DRL stopped working - Avensis 2012

[kierownik]

Hi everyone,

I need your help. Today for no reason both of my DRL's stopped working. It's Avensis T27 FL model from 2012. I checked bulbs on both sides and both are OK, I checked the fuses and all are OK. Also as well as DRL the side lights are not working and that light strips on top of the lamps stopped wroking too. So now I only have normal headlight or main beam and indicators, no sidelights, no drl's. 

I even tried disconnecting the Battery for a while but that didn't help either. 

I've also checked the vattage in the bulb socket and it's 12v as it should be, but the moment I put the bulb into the socket the vattage goes down to zero.

Any ideas, anyone?

Kind regards

[fordulike]

I am far from being an expert, but as the DRLs are designed to switch off totally when the main lights are on, then I would hazard a guess that a relay is involved in this process.

Worth checking around to see if there are any faulty relays that are linked to the lighting circuits.

 

[kierownik]

I've been searching for the last couple of hours and checking so many different things. I found that my tail lights were not working as well but that the just the fuse and after replacing it tail lights started working again. Unfortunately drl's are still not working even tho all the fuses are ok. 

[kierownik]

After doing some research it looks like there are some electronic components inside the actual headlamps and at the moment it looks like both headlamps will need to be replaced in order to get my drl's and side lights working again. The car is stillunder the warranty so I'm taking it to the dealer tomorrow and we'll see what happens. 

[kierownik]

I just had a phone call from the dealer.

About 2 weeks ago one of my bulbs gone so I replaced both with Bosh ones from Halfords. They worked just fine for the past 2 weeks until now.
The dealer told me that the bulbs are not the ones fitted by toyota and this may invalidate the warranty which means that I will have to pay for fixing it. 

So because I replaced the faulty bulb by myself I might have to pay for everything from my own pocket. I can't belive it 

[fordulike]

18 minutes ago, kierownik said:

I just had a phone call from the dealer.

About 2 weeks ago one of my bulbs gone so I replaced both with Bosh ones from Halfords. They worked just fine for the past 2 weeks until now.
The dealer told me that the bulbs are not the ones fitted by toyota and this may invalidate the warranty which means that I will have to pay for fixing it. 

So because I replaced the faulty bulb by myself I might have to pay for everything from my own pocket. I can't belive it 

Probably come off the same production line as the Bosch ones. Mmmmm, and are Toyota trying to blag the public that Bosch make crap bulbs. I don't think so Mr. Toyota!

[kierownik]

4 minutes ago, fordulike said:

Probably come off the same production line as the Bosch ones. Mmmmm, and are Toyota trying to blag the public that Bosch make crap bulbs. I don't think so Mr. Toyota!

I think they actually trying to claim that the fault occured not because of the Bosh bulbs but because I replaced them myself.

[fordulike]

10 minutes ago, kierownik said:

I think they actually trying to claim that the fault occured not because of the Bosh bulbs but because I replaced them myself.

Owners have been replacing their own bulbs since the car was invented. They're talking a pile of s**t.

It's actually against the law to drive with ineffective lighting, so is the Toyota technician going to come out in the middle of the night to replace a bulb? I think we all know the answer to that one.

[kierownik]

5 minutes ago, fordulike said:

Owners have been replacing their own bulbs since the car was invented. They're talking a pile of s**t.

It's actually against the law to drive with ineffective lighting, so is the Toyota technician going to come out in the middle of the night to replace a bulb. I think we all know the answer to that one.

So what should I tell them then? At the moment they asked me for Ł120 to carry out more checks to which I agreed. Now they might actually call me and say that they'll fix it under the warranty or that I have to pay myself.

[fordulike]

8 minutes ago, kierownik said:

So what should I tell them then? At the moment they asked me for Ł120 to carry out more checks to which I agreed. Now they might actually call me and say that they'll fix it under the warranty or that I have to pay myself.

I would carry on with what you are doing, but keep the Halford's bulb receipt handy. Like servicing at a non franchised dealer, I reckon the law will back you up, if you can prove you fitted bulbs that equal or exceed OEM spec.

I know you replaced them yourself, but it's almost impossible to damage a car by replacing a bulb. The worst that could happen is a blown fuse.

Consider contacting Toyota HQ UK, if they give you hassle.

[kierownik]

2 minutes ago, fordulike said:

I would carry on with what you are doing, but keep the Halford's bulb receipt handy. Like servicing at a non franchised dealer, I reckon the law will back you up, if you can prove you fitted bulbs that equal or exceed OEM spec.

