Fog Lamp Switch?

I'm too lazy to go out and look at my car but I found this on youtube....

 

Wow that's amazing. We've had a Prius for over two years and have been noticing Prius' for longer than that. I've never seen a Prius with fog lamps in the grill area. I thought whyrichard was referring to the lights on the outside corners under the headlights (which we don't have either). I like the fog lights.

 

whyrichard,

First off, I don't own a 3G Prius [but instead a 2005 pkg 4 (with fog lights), so as far as I know, any Prius with fog lights has always had them in the lower grill area]. Not all levels or option pkgs have the fog lights. The lights you thought were fog lights are actually daytime running lights [which previously in the 2G's were available in foreign countries (including Canada), but NOT the USA models---however this situation may have changed with the introduction of the 3G's since the 2010 models (again, I don't know because I don't have one)].

If you watch the video above, you can see that when the low beam headlights go on (with the fog lights), the lights in the corner assemblies (daytime running lights) go off. And after the video finishes playing, 12 more choices of videos appear. Click on the one in the lower left corner (entitled "2012 Prius Headlamps and Daytime Running" that is only 49 or 50 seconds long) and you will see them described & get another tutorial on the headlight control stalk. I hope this helps you some.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Prius Four has no fog lamps. What you see are DRLs.

Prius Five has them but I think they are useless cosmetic toys only. The LED headlights way outpower them to show a difference.

 

Yup, your car doesn't have foglights if you don't see them on the grill. No foglights means no foglight switch.

And I agree with Jonny, they are useless, at least they were on Pearl. Pearl S doesn't have them. Oh, and they aren't really "foglights". They are "driving lights". Foglights can be turned on and off without the headlamps on, so in North America you can't actually -have- foglamps! They are also yellow, not white.

Some people in government need to get a clue! Foglamps are needed when the headlamps illuminate the fog, making visibility forward poor. The low yellow light of a true foglamp doesn't reflect back into the drivers eyes, meaning -improved- visibility. Headlamps must be off for this to happen!

The morons in our DOT and whatever department in the US need to be educated. Current laws say the headlamps must be on whenever the "foglamps" are.

Oh, and be careful, or I'll tell you how I really feel!

 

Congrat on the new ride, I like the new color. like other member comment they are not too useful. I was going install mine back in March 2011, but once I upgrade the headlight to HID, no need install the fog light.

 

Yup those are DRLs (Daytime Running Lights). In 2010-2011 models fog lamps were installed below turn lamps. In 2012 DRLs are installed in that place. Optional fog lamps went to the grill.
Mine fog lamps (2011) are totally useless but at least I don't have those gray placeholders which I personally don't like. I would prefer to have DRLs instead. Then I could buy better halogen bulbs, but other way their life is too short (I have to drive 24/7 with headlights on).

 

Yike, 24/7 headlights on! May be you should add this Philips LED DRL, it's really easy to tap into the fuse box to get constant 12v +. Here is how it looks like the DRL kit.

 

Okay so the old location fog lamps were useless too. I was wondering if the grille was a less effective location.

On my 2002 Camry, the fog lamps actually did a good job filling in the dark space right in front of the bumper. I don't know about the halogens, but the LEDs have so much foreground lighting, the fogs are just not doing anything there. I leave them off.

 

I thought about it. Osram also have a nice set of DRLs, but after all if I sum up costs of the DRLs + Toyota Authorised Service for installation I could easly afford buying good quality halogen bulbs every year for at least 6 yers

And yes 24/7 headlights are a bit of pain, but it is mandatory in Poland to use headlights or DRLs (during day) all the time (and headlights in tunnels despite of DRLs) so I have no choice.

 

Yes, my '97 Camry has a separate toggle switch for fog lights, which are useful. I was disappointed to find that what I thought were fog lights on my 2011 Prius Three are only turn signal lights.