AUTO headlight setting
The AUTO position on the light switch: the headlights and other outside lights turn on and off by themselves as it gets dark or light.
How to read it
AUTO marks the switch position where a light sensor decides when the lights come on. Chevrolet’s 2022 Bolt EUV manual says AUTO turns the exterior lamps on and off automatically depending on outside lighting, using a light sensor on top of the instrument panel. Toyota’s 2024 RAV4 manual says the headlights, daytime running lights and the other lights turn on and off automatically in AUTO.
Also searched as: AUTO headlight switch, autolamps, auto lights, automatic headlights symbol.
Dashboard symbols vary by manufacturer. The vehicle's owner's manual or a qualified mechanic can say what a light means for a particular vehicle.
When it comes on
Ford’s F-150 autolamps turn the headlamps on in low light or when the wipers are running, and keep them on for a time after the ignition is switched off. Chevrolet says its system may also turn the headlamps on in a parking garage or tunnel, and turn them off or switch to daytime running lamps when it is bright enough again.
What the manual says to do
Ford’s manual says a driver may need to override the system if it doesn’t turn the headlamps on in low visibility, giving daytime fog as the example. It also says that with autolamps on, the high beams can’t be switched on until the system has turned the low beams on.
Differences by country or standard
Canada’s regulations allow the high beams in AUTO only when the conditions for the low beams to come on automatically exist. Since 1 September 2021, a car whose main indicators are lit while only the daytime running lights are on must switch its low beams on automatically within two seconds when it is darker than 1,000 lux outside, or keep its tail lamps lit.
Look-alikes
The automatic high beam indicator is a headlamp with an A, and it controls the high beams only. Hyundai’s 2024 Tucson keeps its daytime running lights on with the switch at OFF or AUTO once the parking brake is released.
Read next
- Next in Dashboard warning lightsHeadlight levelling symbolThe headlight levelling control or warning: it sets how high the headlight beams point, which changes with the load in the car.
- The same shape in Asian flagsFlag of IranIran’s flag has three equal stripes of green, white and red, with the national emblem in red in the centre and the words “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) written 22 times in white along the edges of the green and the red. Iran’s constitution names the colours, the emblem and the motto but gives them no meaning; the art historian Kimia Maleki writes that the 22 marks the day the revolution of 1979 won, the 22nd day of the 11th month of the Iranian calendar.
More dashboard warning lights
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves, letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038): Identification of Controls, Tell-tales and Indicators, C.R.C., c. 1038, Schedule IV, s. 101, Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website, s. 108(17) and (19)
- 2020 F-150 Owner's Manual, Ford Motor Company, Lighting: Autolamps
- 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Owner’s Manual, Chevrolet (General Motors), Exterior Lighting: Exterior Lamp Controls; Automatic Headlamp System
- 2024 Toyota RAV4 Owner’s Manual, OM0R147U, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., 4-3. Headlight switch, pp. 219 to 220
- 2024 Hyundai Tucson Owner’s Manual, Hyundai Motor America (MyHyundai), Convenience Features: Lighting Control, p. 5-72
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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