Daytime Running Lights

[Rhonasaurus]

Just bought a new Yaris Design and I'm a bit clueless because it's my first car and I can't find the answer in the manual. 

The manual does say that it has daytime running lights and I have the lights set to auto but I've noticed that the dash always shows the side lights symbol on during the daytime when I'm driving. Is this the daytime running lights? Just from what I can gather the symbol for that is something different so I think I have the wrong settings but I can't for the life of me figure it out

[Cyker]

There is no symbol for the DRLs. I suspect the car is turning on the main lights.

This is one of the slightly annoying things in the Mk4 that I've complained about in another thread - The car has no 'Off' for the lights, only Auto, and if it thinks it is a bit dark (Which basically means always in mornings and evenings, now that we're in winter, and all day if it's overcast!) it will switch on the main lights which illuminates the sidelights symbol on the dash.

I'm assuming that's what it is anyway - You can check yourself as you have a Design model: It'll have LED main beams, and you should be able to see them reflecting off the car in front, even in daytime, as they are super bright!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Usually daylight running lights have no warning light on the dashboard - because they are always on with the engine running and the handbrake off.

[Mikw]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

There is no symbol for the DRLs. I suspect the car is turning on the main lights.

This is one of the slightly annoying things in the Mk4 that I've complained about in another thread - The car has no 'Off' for the lights, only Auto, and if it thinks it is a bit dark (Which basically means always in mornings and evenings, now that we're in winter, and all day if it's overcast!) it will switch on the main lights which illuminates the sidelights symbol on the dash.

I'm assuming that's what it is anyway - You can check yourself as you have a Design model: It'll have LED main beams, and you should be able to see them reflecting off the car in front, even in daytime, as they are super bright!

 

They also turn on when you're driving into a low sun. One day the other week my journey started in the rain, then into bright sunshine, then to overcast conditions, the lights were on all day, thought the sensor has broken.  Then, next day, the weather was a bit more settled, and the sun was behind the clouds, then the auto lights didn't come on at all, just the DRLs

[Trewithy]

To the OP.  Ensure your light switch is in the auto position (it sounds as if it is in the sidelight position) this automatically controls the on/off of the side and headlights it has no effect on the DRLs which are illuminated (at the front of the car only) every time the car is powered up.  the symbol on the dash only lights up when the side/headlights come on.   

[Trewithy]

I should have added to my above post that it is possible for the lights to automatically switch on if it is a dull day, the light sensor is quite sensitive.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Cyker said:

The car has no 'Off' for the lights, only Auto,

That's just silly!

[Catlover]

41 minutes ago, mrpj1 said:

That's just silly!

 No it’s not. Too many drivers do not turn their lights on when they should have, it’s illegal not to, but the damage it could cause to a family when a death occurs is immense.

[Trewithy]

I am in the habit now of switching my lights to the manual on position the first time I notice they have activated automatically.  This avoids the continual switching on/off as I pass by buildings and trees and into clear brighter areas before it gets dark enough for them to remain permanently on.  It must be irritating for the car in front to see my lights cycle on and off, it would certainty annoy me.  

[Stivino]

Another thing to look out for with automatic lights; I always had them on automatic, I put the car in for a service and after testing the lights, they put the switch to the off position. 

That night I was on the motorway and everyone was flashing at me.  As with all modern cars all the dash was illuminated but I didn't realise that I had no lights on the outside. 

[Cyker]

2 hours ago, Catlover said:

 No it’s not. Too many drivers do not turn their lights on when they should have, it’s illegal not to, but the damage it could cause to a family when a death occurs is immense.

I think it is silly too - They can have Auto *and* Off, but just having Auto and *no* Off is just a PITA when the Auto isn't auto'ing properly... imagine if you could only have your windscreen wipers on Auto with no Off and it kept randomly triggering! Brrrrr...

 

1 hour ago, Trewithy said:

I am in the habit now of switching my lights to the manual on position the first time I notice they have activated automatically.  This avoids the continual switching on/off as I pass by buildings and trees and into clear brighter areas before it gets dark enough for them to remain permanently on.  It must be irritating for the car in front to see my lights cycle on and off, it would certainty annoy me.  

Yeah, me too - I'm pretty much driving round with sidelight manually set on all day in lieu of a better solution  

I just wish other drivers were so considerate - Virtually everyone is driving around with their  dipped beams on and it's really not doing my eyes any favours. Add in to the mix the ones in older cars who don't turn on any lights or worse, cyclists, and they're practically invisible, hidden by all these high-powered beams!

It narks me right off; It's really tempting to just leave it on auto and blind everyone back with my own LEDs!!

 

[Stopeter44]

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Virtually everyone is driving around with their  dipped beams on and it's really not doing my eyes any favours. Add in to the mix the ones in older cars who don't turn on any lights or worse, cyclists, and they're practically invisible, hidden by all these high-powered beams!

I used to have terrible problems with oncoming lights, but I had pretty distorted vision, and pre cataract surgery glasses didn't fix it, properly.

Yes, cyclists can be a danger to themselves.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, Catlover said:

 No it’s not. Too many drivers do not turn their lights on when they should have, it’s illegal not to, but the damage it could cause to a family when a death occurs is immense.

Yes it is. It's the driver's responsibility to turn their lights on and/or off, not some sensor and computer.

