Lights OFF Automatically?

I have accidently left the lights on after parking at night. The car still worked the next morning and the lights came on when I started the car. From that, I must assume they shut off automatically. Peter III

 

I have a v3 but it's probably the same. If the lights are on when the vehicle is turned off, then the lights follow the timer set in your preferences (30 sec appears to be the default). If the vehicle is off and you turn the lights on, then they seem to stay on until you turn them off or the 12v battery runs down...

 

Yes they do turn off automatically, I think it is a 30 second delay from the time you shut down the car. I'm not sure but I think you can program that time to either more or less than 30 seconds, not sure, but you can consult your owners manual.

 

It would be nice to know the complete details on this and other things that might cause an unpleasant surprise. There may be ways of operating the "dome" lights that will kill the battery.

I don't think the timer starts counting until you've opened at least one door, and closed all doors you opened. In my Lexus, I once stopped to take a nap and was surprised to see that the headlights were still on when I woke up.

Dodge Caravans, even old ones, have a system that turns everything off eventually, no matter what. That's the way it should be.

 

It would take about 60 seconds of your time to settle the question with a test.

 

The lights turn off 30 seconds after *locking the doors*

On the 2012+ models, you can change the delay period using the audio/nav screen.

 

I'm not certain with the newer Prius, but with the Gen II there were some caveats to avoid: The auto shut-off only works if the lights are on and the Prius is off before the driver opens the door. Failure to meet these requirements will leave the lights on indefinitely, or until the battery dies. Likewise, exiting through another door will leave the lights on.

Tom

 

I have a 2010 Prius III. Yesterday I got out the car to get some coffee and about 20 feet away realized my lights were still on. I decided to test the automatic shut-off theory because I knew I wasn't going to be in the shop long. The lights turned off automatically in less than 1 minute (I didn't time it exactly). They turned back on when I turned the car back on. So what others are saying fits with my experience. I imagine if it is true for the 2010 Prius, it is true for future models as well. However, if you have any doubts, it is easy enough to test.

 

The Gen III has this same caveat. So don't mess with the headlights after you've powered down the car or the auto off won't work.

 

Clicking lock on the remote twice will turn the lights off on my '03 Camry and '04 Sienna. My Prius is new and I have not tried turning the lights off with the double lock click on the remote.

 

It'll do that too.

 

Tom, Your last sentence about exiting the car through another door has helped us solve a mystery that has been plaguing us for a few months. Three times over the last few months our 2008 Prius' battery died when my daughter drove it to school. Each time, we brought it to different mechanics who said there was nothing wrong with the battery or the electronics of the car. It turns out that it was because she was only turning off the light switch one notch (leaving the parking lights on), AND exiting the car on the passenger side, thus leaving the lights on all day (auto shutoff was never activated).

Thanks for posting this. It has saved us a lot of aggravation.

 

And that is the toughest part of being any kind of repair technician. You never know which crazy combination of actions the owner/user could have possibly done that actually caused the situation.

 

my 2012 III always turned off lights after a few but i noticed tonight when i can out of store after 30 mins my lights were still on. Did something happen for this to change?