sderman

The light switch positions on my '14 are 1) Off, 2) Auto, 3) Daylight Running Lights, and 4) All Lamps On. It appears that the DRLs do not turn on while the switch is in the Off position when the engine has started (unlike my 07ES and 07RX). Not sure why since this is an important safety feature and surprised that car manufacturers allow the public to turn off their DRLs. Anyway, I am uncomfortable leaving the switch all the time in the recommended Auto position since I hate the pause at night where the headlights stay on for a while after the engine is turned off, I am sure that most aren't bothered by this. I though I had this licked by normally leaving the switch in the DRL position and at night manually turning it to position #4 for the headlamps to kick on. However, when I did this last night and shut off the engine while in the DRL position I got a message to shut off my lights. So...does anyone know if there is a dealer alterable setting regarding this light switch? Thanks.

lesz

There is no setting listed in the Lexus ES pdf, either user changeable or dealer changeable, to keep the daytime running lights on even if the light switch is in the DRL off position. Via Toyota/Lexus Techstream, there are some settings that can be changed but that are not listed in pdf, but, if there is one that does what you want it to do, I have not, during my exploration with Techstream, found it.

If you leave the lights in the auto position, they will turn off by themselves after the vehicle is shut down. In the headlights on position, I don't think that they turn off automatically, but it would be pretty hard to forget to turn them off considering that you get, not only the "turn lights off" warning on the info display as soon as you open a door, but you also get an audible warning that does not stop until the lights are turned off.

Nelexus88

As LESZ said there is no setting to allow the US spec Lexus to leave the DRL turned on. The Canadian model does but not the US version.
You can however, program the headlights to turn off immediately with the start/stop button when the switch is in the Auto position, if the 30 second delay is your only issue.

My complaint is the headlights turn on when I pull into my garage during the daytime and the switch is in Auto. Im still trying to adjust the auto headlight sensitivity to prevent that and still have them turn on at the proper time at night.

sderman

Nexlexus88: That would work perfectly with me! But how do you program the headlights on Auto (and when dark outside) to turn off immediately after pressing the Stop button?

I have to park mine outside so I don't have to worry too much about a sensitivity issue. But for the sake of other readers please let us know how you make out trying to adjust the sensitivity.

lesz

Good luck with that. Even in the most sensitive setting, I find that the headlights don't turn on nearly as soon as I would want them to turn on as daylight starts to fade, and that has been the case with the most sensitive auto headlight setting on all of the Lexus vehicles that I've owned.

And, even with the least sensitive setting, I don't think you are likely to be able to stop the headlights from going on when you enter the garage, unless you have a very well-lit garage. There is, however, a dealer-only setting that allows you to adjust the time delay before the auto headlights go on. It isn't listed in the pdf, but I discovered it by accident when I was exploring the Techstream software. If you make the delay long enough, you may be able to drive into the garage and shut down the vehicle before the headlights turn on.

sderman

Lesz and Nelexus88: I did a bit more searching in the Forum and it appears that if you have the Nav system, lighting adjustments are made by going to Menu, Setup, Vehicle, Vehicle Customization, Lights Setting. Hopefully there is a similar procedure for non-Nav cars.

lesz

Yes, that is true, but none of the available customizable settings will do what you want to do.

jbm79

Mine is set to Auto, which turns on the DRLs, and the headlights are customized to turn off immediately as I open the driver door (provided you had already turned off the engine). This works well for me as I do not lounge in the car when the engine has been turned off.

lesz

That is setting #14 in the attached pdf. I don't think that does exactly what the OP wants to do, but it might well be a compromise that comes close.

Nelexus88

Sorry I missed these discussions last night. Stormy weather here in the midwest made me shut down the computer early last night. Glad the ES was parked inside during the wind and hail. Some car dealers were not so fortunate

sderman; I believe you can have a dealer change the lights off delay time on a non-Nav car.

Lesz; Thanks for the info on headlight sensitivity and delay on adjustment.

atoyota

I see this as a safety feature (and I believe that is how the car manufacturers promote it too) to allow nighttime illumination around the car while you approach/leave the car. It probably wouldn't hurt to make it a user/dealer configurable item though.

sderman

Setting #14 would be perfect for me. Thanks all for the various inputs!

jakepdx

One other tip: if you press the lock on the key fob again after the car is locked, that shuts off the lights.