Daytime running lights

Hello again friends,
Two weeks in getting accustomed to our new to us 2020. Have benefited by your presence here already and for that I thank you very much.
I have to take vehicle back in for warranty detail/wax, so I’ll ask them, but wanted to ask the experts first.
Day time running lights - Don’t they come on automatically like my gen 3 and gen 1 taco? If so, they do not.
On blinker stem two operations- Lower spots (fog) work as they should (when headlights are on).
Next operation DRL - parking - headlights. Is DRL daytime running lights? If so, that answers my first question, they are not automatic. You must select, correct?
If that is correct then yes, we have no daytime running lights.
Am I missing something?
Appreciate you guys.

 

When you turn the stalk to drl, just leave it there and the drl’s will come on at start up.

 

That’s what I thought when realized they were not on after assuming they were automatic. But even after turning the stalk to that position, they still do not come on.

 

Looks like you have a problem there. As stated above when on DRL they should come on at start up. I usually leave mine set there.

 

Any suggestions where to start looking?
Interesting enough in the first week of owning it they did work at one time. Here’s how I know.
Day 1 following wife who’s driving old car, reports afterwards no DRL’s.
Day 2 while waiting for her out in the parking lot while grabbing lunch, decided to check all lights, wondering why DRL’s are not automatic. With engine running learned DRL’s are not automatic. Found you must select DRL, confirmed by seeing them on only when selected. Never gave it anymore thought.
Day 3 in my driveway nearing dusk (in front of closed garage door) went out to see if fogs can operate apart from all other lights on. With engine running discovered NO, cannot run fogs without headlights also on. That’s when I discovered DRL’s no longer working as before in the correct selected position.
What am I missing?
Thanks for any advice.

 

UPDATE ——- AM I EVER STUPID!
I’ll admit, I’m not very smart about many things but humble enough to know it.

LET’S TURN THIS INTO A QUIZ!
WHO CAN GUESS WHAT WAS WRONG!
Read my entries carefully. Especially the first one, the one above this one, along with this one. The answer is hiding in plain site.

Just as I was getting in my car at the dealership after they completed the detail work yesterday afternoon, I realized I forgot to ask them about the DRL puzzle (why are they sometimes on, sometimes off). I really didn’t want to go back in, let me check again one more time. Presto! They’re working. Didn’t want to go back in, but the small nagging question remained ....why only sometimes?

That night, I went out to grab the manual, yet again, to get to the bottom of it. As I grabbed it I wondered if I should just sit out there in the dark and read it step by step following as I’m reading. “Come on, Jeff, this isn’t rocket science. There’s an on and off switch”. So before heading back inside with the manual, I tried again since car was parked directly at garage door, it’ll be easy to see. Nope, not working again!

WHY? WHO CAN TELL ME WHY?

 

They are called daytime running lights for a reason.

Edit: Reread your posts, engine was running during tests. I figured you were doing the tests with engine off. Hmm. Not sure now.

 

Because it was dark.

 

BINGO!!

You wouldn’t of gathered that from the original post. I just simply said they were not working. You would of never known under what conditions are they not working. But the post where I said “interesting enough they were working at one time” revealed the reason. Then the last post should of been a dead ringer, but I failed to connect the dots.

Such a coincidence that each time I checked when we were out and about they worked. And each time I checked when they didn’t, was in my driveway. Yet one had nothing to do with the other., other than the time of day.

Interesting that I wrote it out in the sequence it happened. Not realizing I’m supplying the clues (answer) while describing issue. Almost seems like I’m deliberately writing a story sprinkling clues. But that would be the farthest from the truth.

Moral of the story: One can be humble yet not very smart!

 

There is one other thing... My 4R has a position on the headlight control for DRL. But not all models do. The other thing is, even with my headlight switch set to DRL, upon engine start up the daytime running lights do not come on until the emergency brake is released. Since I always set the e-brake, I noticed that on both my 4R and Tacoma (2015 - the last good generation of Tacoma).

 

I’m right with you because while in my driveway both times, I’m putting it in reverse, drive, release parking brake. I’m completely puzzled believing it’s something SIMPLE, some simple little thing I’m missing. All the while vehicle was laughing at me saying nice try bud, but too late .... literally!

 

Alright, dumb it down for me. What does the dark have to do with anything? You are saying your DRLs don't work in the dark?

 

Also, if you turn on the 4R with the lights on DRL and the emergency brake is on, the lights do not turn on until you disengage the parking brake.

Steve

 

Lol

 

I don't get this either. Is the deal with the newer 4R that if DRLS are selected they turn off if it it is dark ?

When DRLs became mandatory in my country I always thought it was for safety - your vehicle would be more visible if you didn't bother your axe to turn your lights on (not uncommon, those days). As I understood it they were/are usually a lower output from the high beam lights. And, as mentioned, when the parking brake is applied the DRLs turn off. This last part is what a lot of folks up here don't do when they're sitting idling/texting/whatever at the side of the road. So you get to walk or drive by the car with lights shining at you !

So is it that you guys still have a choice to drive around a newer 4R with no lights on at night ?

 

That's what I thought he was getting at but it doesn't work that way on my '20.

Correct. I can choose off/DRL/running lights/full headlights. Some other models aren't that way and do not have an off setting. My '06 Tundra was that way. DRL only unless you bypass it.

 

Got it, thanks.

Looks like Canada followed Scandinavia on mandating DRLs (maybe because of dark winters or maybe 'cause we sometimes copy cat socialists ). USA held off. Toyota has some diver controlled set ups. All good.

 

Yes, friend. The two different times I was getting to the bottom of the mystery was in my driveway. Once at dusk and later in the week in the dark. Both times they didn’t work, yet two times I searched agin for the reason, I happened to be out and about during the day. In about a 7 day period I checked 4 different times. Twice they worked, twice they didn’t. Never connected the correlation why.

 

To be clear, with this model you must select DRL “on” to activate but if vehicle senses low light, such as dusk, they will not COME ON even with switch selected “on”. Will they automatically GO OFF when driving from daylight to dusk? Probably, but have not tried.
All other lights work as they should daytime or night time.