Auto Headlights

So I purchased a Prius 5 with the Tech package and this $34,000 car does not come with auto headlights!?

You can have the dealer reprogram them to be off as soon as you close the drivers door. (They never turn off if you crawl out the passenger side door or rear hatch)

I see you did your research prior to making the purchase. Keep us posted about any other surprises.

Tom

I thought it was tested and proven that they turn off via the passenger door too?

There is a tutorial on installing a third party module to add auto headlights in the modification section.

I installed the module and the auto head lights work great.

You have a Gen III Prius. The passenger door comment was made about a Gen II. Then Gen II only responds to the driver's door.

Tom

What, exactly, are "auto headlights"? I thought all autos came with headlights?!?!?

:doh:

Not that it's of any importance, qbee, but I was referring to jimbo's comment which was in response to the OP, who is talking about his package V ( a gen III).

I contacted a Canadian Toyota Dealer about possibility of installing auto head lights/Daytime Running Lights.
He told me that they have converted a few vehicles coming from USA to Canada, so I hope he can give me some good info how to do this "mod."
I will keep you informed!

Any reason this couldn't work? (see attached)

I'd also like to add the rain-sense function along with it.

I assume that the small black bump in the dashboard on the passenger side of the car, just inside the windshield, is some kind of a light sensor- yet it has no function without "auto headlights", does it???

If that's what it is, is there a way to activate it?

I have noticed that the headlights will shut off automatically, so I suppose if one wanted to leave their headlights on all the time the car would shut them off when they exit the vehicle...which would provide a kind of "running lights" and "auto lights" functionality....

That makes sense. Jimbo also has a Gen II, for which his comment is correct. Clever of him to hedge his bets like that.

Tom

The small black bump is a solar energy sensor. It heats up with the sun, giving the climate control system some idea of how much solar heating is occurring in the cabin.

Tom

It baffles me why they didn't put auto lights in the US Prius. I guess it's because it is all part of the same module which controls the daytime running lights. Since the US didn't need that, there went the auto lights. Well, I hate to say this, but I'd like to have daytime running lights on my Prius, even in the US! It seems the US Prius didn't get the side mirror turn signals either, like the Japanese Prius has. Why? I don't get it. And I can't even order the mirrors for mine because apparently Winter Gray isn't a Japanese color so they don't even make them in my color. lol But the Japanese do get some really nice shades of metallic blue that I would have loved to had the option of getting. I guess the US just isn't good enough to get all the goodies.

Toyota has a department call Marketing Research that spends lots of time and money to determine what the consumer wants and what the consumer is willing to pay for, in each market. What you see on your Prius is representative of what Toyota's Marketing Research Department, and other departments, have determined is the best fit to maximize sales and revenue.

Now, we in this forum are not the norm. SO, statistically our opinions dont count. Which is why a lot of people here feel that Toyota is not listening to them. These people vastly over-rate their influence, as well as this forum, as a motivator for Toyota to make changes. Wheather we like it or not, (and I will say that I am one that thinks we should get what we want), Toyota has a plan, and they are not going to make changes unless they believe it will benefit their sales and revenues.

I agree wholeheartedly. Toyota is a for-profit corporation. If a change isn't going to aid the bottom line on a regional or global level, there's not much sense in it.

As hotbrass said above, we're not the norm. Heck, I'm the one scouring a source for aspherical mirrors based on some euro-spec mirrors I had on the Phaeton and a photo I happened to see of a car in NL. :loco:

I am sorry to say that but "Toyota Marketing Team" is full of BS. How come you can avoid installing DRL and Auto Headlights in $30K car and having them in Corolla, Matrix....
This is a safety option! At least, they could offer option to change it to auto head lights with DRL.
This is not a marketing research-if they did a marketing research, they could have found out that NOBODY from Prius owners want self cleaning head lights that our cars have. This is pure none sense.
Or maybe they figured out that New Lexus HS250 can have them, so people will jump on it, paying $3K or more for it?!
I still cannot believe that I have to call Canadian Dealers to find out how to install DRL and Auto Head lights. I believe that it is possible and not that hard. It is a matter of replacing light switch and connecting 2-3 wires under dashboard to light sensor that is at right dashboard corner, plus probably installing a relay.....
I am big Toyota fan, but decisions like this make me so sad and angry at the same time!

I think you can disagree with Toyota, but that does not make them wrong.

I dont think anyone will make a vehicle with everything you/I want. Toyota is no different than any other manufacturer of consumer products, except they are the leader in their industry. They must know what they are doing.