[Carol]

Just wanted to post this as an FYI to other 2004 Prius owners...
If your car came without daytime running lights, simply ask your Toyota dealer to activate them for you.

My car did not have DRL but I read about that feature in the owner's manual and wondered why my car did not have them. I asked my dealer to check into whether I was "supposed" to have them and if they have the ability to activate them. They said that they could activate the DRL if I wanted them.

Thought I'd post this because I happened to talk to another Prius owner who had the same problem and was unaware that the dealer can activate them. Hope this helps. :wink:

 

[smtrader]

Hey, I wondered about those DRL mentioned in the manual...they don't come on for me either, but I'm 50-50 on them. Did they charge you anything for turning them on? Was it a simple thing? Once these are activated, can you still turn them off?

 

[karenann]

The manual states that DRL are (mandatory) in Canada-- and therefore, that feature is standard in Canada. However, lights can drain a battery VERY quickly (read the entry about the wife who parked at a rest stop and left her lights on and had no battery life after a few hours.) That is a true situation for my older Toyota mini-van also.

The manual also suggests that we turn ALL of the lights in the car to the "OFF" position: i.e. the lights about the sun visors near the vanity mirrors, the domelights in the front and center ceiling, the light in the trunk ( it has an "OFF" switch). Turning off these lights will diminish the chance that you might wear down your battery.

So getting back to the DRL, it was explained to me that since it is not mandatory in the US, NOT having them on will save your battery (for other stuff like: AC in the summer and your CD and the times you want to fiddle with that NAV system. Everything in the car takes electricity. But we really want to use the electricity to power the car forward!!!! (and the AC & music!!!)

 

[leebek]

think twice

I know a woman who got into a car accidenty because of DRL. She was in a funeral cortege and someone thought she had DRL. She and the children were OK, but it leaves me permanently opposed to DRL

 

[Daniel]

Re: think twice

I know a woman who got into a car accidenty because of DRL. She was in a funeral cortege and someone thought she had DRL. She and the children were OK, but it leaves me permanently opposed to DRL

Would you explain please how an accident was caused by someone thinking someone else had DRL? -- Also please explain why an accident involving someone who did not have DRL leaves you opposed to DRL?

 

[leebek]

deails

The friend in the cortege got a little behind the other cars due to a pedestrian. When she came to the red traffic light she continued on as part of the cortege; she was not much behind the other cars. The non-cortege car waiting at the intersection saw the green light and moved into the intersection, not realizing the approaching car with DRL was indeed in a funeral cortege. I would not like someone making that mistake about my car, so I think that day lights should be reserved for funerals and inclement weather. IMHO, anyway

 

[wombatua]

Doesn't seem to me that this accident has anything to do with headlights being on or off - from the information provided, it seems to me that a person in a funeral procession lagged too far behind the main body and then (appropriately or not) drove through a red light and was hit. DRL lights aren't as bright as are regular headlights; perhaps the driver who hit the driver in the procession expected procession vehicles to display full headlights? From what I've gleaned, DRLs/headlights on makes a vehicle easier to see, especially in highway driving.

 

[john1701a]

DRL is front only. And here in Minnesota during the winter, not being able to see the back of a vehicle is a big deal. So you won't get an endorse from me for DRL.

And of course, I see vehicles ever now and then driving at night with only DRL on. So their back end is totally invisible. Not good.

Another problem in the northern states is that the snow mess creates a layer of filth over the headlights. So the dimmer-than-normal DRL are pretty much useless at that point anyway.

 

[Brian]

Most of our light, package allowing, has the HID lights. They only put out 33 watts of electricity, so they will take some time to drain our batteries.

 

[ggrimaud]

Re: deails

I would not like someone making that mistake about my car, so I think that day lights should be reserved for funerals and inclement weather. IMHO, anyway

I haven't seen a funeral cortege in years--say early 70's--that didn't have a police escort. Perhaps that is just my community. I know they provide free police escorts in Utah when I lived there. I don't know about where I live now. If there isn't somebody at the intersection to prevent accidents then you should always follow traffic signals. The purpose of day lights is to increase visibility, not give you a free pass though red traffic signals. That is what the flashy red & blue lights on emergency vehicles is for. I never rely on sombody else to to keep be alive when I am driveing!

 

[Saruman]

Re: deails

I would not like someone making that mistake about my car, so I think that day lights should be reserved for funerals and inclement weather. IMHO, anyway

I haven't seen a funeral cortege in years--say early 70's--that didn't have a police escort. Perhaps that is just my community. I know they provide free police escorts in Utah when I lived there. I don't know about where I live now. If there isn't somebody at the intersection to prevent accidents then you should always follow traffic signals. The purpose of day lights is to increase visibility, not give you a free pass though red traffic signals. That is what the flashy red & blue lights on emergency vehicles is for. I never rely on sombody else to to keep be alive when I am driveing!

I agree. Every funeral procession I have seen has had leap-frogging police escorts to oversee and over-ride traffic signals by hand directing/waving thru. I would NEVER run a redlight just because I am part of a funeral train without somebody to notify oncoming traffic (who know nothing of the funeral) that I have the right-of-way.

 

[LouieNet]

Hey, I wondered about those DRL mentioned in the manual...they don't come on for me either, but I'm 50-50 on them. Did they charge you anything for turning them on? Was it a simple thing? Once these are activated, can you still turn them off?

Yeah, so is DRL something that owners can enable and disable "easily"?

