PHEV

[kithmo]

Sounds like the AHB button is a waste of time, another of Toyota's half-hearted attempts at unnecessary gadgets that don't do "what it says on the tin", I don't use it on the Gen 4. 🙄

[altocumulus]

Aye, you may be right. Though I've used (so far limited) the auto-beam reasonably OK (as long as I drive fast enough!)

[PeteB]

5 hours ago, kithmo said:

Sounds like the AHB button is a waste of time, another of Toyota's half-hearted attempts at unnecessary gadgets that don't do "what it says on the tin", I don't use it on the Gen 4. 🙄

Same here.  At least you can elect not to use it, which is more than can be said for the auto headlights!

IMHO the Road Sign Assist, Auto lights and Auto DIp are so bad Toyota top brass ought to be ashamed to sell something with them fitted in their current state to a product with their company's name on it.  SatNav is poor but usable.

That said, most of the other tech is very good indeed, and the Adaptive Cruise Control and Autonomous Emergency Braking are two key reasons I swapped a perfectly good Gen 3 for a Gen 4.

[altocumulus]

Aye, the good bits of the cars are great, shame about those less so - they seem to build things these days to both sides of the quality pendulum!

[Phil T]

Driving home last night on a busy A road, following another car the auto lights worked well at speed, just a pity they dont come on until 40mph. On the twisty sections they were great and at times lighting up more of the road than the car in front, all the time keeping him in the dipped section. They adjusted pretty fast to oncoming cars.

[Phil T]

On 11/19/2018 at 10:20 AM, kithmo said:

Sounds like the AHB button is a waste of time, another of Toyota's half-hearted attempts at unnecessary gadgets that don't do "what it says on the tin", I don't use it on the Gen 4. 🙄

And PeteB said:- Same here.  At least you can elect not to use it, which is more than can be said for the auto headlights!

Is that not the same thing?

 

[PeteB]

No.  The AHB (Auto High Beam) is just that - switches between High and Dip beams if speed is right, and indicator stalk is pushed away from driver and High Beam button near driver's right knee is on.

Auto Headlights is the setting where the light switch on the end of the indicator stalk is at Auto (there is no off position on the UK spec models) and whenever the car is 'on' (or even in Ignition mode, where the READY light is not lit, but all the warning lights are on) the car will switch the headlights on if it thinks it's dark enough and there's nothing the driver can do to stop it (except by manually turning the switch to parking/side or headlights position).

This is both annoying (light on when parked and no need for lights - can flatten 12V Battery very quickly in ignition mode) and potentially dangerous when they come on unexpectedly when passing narrow gaps between buildings or shade from overhanging trees, even though the daylight is fairly bright.  The driver is usually unaware until someone starts to pull out thinking you've just flashed them, as has happened to me 3 times so far.

[Phil T]

Ah yes Auto High Beam as opposed to Auto Headlight Beam, and the annoying habit of switching on as and when it detects a slight dimming of light. Just as well the Highway Code states

110 - Flashing headlights. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. Do not flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

Could be a getout for someone pulling out, when the lights flash for no obvious reason, but I doubt it!

Like my friend yesterday pointing out where a pub used to be on a busy main road junction, and someone thought his pointing was a sign to let him pull out! Some people are oblivious of what their actions can lead to.

[Mike J.]

1 hour ago, PeteB said:

Auto Headlights is the setting where the light switch on the end of the indicator stalk is at Auto (there is no off position on the UK spec models) and whenever the car is 'on' (or even in Ignition mode, where the READY light is not lit, but all the warning lights are on) the car will switch the headlights on if it thinks it's dark enough and there's nothing the driver can do to stop it (except by manually turning the switch to parking/side or headlights position).

This is the same with the Yaris Hybrid, but its effect can be modified by reducing the light sensor's sensitivity. Other new cars seem to be similar as lots seem to park up (waiting for passengers) with headlights (and engine, usually diesel) running where I flip to sidelights - don't forget to switch back or you might find it overly dark on the way home …….

[PeteB]

1 minute ago, Mike J. said:

This is the same with the Yaris Hybrid, but its effect can be modified by reducing the light sensor's sensitivity. Other new cars seem to be similar as lots seem to park up (waiting for passengers) with headlights (and engine, usually diesel) running where I flip to sidelights - don't forget to switch back or you might find it overly dark on the way home …….

Yes, I turned my car's sensitivity to minimum within a few days of getting the car.  It barely made any difference, they still come on when there's surprisingly good light, yet fail too when thick clouds make it seem very dark!

