[rrbhokies]

Probably my biggest pet peeve with the SC right now, even with the various issues I'm having, is with the truck bed lights and the tailgate light.

As I fiddled in the dark trying to get stuff out of the back of the truck tonight, it was very dark and I could barely see. When you drop the tailgate, none of the lights in the tailgate light up. Major fail by Hyundai for making them essentially useless by not lighting them up when you drop the tailgate. My Ram 1500 automatically lit up all 3 lights when I dropped the tailgate. My understanding from the recently dropped review of the Maverick mentions it does so as well.

Specifically at question is why the two lights in the bed are ONLY reserved for the brunk is ridiculous. Now I know some of you will say you can turn the lights on manually from inside the truck before you get out, but you know what? I'm 0-3 doing it so far, and I suspect I'm never going to remember to manually turn on the lights before getting out of the truck.

Now, looking at the SC from the positive perspective, this is my BIGGEST Pet Peeve!! If only my other pet peeves in life were this small!

 

[Woodie23]

Not wrong. Seems like a really obvious miss.

 

[JMII]

Does bed light come on with doors open or when you push unlock on the key FOB? That is how my Dakota works. If your handy with 12V wiring you could easily wire up a switch that tricks the vehicle into thinking you've opened the brunk to trigger those two lights. Hyundai should have just put that switch in the tailgate to start with.

 

[ToadVine]

Bed lights switch should work like the interior cabin light in many/most/all SUVs. Three positions - always OFF, always ON, and only ON when door/hatch/tailgate is open.

 

[Mike_TX]

Hmmm ... unless you're in the truck bed a lot at night, this doesn't seem to be such a biggie to me. You're just used to it being a certain way, and you'll get used to it.

I'm the same way with the cruise control - the "Cancel" button on all my Kias was in the same place as the "Following Distance" button on the Cruz, and I'm constantly hitting it trying to resume speed. And it seems completely counter-intuitive to me to press the Cruz's "Cancel" button again to Resume speed. ??? I use cruise control constantly, and my muscle memory has me hitting the wrong button dozens of times a day.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

If you live in the north, where winter nights last from 4pm until after 8am ... you appreciate lights. But having to go into the cab to turn them on and off every time you want/need them is very counter-intuitive. Plus, if you grab a couple of armloads of stuff out of the bed, now you have to make another trip back inside the cab to turn them off, even if you turned them on before you get out. I guess the real question is why isn't the switch wired into the brunk lid actually connected to the tailgate instead.

Who's going to be the first to find and relocate that switch?

 

[rrbhokies]

If you live in the north, where winter nights last from 4pm until after 8am ... you appreciate lights. But having to go into the cab to turn them on and off every time you want/need them is very counter-intuitive. Plus, if you grab a couple of armloads of stuff out of the bed, now you have to make another trip back inside the cab to turn them off, even if you turned them on before you get out. I guess the real question is why isn't the switch wired into the brunk lid actually connected to the tailgate instead.

Who's going to be the first to find and relocate that switch?

I vote Hyundai!!!!

 

[JMII]

I guess the real question is why isn't the switch wired into the brunk lid actually connected to the tailgate instead.

People might drive with the tailgate down and having white lights on = reverse, bet there is a law against that. Of course the solution is a circuit which turns the bed lights off when the vehicle is in drive.

Do the lights not come on when you unlock the vehicle or when another door is open?

The brunk switch is trigger by the latching mechanism. I've looked thru the service manual but haven't found the wiring diagram for that circuit yet.

 

[rrbhokies]

People might drive with the tailgate down and having white lights on = reverse, bet there is a law against that. Of course the solution is a circuit which turns the bed lights off when the vehicle is in drive.

Do the lights not come on when you unlock the vehicle or when another door is open?

The brunk switch is trigger by the latching mechanism. I've looked thru the service manual but haven't found the wiring diagram for that circuit yet.

From what I've seen, the cargo light in the back of the cab only comes on when you press the button inside the truck. It doesn't come on when you unlock the truck or open the tailgate. Again, it's one of those counter-intuitive things.

As for driving with the tailgate down, etc. with the Ram, the lights would automatically turn off after 60 seconds or so anyways, so you didn't have to worry about them staying on while driving.

 

[D2jcv]

I’m not gonna lie. I’ve already departed taping the circuit for the bed lights and adding another switch to the trunk.

 

[HSC4ME]

From what I've seen, the cargo light in the back of the cab only comes on when you press the button inside the truck. It doesn't come on when you unlock the truck or open the tailgate. Again, it's one of those counter-intuitive things.

Isn't the cab light super bright enough to light up the entire truck bed?

I have a non-Activity Package model without the in-bed side lights and IIRC that truck bed cab light was bright. I haven't had a need to use it or see inside the brunk at night, but I did think about installing one of those push-click on LED night lights stuck onto the underside of the brunk cover when noting the side lights aren't on my model.

 

[355rockit]

Last night I was trying to find the button to turn on the bed lights to show a friend the truck bed via video call (hadn't used the button yet). I couldn't locate it in my hurry. When I opened the bed trunk (brunk), the bed lights turned on. It was a nice find. I didn't notice if the bed lights turned on when I opened the brunk during the day.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

They do indeed come on with the brunk during the day. Have done it and verified they all light up.

 

[tomminer70]

Now I know some of you will say you can turn the lights on manually from inside the truck before you get out, but you know what? I'm 0-3 doing it so far, and I suspect I'm never going to remember to manually turn on the lights before getting out of the truck.

I agree... totally was shocked at the lack of foresight on this very simple convenience!

 

[wmk]

Was wondering about the same thing and somehow the algorithm did it's job. Seems like a good tutorial if anyone is interested (probably already posted somewhere here but thought to post it since I was watching)

2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz Bed Light Mod

 

[Pilotalan]

People might drive with the tailgate down and having white lights on

That's EXACTLY it. Drives me crazy with people doing that (tailgate up or down) driving with the bed light on.

 

[HSC4ME]

I'm pretty happy with the cab bed light for lighting the bed itself, but the brunk-trunk doesn't get that light because the lid blocks it (Non-Activity Package). Found this battery operated LED light bar. Considering this or something similar for the underside of the brunk lid.