Automatic Light Control System

It is the same with the 05. There is no Auto position on the U.S. models. I believe someone had mentioned to me that the manual is written to cover all models in all countries. Some have the auto switch, others do not. You will notice, however, that you can leave your lights on all the time. When you power off and open the door, the lights turn off. They come back on when you power on again. I do agree with you, however, that for the price paid for a Prius, one would expect something as simple as auto headlights (ones that come on according to the light level outside) to be included. I think I would rather have that than the darn back up beeper!

 

Brad, I also picked up my car last night and posted the same question.

I had to go back to the dealership today and I asked them about the Auto-On switch setting. They checked their literature and then we went outside and looked in two 2006's. One was a pkg 2 and the other was a pkg 3, and mine is a pkg 7. NONE of them have the Auto setting on the light switch as it is shown in the Owners Manual. One sales rep suggested just leaving the lights on as they shut off when you shut off the car.

Ed

 

I had noticed the same thing yesterday. Also... the owners manual describes the fog light switch "ring" as being a momentary switch that will return to "off" position when released. Mine definately will stay on/off... it is not spring loaded.

/Jim

 

seems like it was only available in Canada on the North American Pruis. The wife's 2k4 has auto headlights. DRL's as well.

 

Say what you will, but no auto-headlights stinks. I drove our 06 last night. After taking off I realized, no lights, so I turned them on. Today when I drove it, I noticed the headlights were still on, so I had to turn them off to get the panel brighter. If they didn't have at least the auto-off feature, I would run the battery down 5 times a week. This is my only GIANT complaint of the Prius! No reason not to have it. As many saftey features as the Prius boasts, auto HL's should be a no-brainer! <_<

I hope Toyota reads these post.

Any chance this can ever be added? <_<

 

Not as big a problem as you think, since even without the auto headlights the lights turn off when you turn off the car and open the driver's door. As long as you don't escape out the passenger door or rear hatch you should be OK. The only hastle is that you have to manually adjust the dash brightness from day to night.

 

While denying US customers auto-on headlights, the least Toyota could have done was install the daylight sensor and tied it to the dash lights, so we could leave the headlights on but the dash would respond to ambient brightness... Bright outside = bright dash lights.

The lapses in this smart car drive me crazy.

 

I have just owned my 2005 Prius w package 7 for one week ( my first Prius), and I too am really upset over this lack of a fundamental feature - heck I had it in my old matrix.

other peeves - no way to display exactly how many gallons of gas is left in the tank - or even a ETA to empty readout, built in tire pressure sensors, but you can't display their status, you can't Fast Forward or reveres a CD from the steering wheel console ( only from the dash ), no audio system mute switch...

when I add this to my lack-luster fuel consumption ( around 40 mpg - a far cry from the 50/60 mpg I was expecting), I am becoming increasing dissatisfied.

 

Yeah it's a little cheap that they didn't create automatic headlight for the US prius. I do like that they at least kill the lights once you open your door. I will leave my switch in the ON position and forget about it (I read somewhere that using the headlight even during daytime greatly improves saftey since people don't drive into your lane as much; I've been using headlights daytime for many years now but I tend to forget to turn them of every now and then).

I think the tire pressure sensor is a mandatory thing for 06 cars in US and was never meant to read tire pressure just warn you if you have a flat (I think we can thank our beloved SUV brothers for this oh! so useful feature).

I feel your pain about the prius. Take a look at this link http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage...a-priushsd.html It shows that most people get mpg in the high 40's so you are towards the low end. Climate, driving conditions and habits can make a big difference. You can find a lot of information here. I hope you grow to love the Prius more.

 

The American market Prius is available with HID, and they all have the oil change reminder system.

Due to mandatory Daytime Running Light regulations, the Canadian market Prius is not available with HID. It also doesn't have the oil change reminder system.

Yes, the Canadian Prius does have the auto headlamp system.

I think Toyota has to do a better job on some of the madening oversights in this otherwise sophisticated car. You know, like actually talk to Prius owners.

For example, my Dad has a 2003 Buick LeSabre and I can use the Driver Information Center to scroll through items like instant battery voltage, instant oil pressure, coolant temp, etc. All of these are simply drilled-down from the menu.

