DO you have problems driving at night?

The HID's strong horizontal cut-off line is amazing in fog. It doesn’t light up the fog which is at windshield level, thus allowing you to see through dark fog and see the lit areas better. I too was blown away the first time I drove in heavy fog. I have excellent vision, and it makes a difference for us too.

 

driving at night around here (or even during the day lately!) has always been a problem at this time of year. with 100% humidity, cars create a thick white mist at freeway speeds when its raining that limits visibility to as little as 100 feet at times.

i dont have HID's but the difference in vision is like night and day and i have had comments by everyone who has ridden with me that does not have a relatively new car. we are on day 27 i think for consecutative days of rain...only 7 more to break the record with no relief in sight

 

It seems like all I do is drive at night during this time of year. It's 9:30 and for only the last 1/2 hour has it been lightening up outside. Official sunrise is a 10:00:18 and sunset is at 16:18:02, but that's the way it is when wintering over in Anchorage.

With almost 3 weeks of Prius-driving experience, I very much enjoy how well my HID's brighten up the path in front of me. Fortunately, I haven't had any fog driving experience because when temperatures are in the mid-teens, it becomes ice fog--a rather nasty experience, although it leaves a beautiful reminder when it lifts by the white jacket that covers the trees.

One of my big concerns of late has to do with Mt. St. Augustine near Homer. It's been belching with eruptions lately and should the winds shift northeast, we can get ashfall in Anchorage. As I park outside (no garage), a car cover seemed appropriate and fortunately Costco had some in stock. $34 and I've got a bit of protection for my new car. Volcano Watch

Oh but for summer when all of my driving will be in daylight...

 

How different are the HID headlights from the normal headlights? I have the normal ones, and am amazed at how good the horizontal cut-off is for those headlights. Has anyone driven a Prius both with and without HID headlights and noticed a difference?

Also, not to take away from the Prius' awesomeness, but I think that most new cars will be much better at night in the rain/fog than older cars. This isn't just because new cars are made better, but because of windshield wear. Over time, all windshields get micro-pits in them that tend to scatter light. This makes seeing harder, particularly in rain/fog, where the moisture on the windshield exacerbates the problem. BTW, if anyone has a pitted windshield and is not getting a new car soon, most insurance will replace the windshield for free after a certain time (if you have "Glass" coverage in your policy).

 

That's really great to hear!! As i live in London, England. the land of the fog and rain!!!

 

HID lights (High Intensity Discharge?). I've never heard of them and don't know if I've got them. Are they standard on a 2005 model with fog lights? And is a self-adjusting rear view mirror standard? Does it move itself or does it make an optical adjustment?
Neither HID or rear view mirror is mentioned in the 2005 sales brochure or price list.

 

Yes, HID stands for High Intensity Discharge. These are also known as Xenon headlights. In the European Community, headlight washers are required when a car is equipped with HID headlights. Since the Prius does not offer headlight washers, HID headlights are not available there.

There is an optional (standard on the higher packages) auto dimming feature for the interior rear view mirror. It darkens as needed when it senses bright headlights behind you.

 

Thanks for useful reply. I do have what you call a "higher package" but I haven't noticed auto dimming. I'll take more notice of it next time I'm out at night. Some innovations seem so natural that you don't notice you've got them until they fail, or until you look for them.

 

I did not get the HID as package changes between 2005 and 2006 meant to get HID's would have required me to go beyond my budget.

I picked up the car yesterday and drove yesterday evening. I was very impressed with the standard headlights! This being said. I do not doubt the HID's would be even better. One note however is I have heard it is particularly important with them to keep them accurately aimed.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Oxo,

I don't know if this feature is available in the UK.

This is what the mirror looks like:

[Broken External Image]:http://www.toyota.com/images/vehicles/2006/prius/accessories/mirror_lg.jpg

For more information, take a look at this web page:

Prius: Accessories

 

HID headlamps are not available in Canada, due to the fact all vehicles here must use daytime running lamps, and that wouldn't be compatible with the Prius HID as offered in the U.S.

That said, I'm extremely happy with the halogen lights in my Prius. Not at first though, they were so badly misaimed that on low beam they lit up the tops of trees.

After being properly aimed with a digital headlamp aiming machine (Mandatory for repair shops in Manitoba), these headlamps are the best I have ever driven with. Low beam cutoff is just where I like it, and high beam has good reach.

