Auto Headlights & Wipers Wish

Since I never* turn my headlights off, I am legal!

*But every dealer service I have to turn them on again, my mechanic is compulsive.

 

The PIP Base does NOT have a "Auto" function (unlike my Rav4 Limited). Does the Advanced PIP have this function?

 

My windshield washer will activate the headlight washers if the lights are on. Most people I talk to hate it.

I wonder how well received this feature you mentioned will be?

 

I have a hard time understanding how my 1998 Corolla has auto headlights and no car I've owned since has that function. I know some people don't like it. On the Camry, there is a toggle for auto on/off. It's an everyday occurrence that someone drives without lights on next to me on the road at night.

 

there are no auto headlights in the base pip. the following positions are on the selector stalk: off, DRL (default), parking, headlights.

right, on the camry, the DRL position is the "auto on" while the Off position is the "always off".

 

I have not owned a car without auto headlights since 1986 when my Aerostar had them. To me, it is like power windows or cruse control . Every once in a while I rent or borrow a car without the feature and I forget to turn them off. I can't imagine a car as well equipped as the Base Pip not having them.

 

Guessing it could be a patent issue, I remember GM making a big deal of the DRL patent years ago.

 

Does the Advanced PIP have the auto headlights?

 

FYI, the base PHV sold in Canada has auto headlamps.

 

Canada wins. That should a be standard on all cars.

 

p.s. There seems to be no mention of that feature in Toyota Canada marketing materials, but it was included on my '13.

 

fwiw, auto-off is standard on the base as well.

 

I wish the auto headlight shut off delay could be user set , didn't require the dealership, special software. The 30 second or 60 second delay just drives me nuts, can't stand it. While our car has auto-headlights (Canadian Touring model, not sure about the other Canadian models), I never use them, don't like the thought of headlights blazing as I walk away from the car.

I saw something from Nissan lately, they have headlights-on-with-wipers, and also: the wipers always return to the park position, even if you abruptly shut off the car with wipers running. I wish for that too.

And...: our last Honda Civic Hybrid had a very nice feature: if you had the wipers on fastest intermittent interval, they went steady low speed as you drove, and reverted to intermittent when you were stopped. I wish for that too.

 

Yikes, 27 years we've had this light sensing technology and the ability to mass produce it cheap enough on a non luxury vehicle and it's still not standard on all cars? I mean, we stopped building cars without a passenger side mirrors back in the 90's. It's a safety issue. Is it because auto headlights are always mated to DRL's and Americans hate DRL's? And it's simply cheaper to leave out the system than redesign just the auto headlights bit?

 

I've noticed a lot of late model cars up here of late, with BC plates, and no lights showing, headlight or DRL. Guess they're bought in the States and then brought up? But seems to me it used to be an imported car had to be retrofitted to comply with local regs. Maybe no more?

Also, we were in Hawaii a while back, a couple of things struck me:

1. The apparent lack of helmet law for bikers.

2. American's love of driving further and further into the deepening dusk, without lights of any kind.

 

Stateside vehicles have a DRL-off position on the switch. It probably did not need any retrofitting since the DRL is already present, it is the driver that needs some retrofitting.

This brings up an interesting point. According to my manual, the 2012 Prii in the States come with LED DRLs on the bumper, with an off option. The Canadian models come with de-powered high beams w/o an off switch. Does the Canadian regulation deems the LEDs inadequate?