My car has auto lights, never used the function and don't intend to.

There's too much reliance on many of these fancy gizmos.

You didn't mention the Nuns and their baskets of kittens in addition to a family!

[Stopeter44]

47 minutes ago, mrpj1 said:

My car has auto lights, never used the function and don't intend to.

Don't use anything else but auto mode, especially handy for tunnels. On the Yaris IV it seems that there's no other choice than Auto.

[TonyHSD]

I also don’t like that new Toyotas has no option to switch off lights, it’s either auto or some sort of lights but no option for off is simply too much. Automatic transmission I can accept but than anything else should have an option to be auto or manual., just look at the Tesla how annoying car is indeed and how they replace manual functionality on many items with automated functions along with the steering wheel (yoke) and most if not all new comers get confused, there is absolutely no need for that. 👍

[duncerduncs]

The inability to turn off your headlights is a Euro NCAP requirement, hence why modern Toyota's now have no 'off' option!

Don't forget that the car has 5 presets for the sensor, ranging from -2 through to +2.  This can be changed on the media unit via the settings menu/car customisation section.

Personally I have no issue with my headlights being on, still seems to make me invisible to owners of certain German luxury vehicles....

[Stopeter44]

1 hour ago, duncerduncs said:

The inability to turn off your headlights is a Euro NCAP requirement, hence why modern Toyota's now have no 'off' option!

...still seems to make me invisible to owners of certain German luxury vehicles....

Ah, that explains a lot, overall, better have a machine turn on the lights predictably than have some individuals not paying attention.

Yes, that happens, sadly. I still don't know why people buy monster SUVs.

[Cyker]

I wasn't aware of that either; That would explain why this bizarre omission of an 'Off' setting for the lights is a thing, as Toyota seem especially keen on getting a very high NCAP score, unlike, say Renault   

 

The irony is the sort of person that buys a Toyota is the sort of person who'd probably turn on their own lights so it won't have much of an impact. For some reason the people I tend to see with lights off the most tend to be ford/vauxhall and older french cars  

 

I must admit I don't like this nannying tho' - If the goal is to abolish the driving license then fair enough, but if driving standards are so poor they have to implement things like this then maybe they should introduce stricter licensing. I consider myself barely fit to drive, but comparing myself to other drivers, I feel I am easily a better driver than the vast majority of them, and I find that quite concerning given they're also licenced to drive what are potentially high-speed murder machines!

[Trewithy]

Auto lights are a great idea.  Drivers who just use their parking lights are a menace to themselves and others by not being easily visible.  Also, why is it that drivers of black cars are the last to turn their lights on, auto lights will put a stop to that.

[Cyker]

Someone else said that too in another thread, but I disagree - The whole point of the sidelights is to make you visible to other drivers in dim conditions - If someone has trouble seeing a car with sidelights on they should probably get their eyes tested!

The main beams function, dipped or not, is NOT to help other drivers see you - they are to illuminate the road so YOU can see it better. To me it's like driving around with your rear fog lights on when there is no fog.

This is why it annoys me so much when cars are driving around with their beams on in overcast conditions, as it just makes everything else harder to see (Pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, mobility scooters, e-scooters, road debris, potholes...)

[Stopeter44]

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The irony is the sort of person that buys a Toyota is the sort of person who'd probably turn on their own lights so it won't have much of an impact. For some reason the people I tend to see with lights off the most tend to be ford/vauxhall and older french cars  

 

Just think about it, there's tons of old Fords, Vauxhalls, Renaults, PSA offerings, whatever, Fiats, etc. It's pretty much the bulk of all the cars sold in Europe. I really don't think there's anything more responsible about a Toyota owner.

The people on this forum, methinks, have more of an interest about cars. I never was on a car forum, before, and I've learnt a lot since coming here.

[Stopeter44]

13 minutes ago, Cyker said:

The main beams function, dipped or not, is NOT to help other drivers see you - they are to illuminate the road so YOU can see it better. To me it's like driving around with your rear fog lights on when there is no fog.

I don't consider dipped headlights main beams, in fact when I had my Clio I ran it with the headlights dipped, all the time. This was because there were many tunnels on my commute.

OTOH, the rear fog lights when there is just a vague mist, now that I think is dazzling, but I can filter DRLs better, mainly because generally one is not stuck behind DRLs.

[TonyHSD]

Sidelights shouldn’t be used while car is in motion, that can lead to more trouble than help with visibility. Best to use headlights or drl, side lights are designed to be used when the car is stationary only. I have no problem with anything that is automated as long as I have option for manual control when necessary. As per the other post about rear view mirror auto dimming function and the green light, it’s pretty much the same, I always keep in auto mode , the green light doesn’t bother me at all, and if for any reason I want to turn that function off I can, it’s great 👍. If it’s a ENCAP requirement, then Prius is exempt since perhaps comes from Japan., they have off option on the lights stalk. 👌

[forkingabout]

Bring back the good old UK dim / dip system 😅

It was impossible to drive on sidelights alone. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

19 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

If it’s a ENCAP requirement, then Prius is exempt since perhaps comes from Japan.

Euro NCAP is voluntary, and the country of manufacture doesn't make any difference as to whether a manufacturer decides to use Euro NCAP to test its vehicles or not.