1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Daytime Running Lights (DRL)

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by priusmatty, May 28, 2016.

  1. priusmatty

    priusmatty Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2016
    304
    108
    0
    Location:
    Louisiana USA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Are the DRL on the Prius c LED?
     
  2. kingnba6

    kingnba6 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    1,018
    242
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    for the 2012 C, no, the DRLs are not LED
     
  3. priusmatty

    priusmatty Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2016
    304
    108
    0
    Location:
    Louisiana USA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Ok thanks. Can you turn them off?
     
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    7,842
    3,099
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Does your light switch have the DRL Off position?
     
  5. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2014
    421
    182
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    I can't speak for Louisiana but way up here in Canada daytime running lights are mandated by law and they cannot be turned off. My understanding is that when the Canadian law came into effect at least some of the car manufacturers lobbied the US government to permit daytime running lights so that they didn't have to build different models for each market. But I have no idea what the actual legal status is and whether it's evenly applied across the entire US or not.
     
    hayashi likes this.
  6. djdawn

    djdawn Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2014
    255
    116
    0
    Location:
    Escondido, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    On my 2014C2, I can turn off my factory DRLs by rotating the light stalk all the way down. The factory DRLs on my car are really the highbeam halogen bulbs in low power if that helps.
     
    Squeakasaur likes this.
  7. Squeakasaur

    Squeakasaur Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2016
    106
    35
    22
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Yes you can turn them off. On the 2016 they are the super bright headlight lamps just a little dimmer. Kinda strange in my opinion lol
     
  8. priusmatty

    priusmatty Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2016
    304
    108
    0
    Location:
    Louisiana USA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    Why would someone choose to leave them on and use more power, when it is daytime?
     
  9. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2014
    421
    182
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    The idea behind daytime running lights is that it makes your car more visible to oncoming drivers. That's especially important on two lane highways where you're trying to decide whether or not it's safe to pass a car and due to the high speeds you have to judge the speed and distance of oncoming traffic while it's still very far away. And they also help to get the attention of pedestrians who may not always look that carefully before crossing the road.

    An Australian review suggests that there are measurable safety benefits to them. In Canada they are mandatory in all vehicles and they cannot be turned off.
     
    plusaf, Mendel Leisk and hayashi like this.
  10. priusmatty

    priusmatty Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2016
    304
    108
    0
    Location:
    Louisiana USA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    I see. Thanks.
     
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,768
    16,017
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    In higher latitudes where the sun angle is low (think 5 or 6pm type angle for your in LA) but it's actually the middle of the day (noon-1pm), it definitely helps. Yes, ideally people would have their headlights on but because it's still bright (cause it's the middle of the day and I'm not talking about the Arctic Circle), people keep the lights off. DRLs help identify cars against the sun shining in your eyes.
     
    hayashi and fuzzy1 like this.
  12. davidc83

    davidc83 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2015
    113
    50
    0
    Location:
    Scottsburg, Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Five
    Daylight running lights are not required to be turned on during the day in the United States. Some states (such as Tennessee) require headlights to be turned on whenever the windshield wipers are turned on (as in raining). The turn signal stalk on my 2015 C 2 has the drl as one of the options, I used the DRL during the day when it is extremely cloudy or raining.
     
    priusmatty likes this.
  13. w2kpugsly

    w2kpugsly Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2014
    97
    18
    0
    Location:
    san diego
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I turn on my lights every time I get in the car. My car is silver and it isn't always easy to see. Having the headlights on helps with visibility for other drivers. I swapped the lights for all led. (In the 2013, the drl is a low power high beam). After I went to led, the high beam and drl run at the same brightness so it's really annoying during the day...... at night when I use my high beams its super bright.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,039
    10,013
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    In daytime conditions when we really want front lights to be seen better (think rain or very heavy overcast, both common in my coastal northwest climate zone), the DRLs consume about a tenth as much power as the headlight position. The later turns on a lot of other lights too -- tail, running, and dash illumination lights.
     
    priusmatty likes this.
  15. Squeakasaur

    Squeakasaur Member

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2016
    106
    35
    22
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    There are also some areas that require you to have either your DRL on or your headlights on, even during the day. It is for safety.
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,479
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    One thing I've noticed: a lot of cars have their front turn signals tightly integrated with their headlights; it can make it nigh impossible to discern oncoming drivers' intentions: the feeble turn signal pulses are buried in the headlight wash of light.

    Also, in the last decade, I see a lot more late model BC plate vehicles on the road with no DRL's: lax import regulations of US vehicles?
     
  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,039
    10,013
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Have you been checked for cataracts?

    I'm going to need the surgery earlier than average.
    During my most recent visits, I thought I saw this even more with AB plates.
     
    #17 fuzzy1, Jul 11, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2016
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,479
    38,106
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Yeah I get into the optometrist for periodic checkup. The period usually being busted glasses. So far so good, just really myopic and needing bifocals more 'n more.
     
  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,039
    10,013
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    The optometrist gave me bifocals as a kid, mainly because they were beneficial even then, and much easier to adapt to when young than when in the 40s.

    Now I'm way beyond those. If not for progressives, I'd need trifocals, like grandma used to have.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    44,768
    16,017
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Or more people disabling it. There are no annual checks so you just risk it with law enforcement (just like front tints or any other modifications that isn't legal)
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.