 

i also feel the standard halogen lights are pretty great. the first time i drove the prius at night i was amazed at how well lit everything was compared to my old car.

and about windshield wear... when i dumped the old car it had a 6-month-old windshield on it and i still had a hard time seeing anything.

i'm not a fan of those HIDs... been nearly blinded by poorly aimed HIDs way too many times.

 

This is for people reading these posts and trying to decide if they want or need HID's . I drive a pkg#5 2005 (no HID's) . I am very happy with the standard head lights and I have no problems driving at night. I don't understand why auto manufacture make changes in area's that don't need changing. In my opinion HID's are very exspensive to repair and there is really no benifit to having them compared to the standard lights that come on the prius. As a matter of fact their are alot of disadvantages:
They are very exspensive if one light burns out you must replace both lights.

there are reports of people stealing them and doing major damage to the car.

they can't be used as day time runnning lights because you can't reduce the voltage like the do with standard lights.

They are very annoying to on coming cars and on coming cars will flash you more often.

On the subject of the silly Homelink Mirror.
If you are driving on a road with street lights that fools the mirror into not darkening enough . Some people put a colored piece of tape over the sensor and that helps but it still isn't as good as the old fashioned "click the mirror for night driving" .
do you think alot of people were complaining to the car manufacturer about having to click the mirror for night driving ?
I don't know about you, but when I bring my car in for service I like to be able to remove my garage door opener. You can't if you are using the homelink mirror.


I love my prius and these are small annoyances that I have with it.
I am just posting this stuff for people looking for info to make decisions on what options to get.

Good luck and I am sure you will love what ever you get, The prius (overall) is a great car.

 

Care to enlighten us with a web link where it states that you must replace both HID headlights if one burns out?

There are also reports of people stealing Toyota Camrys . . . should we stop buying Camrys because someone might steal it? . . . or should we just park our cars in safer areas?

I use my HIDs night and day. The only reason HIDs can't be used as DRLs is laws requiring reduced lighting levels for DRLs and HIDs can not be dimmed with lower voltage levels. But, that doesn't make it illegal to drive with your HID headlights on during daylight hours.

Most of the complaints regarding HID headlight glare is due to illegal wanna-be aftermarket "xenon" conversion kits. I have never been "flashed" because of my HIDs . . . day or night.

If you really think there is no benefit to having HIDs, I doubt you have ever driven a car with HIDs. Stop hating, and stop staring at "xenon" lights.

Four things my Prius “ruined†me on:
1) I will never buy another non-hybrid car.
2) I will never buy another car without smart key technology.
3) I will never buy another car without vehicle stability control.
4) I will never go back to halogen headlights.

 

sure, here you go:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1282&hl=hid+replace

 

I have to say that driving a car with HID has changed my mind. I don’t think I have turned on the high beams 10 times since getting this car. I mostly turn them on in known deer crossing areas, which I avoid when ever possible. I hit one once and it was traumatizing on two levels. First the deer was just injured and had a broken leg. It hobbled off before the wild life officer could get there ( over an hour later) and he could not find it. I would bet it was with in 10 feet of the road hiding in the bit of forest. I know that 20 feet away was another road. I still think the deer starved to death or the coyotes got it. That is at least a bit better. Second it cost 3K to fix. Could plastic cost that much?

 

We have deer, heavy fog, lots of rain, and my wife has bad night vision. So we have been trying to locate a pkg. #6 in the Pac. NW. Finally found out that they aren't being shipped here! What the heck?? The Pac. NW has longer nights and all the above mentioned conditions, but one has to pay for a pkg. 7 to get HID now. We have to draw the line somewhere and buying a car with a ton of expensive options we don't need just to get HIDs was it. Sigh. We may end up buying a used Prius now. Or maybe buy out of state. Are there any dealers with good inventory in Northern CA out there with a pkg. 6?

 

You have made an important point. I want to add that there are those who may not be aware that their night driving difficulties may be the result of cataracts. I realized that I was havinf problems with my night vison not long after purchasing our 2004 Prius. Later that year I had surgery on one of my eyes to remove the cataract and replace the lens. I was amazed at the improvement in my night vision.

The second part of the story is that I agree with the kudos for HID. We recently acquired our second Prius (2006, Pkg 6). The HID lights are wonderful. They haven't improved my night vision as much as did the surgery, but they're somewhat cheaper.

cheers

don r