I drove an Aygo last year which had auto lights, but there was an off position on the switch too.  More cars seem to be following the auto only trend.  It would make more sense it there was a warning screen with a cancel option using the either the 'ok' or back button on the steering wheel.

Worryingly, I spoke to someone recently who'd driven a car where the auto high beam could not be disabled (can't remember what car he said it was) - very worrying too if this idea takes hold!

[PeteB]

54 minutes ago, Phil T said:

...Just as well the Highway Code states...

...Could be a getout for someone pulling out, when the lights flash for no obvious reason, but I doubt it!...

I'd prefer not to be involved in an incident in the first place!

One of the close calls was where I was doing 10-12 mph approaching a sharp bend in a narrow road with buildings shading the road.  An elderly gentleman thought I was going to stop for him when the lights came on, then presumably realised it was headlights when they stayed on, and tried to stop himself moving forward.  He started to fall into the road and luckily a younger man with him grabbed his arm and pulled him back.  It looked to me like he would otherwise have fallen immediately in front of my nearside front wheel and I'm not sure if I could have reacted quickly enough to stop, and not even sure if the AEB would have saved the day.  It happened very quickly and very closed to the front of my car.

Apart from that, some years ago my first Gen 1 Prius was written off when someone went though a red light and we collided.  The previous year someone drove across a dual carriageway into my Yaris' driver's door and caused thousands of pounds of damage.  Both collisions were judged 100% the other drivers' fault, and I didn't have to may either excess and kept my maximum no claims discount.  Didn't stop my insurance premium almost doubling the following year! 

[Phil T]

Back on the headlights. I noticed that the dip beam cutoff is a lot lower than the old Gen4. I noticed there appears to be an adjustment marked on the lights. I assume it refers to the nut with a serrated washer on the back of the lamp. Anyone tried to adjust this?

[Ten Ninety]

21 hours ago, Phil T said:

Back on the headlights. I noticed that the dip beam cutoff is a lot lower than the old Gen4. I noticed there appears to be an adjustment marked on the lights. I assume it refers to the nut with a serrated washer on the back of the lamp. Anyone tried to adjust this?

That's useful to know - I've been wondering whether the lights have manual adjustment but haven't been bothered to open the bonnet and root around in the dark. If there's an adjuster nut, I might give it a wiggle on the weekend. The dip beam definitely needs lifting from its default position. 

[Phil T]

I gave it a try this evening. There are two nuts each side, the outer ones do left to right, the inner ones up and down. There is a diagram on the top of the lamps showing what does what. 8mm nut or you could use a  Philips screwdriver as it is attached to a toothed head  washer. There is a funnel like tube running down to the toothed washer No2 Philips will go down there. Counter clockwise on the nut moves them up, I went up about 12 notches, will need a longer run to see the proper effect, but it is better. 5 min job, hardest part is finding a suitable wall etc to aim them against. Once you know where the nut is, its an easy job to lift the bonnet and do a quick adjustment down a dark lane. Left side has the Battery casing close, a ratchet ring spanner or the Philips screwdriver is the best tool, and a torch!

Note the adjustment diagram shows the SCREWDRIVER turns clockwise for up but the nut actually turns counter clock!

Pictures of left side 

[Phil T]

Pictures of left and right side showing funnel for a Philips screwdriver adjustment.

[Phil T]

Showing the screwdriver funnel slot. Right and Left

[Ten Ninety]

That't brilliant Phil, thanks for taking the time to post the photos. I shall have a go at this tomorrow.

If I've understood correctly, adjustment can be either using a spanner on the nut itself or turning a screwdriver to move the toothed section of the nut?

[Phil T]

Jay probably the screwdriver option, easy to place it, with those guides. Just see it moves the nut assembly. Put a magic marker mark on the toothed washer so you can see how much you have moved it, then you can set it back to standard if necessary, and or, do the other side the same. You might find they are different heights from the factory.  Put a blanket or similar over one lamp as you move them.

Hope the weather holds for you. I changed the horns today and the interior lights to LED, I'll do a separate thread for those that haven't  done the change.

Have you ordered your new Prius 4 x 4? The look seems 😱 'rrible, they have blunted the front end and lost the distinctive rear end. Still some might love it 😏

Hope the UK version is different, long way to go before I change though.

[Ten Ninety]

Thanks again Phil, your guidance made it very easy to find where to adjust. I've gone 15 clicks up - not sure if that symbol means 1 click = 1% higher.

