I remember in the 70s when Halogen bulbs came out, how bright they were compared to the regular (orangey) filament bulbs of the era.
On my car with electronic dash, it is bright with the lights off & dim with them on. It is always on when the car is running. Is your old Prius different? Old mechanical speedometer?
I forget what, but I can usually tell. The easiest mistake to make is driving with just the parking lights, then everything but headlights is on, no clue, as long as you're driving in an area well lit with street lights.
Because the dash still does light up - unlike in the olden days [remember them] when it got dark, you couldn't see your speedo, so turned your lights on. Too many people are unaware of how cars work, too few read their owner's manuals. And it will get worse. Back in our time, we learned how cars worked. We knew what a clutch did, why there were 3 or 4 gears, how to double-declutch - actually understanding how cars worked. We could strip and repair an inner-tube and reassemble and hand-pump a tyre with the pump we kept in the boot.
I've been driving on the Motorway with my parkers on lately, particularly if it's a dull day - the parking lights are quite dull, but they put the tail-lights on, I'd rather be seen from behind. Off the motorway, I put it back on AUTO. Parkers vs DRL My headlights don't have DRLs lit:
My parking lights are just the main led but dimmer as well the amber markers being on. Taillights are also on. SM-N960U1 ?
Are your DRLs also the main LED headlights but dimmer? If so, do they have the high beam pattern, or low beam pattern, or something else (like Gen3 no-patten DRLs)?
Coming from an '08 I accidentally did my first drive (at night) with parking lights and the dimmer DRL mains. It was still far superior to the '08 xenons, which admittedly needed a headlight restoration.
There were some people with 2016 Prius that found their headlights were aimed too high. After they got them adjusted, there were no more issues.
Had my dealer check my 2016 Pri2 headlights after getting flashed many times. Was told the lights were within specs. Still getting flashed... SM-T380 ?
Make sure they are clean (road grime can scatter too much light above the intended upper cutoff), then consider lowering the aim a bit yourself. Heavier loads in the rear end (of the car, not the front seat occupants ) will raise the headlights enough to annoy oncoming drivers. If you frequently drive at night with such loads, considering lighting the loads, or shifting them forward from the trunk to the passenger area, or re-aim the headlights while the car contains a more representative load.
I remember back in the day an up/down dial on the dash that allowed the driver to adjust the headlights beam vertically dependent on their load. Or more modern cars currently use self leveling headlights. I think that is required by law for high intensity discharge units sold in the UK. SM-N960U1 ?
Interesting! .......my 2014 Toyota/Tundra has this feature......very handy when I pull several different trailers
These animals are saying the manufacturer has set their headlights too high, also. Creepy peepers: The science behind trippy fly eyes | MNN - Mother Nature Network
My 1977 Renault had a knob on the dashboard too for up/down headlights. But it also had knobs for the radio - which TOYOTA doesn't believe in except in USA.
