2013 Prius C - No Rear Taillights

This has been a concern of mine for some time now. The reason behind DRLs is that even in the daytime your vehicle is more noticeable to other drivers if your headlamps are ON. Hence the conclusion that if others can see you better, better the chance that they will be able to avoid you and not crash into your vehicle.

However, vehicle makers have designed DRLs so that only the front lights stay on but not the rear lights. I suppose the assumption being that nobody would hit any vehicle from behind - hence no need to keep the taillights ON as part of Daylight Running Lights.

Hare Krishna!

 

I don't recall of the top of my head, but the fuse panel is very well labeled.

 

No, the "assumption" is that the transition from off to ON for the brake lights is more noticeable in the daytime if the tail lights are OFF in the DRL mode. Thus DRL is not supposed to make anything on the rear come on.

The original post is confusing because the D in DRL stands for "daytime" but later in the post he talks about a night test.

The only thing I can figure out is that the OP thinks it will transition from DRL to headlights ON automatically at dusk.......and it will NOT.
You must turn the headlights ON manually.

The brake lights and turn signals work all the time, irrespective of the state of the headlights.

 

What you have explained does not solve for the situation when it is low visibility during daytime so if the tail lights are not ON, then a car driving behind may not see it until it is too late.

Hare Krishna!

 

Turn your lights up a notch? With your running lights on, your tail lights come on.

 

DRLs were not intended for that kind of situation. Turn your headlights ON.

If you have fully automatic lights, sometimes they will come on by themselves if the visibility is bad enough but you can't count on that.

Maybe they should be called NDRL, for Normal Daytime Running Lights.

 

So the OPs actual problem was 2 blown tail light bulbs, which has been fixed, and nothing really to do with Daytime Running Lights. Might be worth mentioning in case it comes up for anyone buying a used C, that if the Front DRL aren't functioning, it might be that the previous owner turned them off. It may vary by year, but it should be in Set Up -Vehicle, then scroll to the bottom.

 

Every six months or so, do a walk around the car with the lights on, familarize yourself with what should be on, compare one side to the other, have someone shift to reverse, press and release the brakes, headlights on, high beams, signals, and so on. Around here I notice maybe one in ten cars going by has at least one license plate light out, for example.

 

I don't see that in this thread anywhere.
Could you point it out, please ?

 

Here's where he tells you what had actually happened.

 

Well I guess I didn't read enough into that statement.
He said "the two rear markers" were "out".......which they will be if the light control is still on DRL.
Did he ever say that he fixed the problem by replacing two bulbs ??

When my neighbor told me that I "fixed" it by turning the headlights ON.

 

...

 

I did miss that post.....or forgot it was there.

BUT.....that doesn't say that messing with the bulbs actually "fixed" anything.

The logical assumption at this point is: One bulb blew and took the fuse with it......causing the other side to be out too.
But that's just a guess.