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Intermittent problems with Automatic High Beam function on 2017 Limited

10K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  MbP 
#1 ·
My high beams sometime fail to work correctly. The low beam would be on, the control lever will be pushed all the way out. The green light showing a headlight with a word "auto" would illuminate and the high beams would cycle on & off as they should. Then the green "auto" light would go off and the high beams would not turn on anymore even under the right conditions - this would last from a few seconds to about a minute. Anyone had this condition?

I have two days left on the warranty so I have dropped my Rav4h off at the dealer to check it out - but I would not be surprised if they do not find anything given how intermittent it is. But at least I should get the warranty case started.

Also, does anyone know how to disable the automatic high beams in Techstream? The manual states it is a dealer-only setting.
 
#5 ·
Found similar problem described on many other Toyota/Lexus forums. It seems the cause is dirty "forward recognition camera" and the solution is to clean and to recalibrate it. It is typically ~$400 when out of warranty.

 
#6 ·
Also found existing thread in the Rav4.4 Exterior forum:

 
#7 ·
After two dealer visits (Wellesley, MA Toyota) and two calls to customer service (800-331-4331, case # 1911061805) I am still being denied warranty repair by Toyota. The dealer keeps saying "leave the car - we will check it out" and then finds nothing. My video of the problem happening is not enough proof for them. The Toyota phone reps just keep reading me pages from the manual and saying that I am doing it wrong - even the 2nd tier rep who is supposed to be a specialist.

When I asked them just google "Toyota auto high beam malfunction" and review the first top three hits - I just got "this is not how we work". Funny thing that Lexus owners seem to have their car repaired without much problems after referring to the Lexus thread.

I am now officially giving up. The repair seems to be simple enough for me to do it myself in about an hour - just remove the camera, clean the windshield and the camera lens and reinstall. Then place the printed "target" at two predetermined positions in front of the car and do a few clicks in Techstream to recalibrate the camera.

Moral of the story - do not count on Toyota to fix complicated electronic problems (unless you upgrade to a Lexus).
 
#9 ·
My 2018 R4H Limited with 16K miles started doing this only in the last two weeks. (Or at least, that's when I first noticed it. :oops: )

Not sure what causes it, and my only observed correlation is that it only happens after many bright/low beam exchanges in a short period of time. My solution has been to flip the switch to "Off" (momentarily), then immediately all the way to "Headlights/Manual" mode for a few minutes, then back to "Auto". That seems to resolve things. But maybe that's just another "Dance to keep the Tigers Away"?

It may be that the algorithm has a built-in "rest" setting when it detects a high transition frequency. Several of my usual routes are on two-lane roads with lots of curves and hills. All of which leads to lots of high/low switching when there's lots of traffic.

And as the issue is intermittent I don't think it would help to contact the dealer, (as others have noted above.) But I may mention it at the next scheduled service...

As always, YMMV.
 
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#10 ·
You've got my full attention now, as it happened to me last night! My kid has been complaining about a bunch of 'oddities' on her car and as she's out of town for the week I now have the opportunity for some extended evaluation time.

With the stalk in Auto Headlight mode, I find that around 50% of the time when I move the lever forward to high beam the green 'Auto' will fail to come on immediately, or sometimes not at all. Sometimes cycling the system would help, sometimes not. When the symbol was off, the high beams won't come on (so it's not just an indicator issue - the system really isn't active). So far I don't see a pattern.

The system on our 2015 Sienna Limited is stand-alone and initiates flawlessly, but the detection is a bit iffy. That's somewhat typical of the 'blob detection' used with the earlier cameras. The image processing power isn't great.

The 2018 has the full Safety Sense package and the camera is shared with LDW, etc. I would have thought that if the full lane keeping was working, the auto high beam would too? I guess I'll grab a flashlight and go look for indications of a haze on the inside glass and camera lens.
 
#11 ·
Service write-up: "Vehicle needs to be dropped overnight so technician can drive home and check working of the Auto highbeam function."

Joyriding on my dime! Do I get to go home in his/her car?? ;)

I get it. Its harder to replicate in the daylight, and Toyota won't pay for a fix if the fault can't be verified by a tech.
 
#17 ·
Problem solved:

 
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