I don't have the receipt but I paid with my debit card so transaction will be on my statment. I'll update you with the outcome

[fordulike]

Just now, kierownik said:

I don't have the receipt but I paid with my debit card so transaction will be on my statment. I'll update you with the outcome

I added a little more info to my above post 

[kierownik]

Just now, fordulike said:

I added a little more info to my above post 

Yes thanks,

I was actually thinking about contacting toyota UK if they carry on with refusal. Then maybe even some medias like watchdog ect. However I'm not good with consumers laws and stuff like this so I'd probably have to get some legal advice for which I'd have to pay obviously. 

[fordulike]

1 minute ago, kierownik said:

Yes thanks,

I was actually thinking about contacting toyota UK if they carry on with refusal. Then maybe even some medias like watchdog ect. However I'm not good with consumers laws and stuff like this so I'd probably have to get some legal advice for which I'd have to pay obviously. 

If the procedure for changing a bulb is in your owner's manual, then wave that in the dealer's face, and ask why it's in there if owners aren't meant to do it themselves.

[kierownik]

3 minutes ago, fordulike said:

If the procedure for changing a bulb is in your owner's manual, then wave that in the dealer's face, and ask why it's in there if owners aren't meant to do it themselves.

Good point that.

[kierownik]

I checked the manual and yes, it does say that I can change the bulbs myself and it does say and show how to do it. So this can't be the reason for refusal especially that I didn't do anything different to the maunal and I used the right type and spec of bulbs, plus they worked fine for over 2 weeks.

[kierownik]

So here's the outcome.

They refused to fix it under the warranty for a different reason now.

They have absolutely no idea what caused the failiure but... it turned out that one of the lamps was glued in the past, well not the lamp itself but one of the lamp's brackets. So they now claim that there must have been some sort of damage to it in the past but the car, chassis, bodywork ect are perfectly fine. This car have some really good service history and all the services, checkes, fixes were done at toyota dealership, even tyres were changed at toyota dealership. 

They can't tell what happened, what caused the problem. All they can tell is that they see a little bit of glue on one of the brackets and that indicates that lamps were tampered with or that there was some sort of inpact. So on that grounds they refused to fix it and now I have to pay for new headlamps + diagnostics charge which is all together Ł530. 

It makes me think, if the car has soo good service history and every little thing was done at toyota dealership, then why would anyone mess with the headlamp if the car was on warranty. I'm just thinking, is it possible that some toyota tech broke the bracket in the past and went for a cheap and easy fix, which is glue? Or would they just replace the lamp? 

I am absolutely devastaded with the outcome.

Also going through the service history I've noticed that something was done that included the lamp assy. Unfortunately the online service history isn't as detailed as I'd like it to be. If I ask the dealer for a fully detailed print of service history, will they provide it?

[fordulike]

Mmmmmm, has the vehicle ever been in an accident that you know of?

[kierownik]

8 minutes ago, fordulike said:

Mmmmmm, has the vehicle ever been in an accident that you know of?

No it definitely hasn't. I even asked if apart from glued bracket there's anything on the vehicle? Any sign, even the slightest that could indicate that the vehicle was involved in an accident. The answer was negative. 

[kierownik]

So it all ended with me paying Ł530 for the diagnostics and new headlamps. Had my warranty refused due to a broken and glued bracket which apparently caused a bad air circulation and overheating of the headlamps and that caused the fault. Yep, that's right, bad air circulation. Also, apparently my vehicle was involved in some sort of collision as one of the poles in front of the car has stickers on it which means it was replaced in the past. 

To me this is all some proper BS.

[fordulike]

9 minutes ago, kierownik said:

So it all ended with me paying Ł530 for the diagnostics and new headlamps. Had my warranty refused due to a broken and glued bracket which apparently caused a bad air circulation and overheating of the headlamps and that caused the fault. Yep, that's right, bad air circulation. Also, apparently my vehicle was involved in some sort of collision as one of the poles in front of the car has stickers on it which means it was replaced in the past. 

To me this is all some proper BS.

It was the 'Paint Mirror cover to code', that caused me to ask you in a previous post, whether the car had been involved in an accident.

Take it you bought second hand? And I totally agree, bad air circulation!!! Boooolsheeet

[kierownik]

Yes, I bought it second hand 

[kierownik]

So I picked up my car on saturday with brand new headlights and brand new bulbs, all fitted by toyota tech. 

It's only tuesday and one of the DRL's bulbs has gone already. I mentioned it today to the service manager and I'm taking my car in tomorrow again. 

I'm getting really tired with this now to be honest. But Ł500 is definitely worth fighting for so fingers crossed.

[fordulike]

Sorry to hear about your ongoing problem. Do the DRLs actually have bulbs, or is it an LED unit?

[kierownik]

Mine have bulbs 580 w21/5w