tail lights dont work at night but brake lights do

Welcome to PriusChat!!

Have you already checked the appropriate fuse?

 

"tail lights don't work at night"

Do the tail lights work during the day? If so, that's a weird one, because there's no light sensor that I know of, and I can't think of a reason they would work during the day and not at night.

 

Make SURE that you don't have the headlight selector set to DRL !!
That setting turns on the headlights at reduced brightness but NOT the tail lights.

(Yes, I've done that a few times.)

 

I don't think there's a DRL setting on a US-spec '05

 

Your post does not make much sense. Would you care to explain it in more detail?

How can all the lights work in your tail lights, but not work when the lights are on?

 

OK, back then I think that DRLs were still required in the US......so maybe they were "automatic" in the OFF position.
Then that would mean that his headlight switch, or it's associated circuitry, is NOT turning ON like it should.

 

I don't know what year DRL became a requirement in the US, but my '08 does not have them, and they are mentioned in the manual as "Canada only".