You need to press both light switch buttons (the little round ones on the left), otherwise the high beams won't work.

 

You should only have to push the bottom one - it automatically "presses" the upper one. The upper one turns on the running (parking) lights. The bottom one turns on the headlights.

To turn off the lights, you have to press the bottom button first, and then the upper button, otherwise the running lights don't turn off.

Since the car in question is an '06 with DRLs, the low beam headlight is aways on. You still need to press the button to turn them "on" so that the high beams will work.

 

Thanks, Tim.

I think I'm gonna have to print this out as a little crib note to keep in the car. I seem to have a mental block on this issue.

 

What Tim said I never remember that pushing the bottom one "pushes" the upper one too. Thus I always hit both.