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Don't laugh! Pilot vertigo driving at night.

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by Wally Mahar, Aug 12, 2013.

  1. Wally Mahar

    Wally Mahar Junior Member

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    I mean, not like I am going to roll the car or anything. Just wondering if I am the only one who experiences this...

    Now I don't know if it's because I pay so much attention to the Eco meter and not the speed, but driving on the highway I get slight disorientation. I've only had the car for a week and I've been driving a lot at night. When there is a lack of markers (trees, buildings and such) I have the slight feeling I am always driving slightly uphill on straight always. Flat when slightly going downhill, and when I actually go up a hill whoa, in going up!

    I think it's that I am so aware of my foot on the gas for savings and not speed...
    Lol, I do not know.. anybody else?

    Wally

    Nexus 7 ? 2
     
  2. Here's what I've noticed:
    Compared to my SUV, the lights on the front of the car are very poorly pitched (or angled), so much that I actually would consider them hazardous. The lights are pitched so that I can see the ground below me, and most things at knee level, projected out in front of the car to about 500 feet, but not above that. So, let's say that I'm going on a background with a lot of hills. If I have my lights on, and I'm approaching a hill, I can't see the top of the hill, because the lamps within the car just do not angle light to go from the car that far upward. Instead, all I can see is a sharp cut-off between light and dark as I go up the hill. The same is true if the road in front of me is bouncy (flat or otherwise), and the cut-off on the road between light and dark just bounces with the car. If I can't see the hill, how do I know that I won't hit anything, or miss a patch of ice, e.g. in the winter??

    So, I have two choices: (1) I could put my blue-light ultra bright lights on, and blind other drivers on the road (they've flashed at me to turn my lights off), or (2) I could keep them off, but not be able to see in front of me at eye level, and likely cause an accident. I'm actually petrified to think about how I'm going to manage winter night travel all the way up here in the North Pole... and even more bewildered that Toyota would allow the lights to pitch so poorly like this, because I think this is a safety violation. In all the cars that I've ever been in, I've never seen one where it is just that extremely difficult for me to "see" what is in front of me.

    So, that's the only vertigo that I experience... and I have no idea what to do. Is there a fix for this somehow?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    doesn't sound good, if it continues, i would see a doctor. all the best!(y)
     
  4. DomoDriver

    DomoDriver Junior Member

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    The sharp cutoff between light and dark is a feature of most modern headlight systems, so part of what you're describing won't go away. When the lights are aimed properly, the bright part of the low-beams should be horizontal. This is so you can have very bright illumination of the road in front of you and sill not blind oncoming drivers.

    You can test to see if they're aimed too low with a wall or garage door and a pencil. On a level surface, shine your lowbeams on a vertical wall from about 3ft/1m away and mark the top edge of the bright part of the illuminated area on the wall. Then back up to about 10-15ft/3-4m away and confirm that the top edges of the beams still hit your pencil marks. If not, then have them aimed at the dealer. Once this is done, you shouldn't have to do it again.

    Every other car I've owned has had a pretty obvious place to adjust the aim, but I just went out and looked at mine, and couldn't find it.
     
  5. I can deal with "blinding lights" occasionally.
    In the winters up here in the wilderness, where there are patches of ice on the road for 3 months out of the year, up to 16 hours of dark sky, no city lights, and 1000-pound moose that walk into the road whenever they feel like, the driver can't see and so the driver could be killed by striking something in the road. A few years back when I took my SUV up to Mt. Washington, a mile south of Pinkham Notch, it was still before twilight and I nearly collided with a moose at 50 mph...having the lights high enough to see the light scatter off its eyes and the rest of it saved my arse as I was able to swerve around it, and the moose was able to see the lights and turn around. (There was also a car coming the other way...so I had to have my ultra brights OFF... AND still manage to not hit the oncoming car as I swerved around the moose.) But with the lights as low as on my hybrid as they are, I would not have seen the moose until it was too late to respond, and I probably would've gotten myself killed right there...
     
  6. DomoDriver

    DomoDriver Junior Member

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    The question is, is the aim of your headlights too low? I think that's something the dealer is supposed to do as part of the "dealer prep" you paid him for when you bought the car, and ensuring they're functioning as designed should be your first step. If they aren't aimed properly, then have them aimed. If they are, then you might need some aftermarket driving lights to be safe.

    Good luck!
     
  7. I can check later, I don't have a garage and I park in a lot. But based on what you're saying I think the lights are angled correctly from the factory.
     
  8. DomoDriver

    DomoDriver Junior Member

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    I haven't noticed that, Wally, but I haven't driven much at night yet. The days are still pretty long.
     
  9. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    It may be that the sharpness of the cutoff between the lights and the dark night seems to move around as the angle of the car changes and that is getting to you. Is it better when the brights are on and the contrast not as acute? I had a bit of trouble getting used to the sharp cutoff of the HID lights when the car was new to me but then I drive at night on hilly roads. Is it better on freeways?
     
  10. Wally Mahar

    Wally Mahar Junior Member

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    Seriously, you are definitely correct on that. It amazing what a strong cut off with no gradation with the headlights.

    Nexus 7 ? 2