Automatic high beam beam failure?

Yes, I happened to notice that too not that long ago, but now it’s doing it when it’s dark. In other words the only time the brights will go on is if I shut off the automatic high beam and manually engage the high beams it on the turn signal stalk. But it still is an intermittent problem (sometimes they seem to work fine). And the high beam sensor is indeed on the right side of the top of the dash page to 221 per the drivers operator manual.

 

Silly thing... You are going over 35mph right?

 

Very good point!

 

Who knows with some of these issues.

 

35 miles an hour? That might be it, but I could swear that when I was driving slower in our neighborhood here, if the high beams didn’t go on at least the icon was lit. The more I think about it the more I think the high beams went on under 35 miles an hour. We have no street lights out here it’s practically pitch black at night and we have to watch out for animals. I’m pretty sure the auto high beams worked under 35 miles an hour, but again, good point.

 

It turns off in the 30 or 20s like the frontal collision feature.
I believe lows have a wider output.

 

NO NO NO it is not.
caribe makaira is correct that it is the camera attached to the windshield. The sensor on the dash is to determine when it is dark or light enough for auto headlights to come on and this auto bright headlights feature as well. TWO different things but related in this case.

 

So I can’t comment on behalf of the Tacoma because I didn’t have this feature in my 3rd gen. However I do have it in my Titan.

I’ve had it happen a few time where I tried to turn my high beams on and they wouldn’t work. Took me a while to understand that it senses not only other drivers headlights, but also ambient lighting in the area. So it will pick up street lights and even at times house porch lights that are bright enough in the distance that appear to be coming from around the direction you’re traveling.

now during the few times it wouldn’t work there was 2-3 times where I think that a street light played a roll. However there was one more common thing in my scenario, when I was trying to use them and it wasn’t working. The first time I tried I know it was on a very dark back road. Just can’t remember if maybe there was a porch light or something it may have thought was another driver possibly coming at me in the distance. But the common reason I was turning them on, or we’ll trying to was because I happened to notice a deer in the middle of the road or right at the edge in all these situations. So it got me thinking. Perhaps it wouldn’t allow me to turn the brights on when there’s a animal big enough or perhaps it thinks it’s a pedestrian? Perhaps it’s a long shot. And like I said the first time it happened I remember it being very dark out. Just couldn’t remember if there was some other ambient lighting because at that time I didn’t know it could pick some of that up.

I don’t usually use my high beams too much as my truck have a really good set of LED headlights and I always drive with my Fogs on. Lighting is probably 4x better than the old incandescent projectors in my Tacoma. Also I know it’s comparing apples to oranges as it’s a Nissan vs Toyota system and I’m sure there are some differences. However just some food for thought.

 

I had the same freakout before. What I discovered though is that you can manually engage the high beams with the stalk. IF the 'auto' high beam is pushed in, then the high beams won't engage even with the stalk down if the environment is in day light.

If it is dim and your truck detects low light, then auto high beam will engage the high beams. The auto high beams are dependent on the light sensor as well.

 

I smoke a pipe in my truck a lot so I cleaned the sensors and it seems to be working now (and at 10 or 15 miles an hour). It could’ve also been some of the ash from my ashtray as well. You can see I need to wipe down my dash. FYI, spot gluing an astray to a piece of leather or some other high friction material generally keeps the astray in place.

 

ewwww

 

Probably not as apples to oranges as one might think considering a good chunk of parts on many trucks are made by the same vendors. One of the correct parts needed to fix the 1st gen Titan's rear axle vent problem happens to be a part for the Tacoma of the same years.

 

NEVER flash your brights at an oncoming vehicle, EVER. Do you not know the urban legend?

 

Do tell…

 

That legend has been around since the wagon trains rolling across the prairie in the great westward expansion.

Apparently all the gangs recruit new initiates by telling them to go kill anyone that flashes their brights at them.

My uncle's barber totally heard it on the news.

 

I love using my lightbar LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=657rCJL9GnA&ab_channel=BrandonLusch

 

Rumor has it, that if you do that, your credit score drops by 200points, inflation goes up another 10% & your truck develops a rear main seal leak.

Hey, I could be totally wrong. But do you want to risk it? I think not!

 

When I need high beams I just push that switch on the floorboard up by my left foot.

Of course the headlights have to be on, but that's just pulling out the knob marked lights on the left side of the dash.

Sometimes manual operations are good.

 

Few things are more satisfying than flashing the rear bumper light pods when some asshole is tailgating and flashing their high beams

 

In some states, it's actually illegal to flash your headlights at someone using high beams. That being said, I've actually flashed mine at someone who had low beams so they'd flash back telling the jerk behind me to turn off his high beams. It's worked a few times.