Hi all. I was having a problem with the passenger side headlight on my 2007 Prius (Touring model). It would fade out and go off. I'd have to turn the lights on and off to get it to come back on. I brought my car in for service and the problem was fixed. However, I no longer seem to have a feature I once had. I was sure that one of my settings for my headlights was an "auto" setting, even thought it wasn't labeled as such (it was labeled with just a round dot on the controls). Now the dot setting only puts on a couple of yellow lights and some interior lights. I never kept the headlights on all the time (mainly believing that they would drain battery during the day unnecessarily). I checked the manual and it says that the "dot" is not an auto setting. But I know for sure that when driving through tunnels, etc., my headlights would come on by themselves. Has anyone else have this option on this model Prius or am I losing my mind???
Wow, you are confirming my worst fears. I hallucinated my headlights coming on when driving through tunnels. Now I don't know if I should cut back on my meds or double the dosage...
As the other guy mentioned... US models do not have the auto light function. The dot is to turn on your parking lights. If you are sure you have the Auto Light feature, on your dash, in the far left corner, you should see a dome like sensor. If you have this, maybe you do have the feature minus switch.
Qmtran - thanks for the reply. I DO have the sensor! Now I just have to figure out how and why Toyota disabled the auto feature when I brought the car in for service and how (or if!) I can get it turned back on! Why would Toyota put in the sensor and not have the feature properly marked on the headlight controls?
If you have auto headlights you will have 2 sensors. One is for the climate control and the other would be for the headlights. Do you have 2 sensors?
Okay, I didn't realize that. I'm not sure. At the driver's side of the dashboard by the windshield, there is a sensor and a round hole (I haven't looked into it, so I don't know what's in it). I assumed that sensor was for the headlights, but maybe I'm wrong.
If you have a Prius built for sale in the US, you never had auto headlights. Toyota never built that feature into the US Prius.