Louie

 

[Daniel]

I would have thought that full, regular headlights & rear lights were appropriate, if not required, for a funeral cortege. DRL seems too little for a funeral.

I agree that the driver who had the green light probably had no reason to think that the DRL's indicated that the car was part of the cortege, but that the DRL's were less the problem than the driver's choice not to use full headlights.

I was unaware that DRLs do not turn on the rear lights. Given that info, I agree with John that DRL's are a very bad idea. Which means that I agree with Leebek also, though for slightly different reasons.

 

[ehurtley]

Am I the only one who thinks DRLs are a good idea? Yes, it would be nice if DRLs also turned the rear lights on 'dim' mode or something, but ANY extra light at all is better than dark. (In Portland, I see a full 20% of cars driving around with full headlights on at all times, day or night, sunny or stormy.) And I think lights on at all times are good. DRL just means I don't have to think about it. (I leave my Prius' light switch in the 'on' position all the time. Then again, with those HID lights and driving lights on, it just looks cool.)

As for someone who assumed that their lights being on would give them 'right of way' at a stop light? That's so nonsensical as to be bordering on delusional. I see cars at intersections with their lights on all the time (during the day,) I don't assume they're in a funeral procession. I would *NEVER* assume someone is in a funeral procession, unless I saw 'FUNERAL' in their window, and saw them flanked by police cars, in a continuous caravan going 15 mph. Anyone who would assume that just because they have their headlights on, someone should yield right of way is nuts. (Not to offend you, but that really was EXTREMELY bad judgment on your friend's part. It has nothing to do with the other driver assuming those were DRLs. Yes, your friend was under stress and sadness due to the death, but that's not an excuse for that bad of judgment.)

Back to DRLs. I may go to my dealer to see if I can get them switched on, just so I don't have to waste battery power by having the lights in 'full on' mode all the time.

 

[Gurmail]

I agree with ehurtley even though it is a sad and ironical story. What do you mean when you say ' it looks cool with HIDs and running lights? What other running lights are there, unless you mean DRLs or fog lights? Does anyone know how to turn on DRL?

 

[TimeFor]

I agree with ehurtley even though it is a sad and ironical story. What do you mean when you say ' it looks cool with HIDs and running lights? What other running lights are there, unless you mean DRLs or fog lights? Does anyone know how to turn on DRL?

You need to go to the dealer and they can turn them on for you. I belive only they can do it becuase in my BMW, they need to hook it up to a computer to do it. Most cars are this way.

Here in Cali. in 01 They passed a law or tried to, I forget which it was, that said call new cars must have day time running lights. So almost every 01 model here has DRL on. Most cars have the ability to turn them on since its usually just the headlight on low. But its something the dealer can turn on and off.

As for not seeing a car’s rear at night. The Europeans have put a rear fog light in their cars just for that reason. I don’t believe it’s legal in all states because its kind of distracting if left on all the time. You could just put the parking lights on and that turns your rear lights on.

I’m planning on upgrading my fog lights to xenon and hopefully I won’t notice any loss of MPG. Has anyone tried of replacing there halogen parking lights and turn signals with LEDs? Those use about 10th of the power than normal 21w bulbs.

 

[ehurtley]

I agree with ehurtley even though it is a sad and ironical story. What do you mean when you say ' it looks cool with HIDs and running lights? What other running lights are there, unless you mean DRLs or fog lights? Does anyone know how to turn on DRL?

Yeah, I meant the optional 'fog' lights. (Those fog lights are only for show. This type is more commonly called 'driving' or 'running' lights. Real fog lights are aimed higher, and tend to be bright as high beams. These things barely light up the road at all, and I have to be right behind another car, or right at a wall, to even see the difference between when they're on and when they're off.) I suppose it's a good thing they're not 'real' fog lights, since real fog lights are classified the same as high beams in Oregon. (i.e. no using them in the city, and no using them when there is visible traffic within 1000 feet ahead of you.)

 

[Susan5s]

Fog lights

I thought the fog lights were ineffective and invisible as well, until I drove in the fog one night. They are purposely aimed low so the fog at eye level is not reflected back at you, and so you can see the road. I agree that they make no difference in lighting the road at other times, but try it one night in the fog and you'll see what I mean.

Susan

 

[Saruman]

Unless it is dark or raining, I do not see any benefit to illuminating a car during sunlit hours. Defensive driving techniques should key to movement and proximity, not lights and flashes-- which rightly should be reserved for emergency vehicles seeking "get out of our way" status.

If DRL catch on legislatively, then I can forsee somebody getting creamed at an intersection and pleading, "but they did not have their DRL on," as a defense.

 

[Carol]

Although I asked my dealer about the DRL I had no intention of turning them on for the very reason others had mentioned - battery drainage. I just wanted to make sure my car wasn't "defective". Since I had no intention of turning them on and they were already off, I did not inquire about the price of turning them on and whether they could be disabled (once turned on). It seems logical to me that if the dealer could turn them on then they should be able to turn them off as well. Best to ask the dealer I suppose.

Also, regarding funeral processions... It is required by state law in Pennsylvania that vehicles in a funeral procession use the HAZARD lights!! They also require funeral "tags" on the cars. All of the processions I have been part of in PA also had a police escort. Seems that fewer accidents as the one mentioned earlier in the thread could be avoided if better practices were put in place. Daytime running lights are not sufficient to distinguish a vehicle in a funeral procession from any other vehicle on the road.