I'll see the effect on Monday morning. If I can get them to the same level as my GS, which allows safe driving up to around 50mph on dipped beam, I'll be happy. Other road users might be less keen (probably one in fifty finds the GS annoying enough to flash at), but they still won't be as bad as the lights on new MINIs! The screwdriver's safely tucked away in the rear box just in case I've gone too far.

I share your views on the new Prius. Hopefully they won't dumb down the PHV in the same way if they do a facelift on that.

[Ten Ninety]

Another random quirk I've found: 

I use the S-Flow feature (or whatever it's called) to supposedly only heat/cool the driver's side when the passenger seat is unoccupied. I have this feature in my GS and the display in that is consistent and logical - if there is no passenger, the temperature screen on that side remains blank. However, in the PHV, most of the time it displays the temperature for both sides but then, usually after an extended period of driving, it switches to just show the temperature on the driver's side.

Anyone else noticed this, or is it just a defect on my car? 

[PeteB]

19 minutes ago, Ten Ninety said:

...I use the S-Flow feature (or whatever it's called) to supposedly only heat/cool the driver's side when the passenger seat is unoccupied... most of the time it displays the temperature for both sides but then, usually after an extended period of driving, it switches to just show the temperature on the driver's side.

Anyone else noticed this, or is it just a defect on my car? 

Up to a point (in my Prius ordinaire).  I would say that it stops flow to the left (and rear) 60-80% of the time - my best guess is that various sensors around the car determine that in order to reach or maintain the requested temperature (and perhaps screen demisting) it needs to feed heated or cooled (or air conditioned) air through more outlets.  Selecting the bottom half of the climate display on the dash MFD shows which seat it thinks it's blowing to.  Quite interesting to display it when passengers are getting in or out.

I leave my A/C on all the time except sometimes when parked in READY mode; don't know if that makes any difference.

[Phil T]

3 hours ago, PeteB said:

Up to a point (in my Prius ordinaire).  I would say that it stops flow to the left (and rear) 60-80% of the time - my best guess is that various sensors around the car determine that in order to reach or maintain the requested temperature (and perhaps screen demisting) it needs to feed heated or cooled (or air conditioned) air through more outlets.  Selecting the bottom half of the climate display on the dash MFD shows which seat it thinks it's blowing to.  Quite interesting to display it when passengers are getting in or out.

I leave my A/C on all the time except sometimes when parked in READY mode; don't know if that makes any difference.

I had notice it's not consistent, I will have to take more notice of the settings and report back. I thought it was just me 

The new horns are now fitted and making much noise. The interior lights tomorrow. Such an exciting weekend.

[Ten Ninety]

Just to update on the headlights - at fifteen clicks higher they are now brilliant (literally) on dipped beam. The difference it's made is like - groan - night and day. I can now happily cruise at ~50mph on an unlit road without having to trouble main beam at all, whereas before it was a struggle to reach 30 safely. I might even go back to using AHB now, as it will matter a lot less that main beam doesn't come on until 40mph! 

In 66 miles of darkness, with plenty of traffic around, I got flashed just once by an oncoming car. That was when I was coming over a hill and they assumed I hadn't dipped. Other than that, the adjusted beams didn't seem to cause anyone else any bother, or at least not enough for them to 'complain' with a flash. 

I'll continue to monitor this week but right now, it's looking very good. Thanks again, Phil!

[Phil T]

On 12/1/2018 at 2:08 PM, Ten Ninety said:

Another random quirk I've found: 

I use the S-Flow feature (or whatever it's called) to supposedly only heat/cool the driver's side when the passenger seat is unoccupied. I have this feature in my GS and the display in that is consistent and logical - if there is no passenger, the temperature screen on that side remains blank. However, in the PHV, most of the time it displays the temperature for both sides but then, usually after an extended period of driving, it switches to just show the temperature on the driver's side.

Anyone else noticed this, or is it just a defect on my car? 

On my extended run last night the S-flow display never changed. despite trying the dual button with S-flow on or off. In fact the display stayed showing both temperature displays. But the headlights were a great improvement.

[Phil T]

Yet another Toyota quirk, the auto windscreen wipers. On my last Nissan and VW cars that had auto wipers, there was only one setting on or off. When on the wipers would start when there was enough rain to limit visibility through the screen, and would speed up or slow down as and when the rain got heavier or reduced. With Toyota that happens when on the minimum time delay, ie getting more frequent with heavy rain, but less frequent settings hardly have any effect as to the frequency when rain increases, and you still need to switch to fast if it is really heavy rain. If you start off with a dry screen and the wipers on auto, and it starts to rain, I can hardly see out before the wipers start. Is this yet another car fault or is it Toyota's version of how they think it should work.