Read a bit more thoroughly the owner's manual and...

Well, "opinions" aside, actual scientific tests in real traffic showed DRLs reduced collisions. So we have them.
Yup, they aren't perfect. It's an imperfect world.

 

It's strange around here: see a lot of (recently vintage) vehicles on the road, with BC plates, AND no daytime running lights. Guess they're bought Stateside. Seems to me they used to be more stringent though.

 

OK, I'm confused. The light switch on my Gen 4 Model 2 ECO has 4 positions, top to bottom: ON (head & tail lights on), parking lights, AUTO, and DRL OFF. AUTO switches on what I assume to be the DRL's since there is no "DRL ON" option. Since I couldn't drive behind myself to check if the taillights are on in AUTO, I did the next best thing: I stopped, set the parking brake, got out and checked the taillights. The wavy rear lights are on in daytime when the switch is in the AUTO position. I checked the relevant section of the User's Manual and the text was vague. So for my car at least it doesn't seem possible to have taillights off when DRL's are on.

 

Does parking brake activate the brake lights? I think so.

BTW: it kinda bugs me that the Auto position is next-in-line to Off. Auto tends to be the set-it-and-forget-it option, so why not relegate it to the end of the line, past Park and On positions?

Our third gen switch has Auto positioned thus. Maybe I'm a luddite, but even though I have the Auto headlight option, I can't abide it, want to control when the lights are on or not. Also, it's physically impossible for me to walk away from a vehicle with the headlights blazing.

 

I thought the wavy LED lights were the tail lights, not the brake lights.

 

The parking brake does not activate the brake or tail lights. It's for parking, not driving.
The parking brake is supposed to deactivate the DRLs in Canada, but lately it seems to only work if the P-brake is on when you start the car, meaning the DRLs come on when you release the p-brake but don't go off if you apply the p-brake after the car is in "ready". I say "lately" because earlier vehicles I owned turned the DRLs off whenever the p-brake was applied (you can "trick" the system by actuating the p-brake lever only one notch and drive - the brakes aren't actuated at that low setting but the DRLs are off). That doesn't work with the Prius.

 

In my US model, when I pull it into the carport and set the parking brake, the DRL's and tail lights stay on, and don't shut off when I turn off the ignition. It's a bit disconcerting, they wait a minute or more and then shut down.

 

Today it occurred to me that maybe the fact that I had pulled into my fairly dark carport had something to do with my taillights being on. So today while driving down the street I did the same test: I pulled over, set the parking brake, left the car in D with the ignition on, got out, checked the wavy taillights, and this time they were OFF. Seems as though a day/night sensor (the "headlight control sensor"?) is involved??

The manual is not explicit: "AUTO - The headlights, front position, daytime running lights (p .245) and so on turn on and off automatically (when the power switch is in ON mode)" - p.243

The phrase "and so on" should never appear in a manual.

 

Good thought. I kind of didn't like the rain x effect on my front window. But it sure keeps the water calcium spots off.

 

Can I just check something - I left the manual I printed at work, if the lights are set to AUTO does this include the rear lights also? I'm assuming the dash indicates somehow if the rear lights are on or not (if only by dimming the dash)?

 

On AUTO, the rear lights are not on in the daytime. A friend driving behind me confirmed this. I think they go on at night if it is set on AUTO.

 

Wow

I was wondering that yesterday when it was raining.

 

Yep, great answer.

 

Maybe it's just me but this kinda defeats the purpose of automatic lights. The wipers can be set to auto based on rainfall, but the lights can't? Seems odd. Backward, almost

 

To clarify, "auto" setting on the lights means the lights are "off" in bright sunshine (this could mean the DRLs are on - in Canada for example) so no tail lamps, "parking lights" come on when it gets "dim" outside, and then the headlamps come on when it gets "dimmer". With Pearl S (GIII) I find the lights come on in some stage even when the sun is up but not shining on the dash, so it seems pretty conservative and safe. There are two stages of "lights on", and I noticed this in the GII Pearl as well.