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Prime high beams issue

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Digloo2, Jun 17, 2018.

  1. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    The local law enforcement takes photos and posts on FB when he writes tickets. He wrote
    In Jan of 18, that he wrote this motorist tickets for vehicle height violation, bumper height violation, headlight height violation, and a couple other moving violation. Apparently Indiana law codifies that headlights must be between 19 and 52 inches off the ground and bumper height cannot be heights then 32 inches off the ground. In addition, if you “change” your vehicles factory ride height more then 3 inches up or down in Indiana it’s also a violation.
     

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  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What's a Monster Truck doing outside of an arena??
     
  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I suspect this may be for aerodynamics. They want the fenders over the wheels low and the lights out of the airflow.

    Old school:


    [​IMG]

    New school - many with LED headlights. They generally keep the headlights above the bumpers - minimizes damage.

    upload_2019-5-23_11-37-42.jpeg
     
  4. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    That seems a bit harsh. 4" lifts in Jeeps are fairly common.
     
  5. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Nope, I want all vehicles on the road to be car bumper height. If people need, on occasion, their entire vehicle higher, get adjustable lift kits.

    Haven't seen any of those but I've seen a number of "mud trucks". If they screw up, their bumper will go right through my rear glass.

    For what purpose? IF they go off road, see my comment above. If not, there isn't a good reason I know of to lift it.
     
  6. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    I agree, often I have no idea if an oncoming vehicle is signaling a turn, indicators in the side mirrors help since there is both vertical and horizontal separation.
     
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  7. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    How is "car bumper height" defined? The bumper on my Miata is lower than the bumper on other street cars, for example. Expecting every vehicle on the road to be configured the same is unreasonable. Vehicles have different purposes. My wife's Outback has 9" ground clearance and it's a standard street vehicle - clearly it sits higher than my Miata. This has never been a problem for me.

    If they hit you and damage your vehicle, they pay for it anyway. Why should they compromise their vehicle functionality just in case they ever hit you? A stock Jeep Wrangler Rubicon comes with 33" tires - how would you get that down to your level?

    Edit - here is a AAA listing of state bumper height regulations, which generally allow changes to the original bumper height . I'm still curious how the bumper height is actually defined. On the Prime, as an example, there is no bumper-like section clearly visible in the front. Perhaps the reference is to some point on the crash-absorbing structure, i.e. the impact bar #19 in the explodo.

    Bumper Height - AAA Digest of Motor Laws

    upload_2019-5-23_16-50-1.png

    Prius Prime white.jpg
     
    #47 jb in NE, May 23, 2019
    Last edited: May 23, 2019
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    And the latest

    The new Cascadia® | Freightliner Trucks

    Especially with the AeroX package
     
  9. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The trucks I'm thinking of had the headlights at SUV level or lower, but this is going on sightings while passing on the road.
    Seems I was wrong about a manufacturer using adaptive arrays to mimic the abilities of existing technologies, or Ford is expecting them to be okayed soon. The new Lincoln Aviator has them.

    "The Adaptive Pixel LED Headlamps apply a number of ground-breaking technologies to appropriately place light both on and off the road. At highway speeds, Speed Dependent Lighting is designed to shine light further into the distance and at slower speeds, the light array widens helping drivers to detect pedestrians and potential hazards. Adaptive Dynamic Bending Lighting uses camera technology to read road signs and lane markings to pre-illuminate where the road is heading."
    The All New 2020 Lincoln Aviator - Luxury Midsize SUV - Lincoln.com
     
  10. Thump553

    Thump553 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the answer-I must have hit the d*** button when hitting the fuel door button. For the last few days I've been wondering why my high beams only worked sporadically and was planning to set up a service call.

    For the record, I had the high beams set to automatic the first night I drove the car. Absolutely hated it-out in the dark country I'd go by a speed limit sign and the reflection was enough to trigger to low beams. It seems like it takes forever to switch back. Our fourth Prius-the first one with this system. I thought this auto high beams system would be an improvement but I hate it and have been doing it manually ever since-vastly better. The change is primarily for poor drivers who don't bother to flick their high beams off when traffic is around.

    Now I've got to find some way to cap that button so I don't accidentally hit it.
     
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  11. Vavaq

    Vavaq Junior Member

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    The just turn off auto option and they will work perfectly fine in normal/manual mode. High beems switch to low beems automatically bellow 35km/h which make sense as your low beem will be good enough to see everything you need and also if you are driving in the city and traffic lights it is better to not flash everyone with high beem.
     
    #51 Vavaq, Jan 31, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 31, 2020
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  12. yaun

    yaun Member

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    I never understood why Toyota put something as complicated as auto high beams into all trims, a feature which requires image processing, but then for the LE they left out the auto setting for the low beams which is so much more useful and only requires a 1$ light sensor...
     
  13. smyles

    smyles Active Member

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    To extract $$ from you for higher trims, duh.
     
  14. mister2cool

    mister2cool Member

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    Auto high beam turns off below 21 or 25MPH is called residential setting and you can have it turned off by dealer. The idea is that those area are more likely to have some lights and you wouldn't be shinning high beam right through people's windows while blinding everyone around, and you really don't need to see what far ahead at that speed.

    someone mentioned in the dark corner, you can't see without high beam. It is actually the opposite. low beam allows you to see more on the side so you can see around the corner. High beam is focused in your lane so you really won't be able to see where you are trying to turn.