Adaptive Headlights not working correctly

[rossi72]

Hi

Had my 40d for 3 months now. I really love the car. Great engine, gearbox, build quality. Chassis feels solid and you can throw it about with confidence.

BUT!!!….The adaptive headlights have not worked as they should from the off.

The do not project a black area around the car in front. The almost track the cars in front and on the other side of the road like a spotlight. I am always getting other drives flashing at me. (that doesn't sound right).

Dealer has had the car back for the last 5 days. So far I am being told there is a 'jig' that can be used to set the lights up. Which they are trying to locate and get hold of.

Service manager has taken car out in the dark to try for himself and agrees they are not working properly.

Has anyone else had a similar issue?
HELP!!!. It takes me back to my Land Rover days.
http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/ima...ilies/sigh.gif

[plob]

Strange
There are two ways that the headlights work. The first is the adaptive part. This is where the lights deviate to the left and right with the steering input - this happens on low and high beams. In addition, the turning lights illuminate the kerb when you turn the wheel at low speed or use the indicators.

The second is the high beam assisted mode. This only comes into play when you are on an unlit road. If there are streetlights, this part of the functionality switches off. Also, you must have enabled this by pressing the lower of the two buttons on the left indicator stalk (you'll see an additional green headlight symbol on the dash when you do).
In this mode, when the system sees that there is no streetlighting, it will put the headlights on high beam. If it then sees traffic in front of you then it will work its magic and start moving the beams around individually so as not to dazzle them.

This is a very specific set of circumstances (unlit roads, high beam assistant enabled, traffic in the distance in front of you) that it is unusual to see it working. I have to make a special trip to some unlit roads when I want to play with this feature. The effect is very subtle and is not very obvious unless you are concentrating closely on what the beam patterns are doing in front of you.

What you are describing sounds like badly aligned headlights. My last car (650i GC) also had LED headlights and that always used to dazzle people as they were badly aligned. By contrast, the X5 has very well aligned headlights meaning I get a great view of the road without dazzling anyone (I've never been flashed).

I'd see what happens when the dealer aligns the headlights. When you get it back, find a long, winding, unlit road, enable the high beam assistant and wait until the system puts on the high beams (you'll see the blue high beam indicator in the dash). Then keep driving until you see another car and hopefully the lights should start their merry dance. Good luck and I hope that helps (I love my headlights).

Cheers
P