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Too Easy to Drive without lights at night

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by psu77, Jan 15, 2010.

  1. psu77

    psu77 New Member

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    I have found myself forgetting to turn my lights on when I leave work in the evening before it gets dark. By the time I get home it is dark but I haven't remembered to turn my lights on.

    I couldn't figure out why I was having this problem since I never forgot years ago in older cars. But today I realized the problem. In the older cars you would notice that your lights weren't on when you looked at your dashboard and it was too dark to read. In the Prius the dashboard is always lit up and you never realize your lights aren't on.

    To get around this problem I've decided to just leave my lights on all of the time and to turn on the dashboard dimmer switch.

    Everyone should consider doing this for safety.
     
    #1 psu77, Jan 15, 2010
  2. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Yeah, I do that too.
    I kinda wish that Toyota would go back to the automatic-on-in-dark system on my old 99 Corolla.
     
    #2 kgall, Jan 15, 2010
  3. Lloyd9

    Lloyd9 Junior Member

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    Driving in Canada - all vehicles must have driving lights on all the time.
    Safety was the reason used to force car manufactures to adapt.
    I simply leave the lights on all the time, thye go off with the ignition and come on when I start, no thinking about it ever again.
     
    #3 Lloyd9, Jan 15, 2010
  4. spammerhamster

    spammerhamster Junior Member

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    However, I get really annoyed by the greeting and farewell my prius gives me, if I do that. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

    Not nice... early in the morning, or after work...
     
    #4 spammerhamster, Jan 15, 2010
  5. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    Here in the Bay Area, all my headlights do is light up the bumper of the car in front of me. Daytime headlights don't help much for safety around here. ;)
     
    #5 creativeguy, Jan 15, 2010
  6. Lloyd9

    Lloyd9 Junior Member

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    What beeeep? As soon as I open the door, the lights go off.
    when do yours go off?
     
    #6 Lloyd9, Jan 15, 2010
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The 2010 by default have a 30 sec delay. The Gen 2s were tied to the driver's door (which I hated).

    Better get used to it. All cars with electroluminescent gauges (i.e. LED) will be illuminated at all times. Cars as cheap as the Corolla and Yaris have it so it's only a matter of time. Of course they're extremely bright at night so you have to be brightness-impaired to not notice. The Prius isn't as bright so yeah I can see how you can mistake for having the lights on.
     
    #7 Tideland Prius, Jan 15, 2010
  8. brick

    brick Active Member

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    In three years of Prius ownership this has yet to be a problem for me. That said, if this is really a problem then I think the solution is the WebElectricProducts DRL modification that uses the turn signals as DRLs. The amber glow (which is only there with the headlights off) will get your attention before you pull out of your parking space!
     
    #8 brick, Jan 15, 2010
  9. Fujisan

    Fujisan Blizzard Brigade #309

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    Arr, you should try a RAV 4.3, like my old car, for confusion!

    Day time running, no lights on, (no DRL's) - the conventional dials light up quite brightly.

    Night time running, switch on the headlights and the dials dim down.

    Now that took some getting used too. :wacko:
     
    #9 Fujisan, Jan 16, 2010
  10. nbkyfe2

    nbkyfe2 New Member

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    Interesting as I loved the way the lights went off when I closed my Gen 2. I still get freaked out by how long (30 seconds is a long time) the lights stay on after I close the door. I stand there, not trusting that they will turn off.
     
    #10 nbkyfe2, Jan 16, 2010
  11. suirp91257

    suirp91257 Junior Member

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    Good idea but if you ever have to pay for a head light you will wish you hadn't left them on all the time...$300 for head light,another $250 to have dealer install it...Toyota is really proud of their head lights and batteries!!!
     
    #11 suirp91257, Jan 16, 2010
  12. Penny's Dad

    Penny's Dad New Member

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    I do that too! My 89 Ford Taurus LX had an all digital dash and I remember some confusion with that as well...some things never change.

    However my 89 Taurus also had a digital speedo limited to 88mph. One time driving to Atlanta in a caravan with friends my wife pulled away from everyone and was puzzeled when our friends arrived at our dinner stop several minutes later...She asked why did you drop back (as we had a radar detector)? They replied..when you hit 110 we decided we could not keep up! She never thought she went over 88!:eek:
     
    #12 Penny's Dad, Jan 16, 2010
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    You can have it changed so that there's no delay. Or you can shorten the delay

    A halogen bulb is a few bucks each unless you want the high performance ones and even then they're <$75/pair
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Jan 17, 2010
  14. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Are you talking about HIDs? They're not available on the 2010. The only choices are halogens or LEDs.
     
    #14 cwerdna, Jan 17, 2010
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