No "off" position for light switch!

[neildsimpson]

Hello, my 2022 PHV has no "off" position for the lights, only "auto", "side" and "headlamps".  I usually sit around in it while my daughter is in her gymnastics class and keep the "ignition" on (ev mode) for the radio and fan.  However if it's gloomy the headlamps come on and the best I can do is switch the stalk to sidelights only.  Is there no way to turn them off?  I did try googling this but is seems like the americans have an "off" on theirs!  Thanks.

[Kos_ta]

The only way is to replace the stalk itself. Stalks from some other regions have "OFF" position. 

[SDR]

15 minutes ago, neildsimpson said:

Hello, my 2022 PHV has no "off" position for the lights, only "auto", "side" and "headlamps".  I usually sit around in it while my daughter is in her gymnastics class and keep the "ignition" on (ev mode) for the radio and fan.  However if it's gloomy the headlamps come on and the best I can do is switch the stalk to sidelights only.  Is there no way to turn them off?  I did try googling this but is seems like the americans have an "off" on theirs!  Thanks.

If it makes you feel any better, which it probably doesn't, Corollas are the same.   Niggles me because my car lives under a car port, with full height walls, so, except in really bright sunshine, the headlights come on every time I start the car.   Unnecessary and not clever.

[Cyker]

Same issue on the Mk4 Yaris. Worst thing is the manual shows there are 2 stalks, and one has an off - I don't understand why they'd go to the trouble and expense of making two different ones! Why not just have 1 that also has the off for everyone??

[SDR]

I'm thinking that there must be a reason for not having an 'off' position and I'm hoping that someone might know and pop up with an explanation....

I don't think that it can be a regulatory thing because other cars with auto lights have the option to turn them off. 

 

[Cyker]

I wonder if you fit the stalk with the off, would it work...

 

[Kos_ta]

3 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I wonder if you fit the stalk with the off, would it work...

 

Yes, it will, read few people's posts about replacing theirs and it was plug and play job. 

[dannyboy413]

27 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Same issue on the Mk4 Yaris.

Same issue on the new C-HR and my previous Yaris Cross.

[philip42h]

20 minutes ago, SDR said:

I'm thinking that there must be a reason for not having an 'off' position

If you have an 'Off' position you might not (probably won't) remember to switch them back to 'Auto' - and then they won't come on as / when they should ...

[Cyker]

By that argument there shouldn't be a side-lights or main-beam setting either, as they also disable the auto-mode!

I don't think it's really a valid argument though - I'd never had this problem in any of my old cars because they didn't have auto - When it got dim, I switched to sidelights, when it got dark I switched to dipped, all manually by myself.

At the moment, the auto system only has 2 modes - DRLs and Main beams. It doesn't use the side-lights at all, and if you manually switch to side-lights you get the same problem as disabling the Auto, so it doesn't really make any sense...

Like most of these auto systems it just teaches you to be complacent.

TBH, if they made it so the lights don't come on until you move it out of Park that would have been enough for me, as that's the main reason I wanted an off. It works in the day time, as if you turn the car on but leave it in P, the DRLs stay off, and only come on and stay on when you move it to anything else, but in the dark the main beams come on immediately as soon as you start the car.

 

[Cyker]

5 minutes ago, Kos_ta said:

Yes, it will, read few people's posts about replacing theirs and it was plug and play job. 

Hmm, I wonder what the part# for the one with an off is....  

[Derek.w]

Its also no help if you have a low Battery and car automatically turning on the lights Headlights  and trying start or go into ready mode.

[Paul john]

2 hours ago, neildsimpson said:

Hello, my 2022 PHV has no "off" position for the lights, only "auto", "side" and "headlamps".  I usually sit around in it while my daughter is in her gymnastics class and keep the "ignition" on (ev mode) for the radio and fan.  However if it's gloomy the headlamps come on and the best I can do is switch the stalk to sidelights only.  Is there no way to turn them off?  I did try googling this but is seems like the americans have an "off" on theirs!  Thanks.

Have you thought about opening a window and turning the ignition off?

many cars do not have an off switch for lights these days. 

[Nick72]

I never noticed this but now it's been mentioned that's a bit naff. How is anyone meant to stalk anyone when you can't switch your lights off when outside their house? Engine needs to be running for a quick escape.

[Paul john]

41 minutes ago, Nick72 said:

I never noticed this but now it's been mentioned that's a bit naff. How is anyone meant to stalk anyone when you can't switch your lights off when outside their house? Engine needs to be running for a quick escape.