Yet the only way we can see items like RPM or coolant temp is to get a CANBus scantool, or a product like CAN View.

 

Last winter, I think I either set or tied the Absolute Lowest Prius Fuel Economy: 9.8 l/100km or 28 MPG Imperial gallon. This occured during a nasty winter stretch with many blizzards, -40, hopeless traffic jams due to Snow Routing (Stop-n-inch), constant use of the rear defrost, and front defrost set on Max Hot.

Co-workers at my office got *much* worse though. A Chevy Corsica that is kept in good running order averaged around 14 MPG, and a new VW Golf TDI got 26 MPG.

The temps are much milder this winter, and I'm averaging around 5.4 l/100km or 52 MPG Imperial gallon. The winter front I made has really helped the fuel economy, and I now have HEAT from the heater.

As a trial, I'm running Mobil 1 0W-20 this winter, and should have enough km's on the car next month for an oil change. I noticed a difference in the first 3-5 minutes of operation running the 0W-20. I'll report back on a used oil analysis once completed with the trial, the results at 4,000km showed insignificant wear.

 

I test drove a 2004 Matrix and it did *not* have auto lamps.

 

My 98 Grand Prix has auto on lights - standard. The technology is there. I wonder if it is some sort of patent problem? A photo cell can't cost that much.

 

Ah! Another Pontiac Grand Prix owner! My daughter is driving my old '97 GT.

Did you have as good of luck as I did with your 98? I drove it 150,000 hard miles and only did the standard maintenance stuff. Tires, brakes, oil. It did go through a couple alternators.

I really enjoyed that car and miss some of the stuff it had that is lacking on the Pri. Not that I'm likely to go back to a non-hybrid!

 

I suspect you were on a waiting list for a while before you got your Prius and that what you are experiencing is the normal "letdown" when the real thing doesn't match what you anticipated. Before you get too bothered by the Prius' shortcomings, you should consider what you did get for your money, and that is the most technologically advanced car on the market that gets better than twice the national mileage average. I don't consider 46mpg for a 5 passenger car "lackluster", espcially when compared to my sister's 30 mpg Camry. The EPA numbers are off for all cars, not just for the Prius.

Most fuel gauges only estimate the actual gas left in the tank. After you drive your car for a while, you'll know how many miles you have left per each of the little squares. I was annoyed because I couldn't fill the tank to its stated capacity for quite some time. This is because the "tank" isn't a tank at all, but a bladder, which takes several months at least to stretch to accomodate the full amount of gas. Bladders are much safer as they allow no air/fuel mix to form in a hollow tank which could explode in an accident.

Nice thing about the Prius, though, is that if it doesn't grow on you, you will have no problem selling it.
Good luck and have fun.
Bob

 

I have a scant 66K miles on the Prix. Aside from not letting go of the key and leaking water into the passenger seat it is still good. It is currently resting as a spare. Between my daughters 130,000 Celica and my sons 155,000 95 Grand Prix and the wifes 98,000 mile dodge minivan a spare comes in handy.

Great stereo system (don't get base like that in the Prius), Heads up display (I like the position of the Prius information - not bad), auto on lights, 14 mpg - oops.

 

The audio power button works great as a mute button. And if listening to CDs, it starts back up where it left off.

MPGs . . . So how has the weather been in Kansas City, Misouri? (You should place your location in your user profile so that others may respond intellengently to your questions.)

Cold weather will definitely lower the MPGs.
Driving a Prius like a hotrod will lower the MPGs.
Driving only short distances will greatly lower the MPGs.
Accelerating to the next red light like a moron , and not taking advantage of the Prii's ability to “glide†(no arrows), will lower the MPGs.
Not having proper tire inflation will lower the MPGs.
Carrying unnecesary weight will lower the MPGs.
Crappy gas will lower the MPGs.
A brand new Prii will get less than max MPGs for several thousand miles, until it breaks-in.
Being new and not knowing how to take advantage of your Prii's strengths will lower the MPGs.

It's all a learning experience. This isn't your father's Oldsmobile.