Using head lights during the day

I am surprised because Auto Headlights are a wonderful invention.
I leave my headlights in Auto all the time, which means when lights are required or advisable they turn on by themselves. When I leave the car the headlights turn off automatically when I open the driver's door.
Obviously, this does not give DRL on at all times.
If I select headlights ON I get DRL all the time with the internal screens changing from day to night illumination or vise versa as required. The headlights will turn off when I open the door.

 

Mine turn on automatically under the conditions you mentioned. Even a heavy black cloud will turn them on.

 

If you drive around with headlights on all the time, do you contribute to premature headlight burnout?

On my other Toyotas, the headlights only turn on at night. In the daytime, the headlights are on, but at a reduced intensity. It would seem that this is the way to prolong headlight life. Of course, in the Prius, we don't have a choice, there is no auto on for headlights at least in my package III model.

I was wondering because replacing both headlights, I heard from this forum, can cost $500 and up and it seems a lot of people are needing replacement before 100,000 miles.

On one hand, maybe premature burnout is because the drivers use the headlight all the time, so we should not drive in the daytime with the headlights.

On the other hand, maybe the headlights are defective and prone to failure. So we should not drive in the daytime with the headlights.

Under both models, it seems prudent (if you are frugal like me) to not drive around with headlights.

Any thoughts is appreciated.

 

Why would you replace the entire headlight housing because a bulb burned out?

Yes, the headlights (meaning the entire housing) do cost several hundred dollars. But a bulb for these things costs, I think, somewhere between $5 and $10. They can be bought at auto parts stores and from a Toyota parts department.

Replacing them (as I recall) requires reaching in behind the headlight housing, in the engine compartment, releasing the old bulb, and installing the new one.

I heard that story about the "$350 headlights" on my Gen II. When it was in a smashup, I noticed from the insurance estimate that replacing the headlights did cost about $350. But that's not the same as replacing a bulb.

Turn your headlights on in the daytime, U.S. drivers! There is nothing to lose, and you will make yourself visible in rainy/cloudy conditions!

 

I confess I don't know anything about headlights. But please take a look at this thread

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...hid-headlights-2007-prius-bumper-off-not.html

There are others like it which makes me worry. I think the guy is complaining that the bulb in the Prius Generation II is burning out and cost $300 to replace and may involve removing the bumper. He did not say he was in an accident or anything, just a bulb burnout.

Maybe it is different with a Prius Generation III. I certainly hope so. If I am wrong, please correct me.

 

Indeed, with the Gen II Prius, dealers would charge $350 for changing a bulb. The HID capsules (bulbs) from Toyota are expensive, and replacement at the dealer calls for removal of the front bumper. Most readers of PriusChat know that you can replace them yourself for a lot less.

With the Gen III Prius, the HIDs are gone and we are back to normal halogen bulbs, with the exception of LED low beams in some packages.

Tom

 

Thank you thank you. Everybody.

That cool. I am driving with my headlights on all the time then. This settles it.

 

Were not the HIDs an option on the Gen II? I am pretty sure I have changed headlight bulbs on my Gen II without having a dealer do it, and without paying hundreds of dollars.

I hope this is the case. My daughter, who is now driving my Gen II while she is away at college, has both bulbs out on the right side. We discovered this just as she was driving away, the day after Thanksgiving. I'm not looking forward to paying hundreds for what should be a normal DIY maintenance item. I didn't specifically order HIDs on the Gen II, and I hope I don't have them.

 

Dave,

As far as I know, HIDs were only included with certain packages on the Gen2 vehicles. The other ones have regular halogen bulbs, same as Gen3 package 2, 3 & 4.

 

Living down under ours are installed up-side-down.
Jokes aside, I have not changed the factory setting and "turn on" seems to be associated with the darkness of the cloud - it all adds up to the amount of ambient light.
For a uniform cloud cover, the closer one gets to the poles light has a greater thickness of cloud to penetrate.
I suggest you do change the sensitivity if you feel that the lights are not coming on when you would like them on.

 

So do you still have to worry about what order you do things or does this setting for turning off when the door opens override that? And if the car is still running do the lights stay on or turn off?

I hope I can find an explanation of the difference in bulbs, and I hope that I'm not driving a car with the ones that I find so irritating when I see them coming toward me. Better check tonight!

 

With a 0-second delay for the auto-off setting, there is no sequence of events to keep up with.

It works simply as follows: when the power button is turned off, opening the driver's-side door turns off the headlights.

Opening the door while the car is running does not do anything to the lights--as it should not. This only works when the power is turned off. (I'm not sure why the lights would go off with the car running. They do not, in fact.)