Its only a 10 sec startup to ready, so you can afford to turn off the ignition…

[AJones]

2 hours ago, Cyker said:

By that argument there shouldn't be a side-lights or main-beam setting either, as they also disable the auto-mode!

I don't think it's really a valid argument though - I'd never had this problem in any of my old cars because they didn't have auto - When it got dim, I switched to sidelights, when it got dark I switched to dipped, all manually by myself.

But now cars have DRLs, some of which are quite bright, cars can have some light at the front but without the rear lights illuminated and you do see the occasional driver going along at dusk or even at night in street lit areas on DRLs alone. With DRLs there's more of a need for auto.

The other thing, for side lights, there has to be some option to have these on as there's situations where you need to show side and rear lights, where head-lights are inappropriate, when used as parking lights.

[SDR]

11 hours ago, philip42h said:

If you have an 'Off' position you might not (probably won't) remember to switch them back to 'Auto' - and then they won't come on as / when they should ...

Never been a problem before (this is the first car I've owned that doesn't have an 'off' position on the switch).

Having driven for many years before auto lights existed, I guess that I am used to making my own decisions!

[philip42h]

1 hour ago, SDR said:

Never been a problem before (this is the first car I've owned that doesn't have an 'off' position on the switch).

Having driven for many years before auto lights existed, I guess that I am used to making my own decisions!

Likewise ... 😉

And how many times have we seen cars driving around at night, particularly at dusk and in built-up areas, showing no lights at all? The driver doesn't yet need lights to see and hasn't yet realised that [s]he needs lights to be seen. The combination of DRLs and automatic lights helps solve this problem. Nothing is perfect though ...

[Chas G]

Yaris Cross is the same, the headlights came on even if it was only dull. I went into settings and turned down the light sensor to minimum setting.

 

[SDR]

2 minutes ago, philip42h said:

 

And how many times have we seen cars driving around at night, particularly at dusk and in built-up areas, showing no lights at all? The driver doesn't yet need lights to see and hasn't yet realised that [s]he needs lights to be seen. The combination of DRLs and automatic lights helps solve this problem. Nothing is perfect though ...

It's a fair point and I'll admit to having done it myself, thankfully rarely.   And, yes, it seems to be less common now that there are more cars on the road with auto lights.

It just doesn't suit me, mainly because of where I park the car, and I wonder why Toyota offers the 'off' option in some markets but not in others. 

[SDR]

2 minutes ago, Chas G said:

Yaris Cross is the same, the headlights came on even if it was only dull. I went into settings and turned down the light sensor to minimum setting.

 

I've done the same but it doesn't help when you're car is under a car port 👺

It does, however, help stop them coming on when they really aren't needed.

[flash22]

The no off position is a legal requirement for the type approval, so you can not turn off the DRL's

non UK/EU markets are usually japanesse built and the stalks are on opposite sides (right lights, and left wipers) to our market

[philip42h]

23 minutes ago, flash22 said:

The no off position is a legal requirement for the type approval, so you can not turn off the DRL's

Yes, no and maybe ... the more I look the more confusing the situation seems ... 😉

There should be no switch that explicitly controls the DRLs - Daytime Running Lights must come on automatically when the engine is switched on and go off again (or dim) when the headlights are switched on (i.e. at night). So, if you were to switch off your headlights, your DRLs must come on. There's no legal reason why you couldn't have a "lights off" position on the switch, but it would mean that the DRLs would come on.

Having the headlights set to come on automatically sorts all this out 'automatically' ...

If you switch to 'position lights' only on a modern Toyota, the headlights will go out, obviously, and the DRL units will remain dimly lit as 'position lights'. This may be useful if you are stopped somewhere at night, legal if you are driving slowly at night in a well-lit area and essential if you meet an oncoming car at night on a single-track road (but getting the other driver to realise this while you are trying to back-up into a black void while be blinded by the idiots headlights is another matter!).

So, in short, if you don't want to be showing so much light, you need to switch to the 'position light' mode.

[SDR]

59 minutes ago, flash22 said:

The no off position is a legal requirement for the type approval, so you can not turn off the DRL's

 

I don't think so.   All the recent VW Group cars that I have owned that have had DRLs have had an 'off' position on the light switch.   Including those with auto lights.   The light switch just didn't control the DRLs which came on with the ignition. 

[MC1216]

16 minutes ago, SDR said:

I don't think so.   All the recent VW Group cars that I have owned that have had DRLs have had an 'off' position on the light switch.   Including those with auto lights.   The light switch just didn't control the DRLs which came on with the ignition. 

You are correct...my Golf has an off position BUT if i put it in that position and the sensor says it's too dark i get a warning on the dashboard to put my lights on...however like most people i leave them on auto.