I can't understand the headlights

[NeedANewerCar]

I'm day two of owning a Toyota Aygo X vvt-I. It's two years old. I changed it from a 17 year old Citroen C1 cool, so I'm out of touch technology-wise. 

I simply cannot understand the headlights/stalk. Never before had I a car where headlights came on during the day. I can't seem to turn them off as there doesn't appear to be an off selection, just 'auto'. Is this right? Does that mean headlights will always come on regardless of my wanting them on or not? Or is there a video explaining this? 

Thank you in advance for any help given 🤷

[forkingabout]

Likely just the DRL - Daytime Running Lights.

EU safety requirement they cannot be turned off. 

[Dezzer21]

Will come on when you enter a dark area ie bridge or under trees.

[Cyker]

Yup, it's one of my pet hates too - Basically there is no OFF, only an Auto, so the headlights will *always* come on if the car thinks it's dark; The only mitigation for this is to manually select the sidelights, which overrides the automatic lights but then your sidelights will always be on.

It's all controlled by a little dome-shaped light sensor (In mine it's on the passenger-side of the car, just behind the windscreen). If that gets obscured in anyway - e.g. by a dashboard towel, or a shadow from an overpass, trees, or a particularly large seagull then the car will think it's night time and turn on the headlights automatically.

It shouldn't do this under normal circumstances though, so if it's blazing sunny weather with nary a cloud in the sky and there is definitely nothing covering the sensor dome, and it still turns on the headlights, then get the dealer to check it out!

But if the 'problem' is that it's normally off but keeps turning on due to the above, alas that is designed behaviour.

 

Edit: That is all assuming you actually mean the headlights and not the DRLs, which are a thing on newer cars! All new cars have 'Daytime Running Lights' which are extremely bright lights designed to show other road users that you are there.  But are not for illuminating the road at night (Although lots of people without auto-lights unintentionally use them for that because they are so bright!)

 

[Wiz201]

I don't mind the auto headlights, but that's just me. Its useful having them turn on for things like tunnels and long underpasses.

[Cyker]

I don't usually have a problem with them, but it's when it cant make up its mind it gets very annoying; In a few months time it'll be at that sort of light-level where it gets a bit marginal, and whenever I drive under trees or even in the shadow of tall buildings sometimes it'll turn the lights on suddenly and then off again and then on again and then off again.

Just having an override would solve this so easily!

It'd also save me beaming people in the face when I'm parked at night - In the day time, I can turn the car on to listen to music, use the AC etc. while waiting and all the lights, even the DRLs, will stay off until I move it out of P.

But at night, as soon as I turn the car on, the main beams come on too, which makes it impossible to e.g. wait discreetly in a carpark at night without having the car completely off.

 

[Mojo1010]

OP is talking about DRL, once handbrake off it will stay on until engine is off/light off. That is just the modern day law requirement of car lights. 

[NeedANewerCar]

2 hours ago, Mojo1010 said:

OP is talking about DRL, once handbrake off it will stay on until engine is off/light off. That is just the modern day law requirement of car lights. 

Wow, I'd no idea of such a thing! 🤯 

[NeedANewerCar]

Thank you for all your replies.

[Kental]

Just as a minor aside, the sensitivity of the auto lights has 3 settings if you want to alter the level of darkness needed to activate them.

It does make a difference as last weekend I was following a Corolla the same age as mine through partial tree cover during the early evening and their lights came on much more frequently than mine on the least sensitive setting.