Turn off auto brights

I just turned the feature off when I got the truck. I was surprised it was even a thing. That's a pretty tough technology to pull off well, seems like it has a way to go.

 

I want the foot switch back for the high beams.. Yah, I am that old. My left foot does nothing so I'd like to use it to switch my high beams on and off.

 

It’s explained in the quick reference guide how to turn Auto high beams on or off. Turn headlights on, push the stalk forward to turn on High beams, push Auto button for Auto high beams on , push Auto button again to turn off Auto high beams. Etc.

 

@bonifacio_629

I wasn't gonna say that...lol

But, it sure sounded like you weren't happy!

It's a good thing it has an "Off" button...heck, replace it with another button that does something else! lol

That's what TW-ers do around here. (I'm being a joke-ster with that one-liner) LOL

 

@davidstacoma

Thanks for the reference.

Every now-and-again, I'll read through the owner's manual to understand functions of my truck...obviously, it's for buttons I hadn't used before. lol

 

Same here lol. I don’t use Auto headlights so a bit of a refresher for me as well though I knew how to turn them on and off with the button. I went almost a year before I realized I had side mirror heaters

 

Funny story about those side mirror heaters, for over a year, I thought I had a rear window defroster. I would press it on cold days. Little did I know, it wasn't defrosting the rear window. When I finally realized what I had been doing, I said out loud "What a fucking dumbass!"

 

lmao that’s exactly what I thought the button was for, rear window defroster

 

You guys are too much!

Rear window defroster???

LOL!

 

Haha well when most other vehicles you’ve owned have had rear window defrosters and no side mirror heaters it’s not that surprising.

 

Oh, I get it.

There's no lines on the rear window...you know, those lines inside the glass that heat up.

With an auto-window, it would seem difficult to weave those heat lines through the glass.

But...it's an honest mistake. lol

 

Yeah I noticed no lines near winter and thought hmmm that can’t be right lol. That’s when I noticed Ice melting on the side mirrors.
I have the SR which has a solid rear window.
Don’t get me wrong I do look at the manuals but a lot in there to remember. I’m more of a push it and see what happens guy then read the manual haha.

 

Since we're being honest, I hadn't pressed the AHB button until just recently.

I was curious if the OEM LED headlights I installed worked with the Harness I bought.

Accidentally pressed the button about a month ago and saw the notification on the dash...and went, hmmm...activate AHB by turning on High Beams.

It's fun learning about our Tacomas! lol

 

Yes interesting it works so poorly for some. I don't use it often, mostly because I am slow to trust that it will actually work and not blind oncoming drivers for a split second. But when I have had the auto mode on, I am surprised how well it works. Never seems to be fooled by reflectors or signs or street lights and clicks to low immediately when an oncoming car appears. I actually like the feature. Totally not necessary but a nice convenience if it works well.

 

I really don’t remember hitting the button. I came back after an oil change and was afraid I had a firmware update that baked it in. I would have been pissed.

The brights turn off if there is too much sign reflection - I get it… but coming up on a turn when you really need to know where you are going is a BAD TIME to lose brightness.

so I de-pressed the button and should be good. 2 years of ownership its great to learn something new.

Any other easter eggs I should find?

 

I found this instructional video...but it doesn't say about adjusting the sensitivity.

 

Here's an old thread with instructions...reply#14.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/auto-headlights-sensitivity-adjustments.533016/

 

This is the actual way to do it. There’s a setting buried in the stereo options that people, including myself, often confuse for AHB sensitivity.

That setting is “light sensor sensitivity” and adjusts the sensitivity of the auto headlights. As in, when they come on and turn off when the headlight stalk is set to auto, but it doesn’t affect AHB

 

Interesting indeed as I have the exact opposite experience. It is WAY to slow to respond to oncoming drivers and it frequently gets confused by non-automitive lights or reflections. then again I turn my high beams off before the other car is visible, not after

I have tried it three times since buying the truck and hated it each time