Using head lights during the day

Yes I have done a "test discharge" on my 12 V battery a couple of times by not remembering that. Yesterday I was in the car quite a while at a local park, I turned it off then turned it back to the accessory mode to try to figure out something with the nav system. But I never opened the door, after 20 minutes or so I realized my headlights were still on. Fortunately the battery had enough power left to close the main hybrid relay so I was OK. It's something I must try and remember though.

 

Use the button to scroll to full bright. I dont know if that will work on the nav display but it works on the instruments.

 

Works on NAV display as well. All one has to do in the U.S. is leave the headlights on at all times. They'll automatically switch off after 30 seconds (can also be set to 0 second at the dealer) and turn back on upon restarting the car.

 

I've had my car for eight days now, and I can already tell that this is the issue that is going to annoy me until I somehow internalize the required sequence of events.

On the Gen II's it's simple: open the driver's door and the lights go off. Wish it worked like that on the Gen III.

 

Why not just have dealer set it to turn off after 0 second?

 

It always amazes me how much they like to regulate...

In our models, the height of the beam is adjustable while you are driving and the dashboard light level is a push button somewhere else.

I am starting to feel sorry for car manufacturers and how many details they have to take care of to make a car that complies with the regulations of a particular market.

 

For all of you who are worried about your lights not auto turning off, if you push the lock button on your remote twice after the doors are closed they will turn off immediately on the second press.

 

Thank you! I was wondering how that worked - I hate flattening batteries too much to just walk away with the lights on.

I'll try it a couple times, waiting until they turn off, until I'm comfortable.

 

I have an appointment at my dealer for this Saturday, to have the auto-off interval set to 0 seconds. (Thank you, 32kcolors!)

 

Do you have DRL now? If you put the main lights on the electrical system will dim you dash lighting.
I have a GS that when going through a tunnel or dark garage will dim my instrument cluster.When I put the main head lights on, the cluster will dim. I think you have your work cut out ahead of you.

 

I'm not sure exactly what those last few sentences mean, but if you look up-thread, you'll find that the solution to this has already been given. It's very simple: roll the instrument-dimmer switch all the way up, past the indent. If you need to dim the panel at night, simply reach over and roll it down.

Leave the headlight switch on all the time and the lights will automatically go out when you turn off the car and close the driver's door. Works with every Prius, as far as I know. (I have a package III; don't know about package II, but I think it does.)

 

The Australian Gen 3 allows for the headlights to be turned on during the day and to keep the displays at the daylight setting. If the ambient light level drops below the figure for the headlights to turn on automatically the displays will automatically go into night mode. I found on a heavily overcast day the display dimmed every time I went under trees overhanging the road.
Ask your Toyota dealer if it is possible to set the car up the same as in Australia. It may not be possible if your car does not have a light level sensor.

 

Being in Canada, daytime running lights (DRL) are mandatory. I just leave the headlamp switch on "Auto" and the headlights turn on and off automatically depending on the intensity of ambient light; very handy.

I believe DRL are important and help prevent accidents.

 

Success! I just got my 2010 back from the dealer, where I had them reset the headlight auto-off interval to 0 seconds.

My car now behaves exactly like my 2005: when I turn the power switch off, the headlights go off the instant I open the driver's door (and not when I close it, which seemed to be the trigger for the 30-second interval).

I'm a happy camper now. No charge for the reset, of course.

Everyone should indeed always drive with headlights on, if it's allowed. It'll help keep you from getting hit.

 

In EU DRL are not compulsory yet, so the Prius sold here does not have them, unfortunately. I always drive with my headlights on, even during the day, especially in town, as people can see you better. Many new Audis, BMWs and models from many new EU manufacturers are being equipped by default or as an option with DRLs. They are allowed, but not compulsory.
When I turn the headlights on, the display does not seem to dim (or at least I don't notice it) since there is a light sensor that adjusts the display brightness according to ambient light (I can see it clearly when driving through a tunnel - it is quite responsive to light changes).
The only annoyance is that I need to turn the headlights on each time I leave (but this was the same in my old Polo) and remember to turn them off each time I turn off the car and leave it - a persistent beep will remind you that the lights are still on as they will not shut off once you leave the car. I don't know if there is a regulation in the EU that requires the headlights to stay on, even when you turn off the car and leave (ie. close) the vehicle.
In the EU, as far as I know, there is no AUTO setting for the headlights (low/high beam). And yes, due to EU regulations, you will have on all new cars (since several years now) a knob to regulate the height of the lights to prevent blinding other drivers when driving with a loaded car. The knob works even while driving.

 

The Australian I-Tech Prius has auto headlights. I leave the knob in the auto position all the time then if the light sensor wants to turn on the headlights it can.
If I turn on the headlights during the day (DRL) they will light up and the displays in the car stay at full brilliance. If the car hits a badly lit area (trees, clouds, tunnel etc) the dash displays will automatically go into night mode. When the ambient lighting improves the displays go back into day mode.

 

My salesman explained a few common mistakes new buyers make - not turning the gas cap 1-click and adjusting the display dimmer switch when running daytime lights. A light sensor would be much cooler. Its interesting that EU cars can manually adjust the level of the lights. I thought the Gen III has auto-leveling headlights.

 

Not sure about the rest of the EU, but on UK models only those with the LED Technology Pack have auto-levelling headlamps and the dusk sensor.

 

I live in California.....and the one annoying technology issue that I have is the lack of night mode sensing for my Prius V. I keep the headlights turned-on always (since there are no daytime running lights), and the light dimmer switch turned past the click. So, when it gets dark, the dashboard lights and nav screen are always on full intensity......which can be blinding and annoying. So, I've tried turning the dimmer switch down past the click.....which puts the nav screen in night mode and dims the dashboard lights.

So, it seems like there are two options......dashboard lights and nav screen always on full intensity, or always on night mode.....it's not automatic. I must say, for a $35K car, this sucks. My 2007 Camry Hybrid had auto lights and DRL......I never had to adjust anything. When it got dark the sensor adjusted the dashboard and nav screen to night mode. Why can't the Gen. III Prius have this.....especially the V package? The higher pricetag should mean greater convenience, shouldn't it?

 

The Australia Gen 3 I-Tech Prius has this capability.
If I set my headlights to "ON" during the day the lights come on and the screen brilliance remainss on the normal daytime brilliance.
If I set my lights to "AUTO ON" then the screens stay on daytime running and the headlights stay "OFF".
If I then drive in a low lit area such as a covered parking or under trees on a dull day the headlights will automatically come on and the screens will dim to the normal nighttime brilliance.
On leaving the dull area the lights and screen will automatically revert to normal daytime brilliance.