DRLs Not Turning Off After Locking

does "parking lights" mean just the corner markers, or is it corners plus taillights?

I've never driven a 3rd gen, and there's no special controls for DRLs on the 2nd gen (truck just keeps the front "blinkers" on full time other than signalling a turn when ignition is "on").

If it's just the corner markers and they're all LED, I wouldn't worry too much about a dead battery except in somewhere like airport long term parking. Those LED's aren't going to draw nearly as much as all the "residual" current from all the computers, security system and whatever else modern cars leave running while they're parked (my 2008 4Runner will kill the oversized battery I put into it in about 2 weeks if it doesn't get driven some).

A portable jump starter is always a good thing to have on hand though. I've used mine more times to help co-workers than I've had to use it to get myself going, but even for jumping another vehicle it's easier than moving your truck then unpacking and connecting full sized cables, and it can get to cars parked in spaces where there's no access to put another vehicle nearby.

 

lol I’m still trying to figure this out. I thought I knew the light system well, but for crying out loud Toyota had to make it so freaking complicated. I still don’t know what “parking lights” are and why you need them or why they are called such…

I miss the good old days where you had “on” “off” and “high beam”.

regardless, something is not right with my interior dash/instrument lights. They are not turning off when I lock the vehicle.

to clear up confusion, what are my DRLs and what are my Parking lights? I have the LED package. When I turn my parking lights on, I get the white perimeter lights around each headlight. The smaller lights below that are off. Are those small lights considered my DRLs?
If so, those only come on when I have low beams on. Auto is not turning the DRLs on.

 

I'd think that "DRL" would be anything that's always on when the engine is running, there's no real "standard" for which lights make up the "DRL" set as long as the lights used aren't illegal for road use. Or in your case, whetever comes on when the DRL system is set to "On", if that includes the "eye makeup" then those are your DRLs; the idea of making a DRL system controllable like that seems like it'd defeat the whole point.

Some of the earliest versions (mainly GM and maybe VW?) used the low-beam headlights for that purpose; maybe some makers still do this?

The 2nd Gen Tacomas and 4th Gen T4R which have the DRL system use the front turn indicator lights and have a 12-pin rather than 8-pin "flasher" unit because of this.

"Parking lights" traditionally are the set of lights which come on when the headlight switch is in the position between "on" and "off". I think it's just the corner markers on most cars since there are situations where it's dangerous to have no lights on and be "invisible" but also can be unnecessary or even dangerous to have head/tail lights on; such as if you're pulled off the road in fog/blizzard/sandstorm conditions where someone spotting taillights might try to follow a stationary car and end up in a collision. In some states (maybe all?), it's technically illegal to drive with only the parking lights on unless your car also uses them as turn indicators.

 

That white perimeter light is both your DRL and your parking lights. With DRLs only the perimeter light is on. With parking lights all your lights except headlights are on.

 

So what are the small rectangle lights below my low/high beams called? They seem to come on whenever they feel like it.
When I have the stalk set to auto, it’s random whether they decide to come on or not. They also come on when low beams are on.

 

The parking lights are not meant to turn off when locking the vehicle, they must be manually turned off. They are meant for parking, not driving.
DRL, LED or otherwise, will be on automatically unless 'parking' or 'DRL off' are selected.

 

Marker lights.
This is normal for all toyotas if you leave lights in Marker position and lock doors

 

What is considered “marker position”?

 

You’ll have to explain why my parking lights are turning off when I lock the vehicle.

 

But you just said that they did NOT go off when you lock the vehicle???

By design they (Parking Lights) that which are intended for parking, once manually switched ON, do NOT go off unless manually turned off

There is also the possibility that parking, DRL & marker lights are being interchanged here..

 

One above Auto in attached example.

 

correct. I did say that. And after some experimentation, I believe I have figured out why.

try this next time you’re in your trucks. Start the truck and remove handbrake (if you use it) and turn on parking lights. Now turn off the truck while leaving the stalk on parking lights. Open your door. Your lights should turn off.

now while the truck is off, turn the stalk selector to DRL OFF then back to parking lights. Your parking lights should come back on and STAY on even if you try locking the vehicle.

I believe, in my attempt yesterday to figure out what was going on, I selected parking lights while the truck was off and thought it was malfunctioning when I locked it and the lights stayed on.

we’re all learning today! Isn’t this fun?

 

Those are just there for looks, they're purely decorative; call them accent lights if you want.

You are correct, if you turn on the lights after the engine is off they will stay on and not time out like they normally would.

 

I don't think many people know the truck operates like this and I don't believe it is stated in the user manual - hence the goose chase this thread has created.

In my situation the other day, it was raining, so I had the stalk set to low beams during my commute to work. When I parked, I shut the truck off and then put the selector back to parking lights, assuming the weather was going to improve on my drive home. I then got out and tried to lock the truck, but as we now know, the lights stayed on. This made me think my truck was malfunctioning. It was not.

Would love if Toyota made an "if/then" chart for this light system in the user manual. I bet it would clear up a lot of confusion.

 

AKA; parking light position

All that is correct, I tried it. I don't know why but I did. I suspect most people dont use or need parking light mode.
For me auto works fine, otherwise when I want lights on I switch them on.

glad you figured it out

 

My guess, if you're off-road and need to light the path ahead of you while you're out of the vehicle, but do not want it running, you can turn your lights on. I'm thinking of helping out during a recovery, unlocking a gate, giving someone a jump, etc...

I can't think of any other reason.

 

Now seeing all your info above, it sounds like you turned off the truck, then changed the position of the lights on the control stalk. This is like turning off any car of any year, and then turning on the lights, they will come on and stay on. the older the vehicle, the lights might not ever go off, until the battery dies. The newer vehicles have a battery usage, drain, timer... more than likely after 10-20 minutes, the lights will be turned off by your tacoma, to prevent you from fully draining the battery. Best practice is to either leave the lights in auto mode, or change them to what you want, at start up, or before shutting off the vehicle. Shutting off the vehicle then messing with the lights, just turns them on, resulting it what you found out. do not do that. Ski