% and the interior lamp lights should automatically turn off.
GMC Yukon
If you drive a GMC Yukon, you’ll be happy to know that you can switch off the interior lights while your hatch is open in a few easy steps.
To do this, you’ll need to take a screwdriver or knife. Then use one of these tools to push the hitch up. Start to lower down your hatch as if you were about to close it, and when it’s approximately 80-90% closed, the interior lamps will go off. Then just raise the hatchback and that’s it!
Toyota Prius
Whether you’re a camper who’s purchased one of those tents that you can attach to the back of your Prius or you have another reason why you want to turn off the interior lights with the hatch open, I have an easy solution for you.
You will just need to push the door latch closed. To do that, you can use a screwdriver or even do it with your finger. The majority of car door latches, including the one on your Toyota Prius, need to be pushed two times to be fully closed.
First, push the lower part of the latch to get it started, and then push the upper part. After you hear the second click, the dashboard light will go out. After that, if you don’t want to wait for the dome light to go off by itself, you can immediately use the lock button on it to shut it off.
Honda Pilot
If you own a Honda Pilot, you might already know that if you leave any of the car doors open without the key in its ignition switch, the interior lights will turn off by themselves after 15 to 20 minutes.
However, if you want to turn them off immediately, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s possible to do it in a fast and easy way. First, use the switch located on the rear overhead light to switch it off, and then use the switch for the front lights and do the same thing.
Audi Q5
When it comes to Audi Q5, it’s really simple to turn off the interior lights, even if you want your hatch to remain open. Keep in mind that the interior lights will turn off by themselves after 10 to 15 minutes, but if you want to do it without any waiting, you just need to do one thing.
The main switch of the front light of Audi Q5 has three positions: always on, on when some of the doors are open, and completely off. Set it to completely off and they won’t turn on even if the hatch stays open.
Conclusion
Not being able to switch off the interior lights in your car while the hatch is open must be frustrating, but luckily, there’s an easy solution to that problem. I hope this guide has answered all your questions and that you won’t ever have to worry about it again.
