My dome lights are turning on and off by them selves and there doesn't seem to be any pattern to them doing so.

I was able to stop it from occurring by hitting the "unlock" button on my keyless remote, and then hitting "lock." Can anyone tell my why this is happening? Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks.

On the '04s the turn on when you unlock the vehicle with the remote. What do you mean that they turn on and off without any pattern? Do they turn on while you are driving down the road, after you have locked with the remote, etc.?

What setting do you have the dome light to?

1. The lights are set to the "door" setting.

2. In addition to the lights comming on when i unlock or lock the doors using the remote, they also turn on and off by themselves at random times---I think they only turn on and off by themselves after i have hit the "door lock" button.

3. Also, i have only seen them do this a couple of times---so they don't constantly do it.

Seperate "on" from "off". When do they turn "on"? When do they turn "off"?

The dome lights operate normally most of the time---when i unlock the doors(using the remote) they turn on for a period of time. If i don't open the doors, the light will turn off, and the car will lock itself back.

In addition to this normal operation, the dome lights will turn themselves on (they will stay one for a period of seconds) and then they will turn themselves off. This process will be repeated for a period of minutes.

I was able to stop the dome lights from turning themselves on, off, and then on again, by pushing the "unlock" button on the keyless remote, and then pushing the "lock" button on the keyless remote.

Sounds like you may have a short circuit in there.

jharris,

You may be right. You know, i thought the Japanese were supposed to be really good with electicity!

maybe someone in the factory just had your number....

Do you have an aftermarket alarm and/or other accessories? Sometimes the dealer installs these and doesn't mention it.

Also, can you explain more about when the 'on/off/on/off' behavior happens? Does it happen while you're driving the car? Only after you get out of the car? Only after you use the keyfob, remote, etc?

The lights are controlled by the body ECU and there are several conditions that can trip them. It would seem that your body ECU believes one of the sensors is activating. This could mean you have a faulty sensor (door open switch, etc), a loose connection, a faulty keyless entry controller, body ECU, etc. With more information, we should be able to narrow down the possibilities a bit.

No, I don't have any after-market electronics installed. However, I like the idea that there is a loose wire on one of the door sensors. I suppose I could just mess around with the individual sensors, and see if I can make the dome lights flicker.

The only thing that makes me think that it's not a door sensor, is the fact that the lights turn on and off when all the doors are closed.

So you stop the engine, get out of the car, close all doors, and press the remote lock button. The lights go out and then after some time, come back on? And then go out again?

Pay attention to the little flashing red light on the dash. What does it do before, during, after this 'event'?

Also, do you have the factory alarm?

rando,
Yes, to the first question---the lights turn on and off after car is turned off, and doors have been locked.

I do not have the alarm system.

Thoughts?

Still sounds like the door sensor/switch. If you get a chance, tell me how the red light on the dash behaves.

How repeatable is this scenario? If it's fairly regular, you might just want to take it to the shop. On the other hand, if it's hard to repeat, taking it to the shop might only lead to frustration.