New Car Tech | Automatic Full Beam Lights, How Do They Work?

I had the use of a Volvo XC60 while my BMW was in the body shop for repair. In this video before the Volvo had to be returned I see how it's automatic full beam headlights work. Were they any good?
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Пікірлер: 284

  • @SurgeDashcam
    @SurgeDashcam3 жыл бұрын

    You don't have to be a car person to appreciate how good technology like this is. Very satisfying to see too.

  • @scottlaaa

    @scottlaaa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Bmw so once it goes wrong out of warranty it won’t be cheap, my boss had a bmw x5 the ring headlight went it cost him £500 to replace!

  • @KMGliTChEZz

    @KMGliTChEZz

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlaaa It's actually the rental volvo in this video. His BMW was still in the shop and he wanted to show off some of the features of the Volvo in this video.

  • @Grahamvfr

    @Grahamvfr

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlaaa Haha, my grandad probably said that when they replaced starting handles with starter motors.

  • @atikulislam4079

    @atikulislam4079

    3 жыл бұрын

    The timing of the lights are brilliant.

  • @scottlaaa

    @scottlaaa

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@KMGliTChEZz I thought it was his bmw 😂 volvo are expensive for parts too

  • @kevinbarker3366
    @kevinbarker33663 жыл бұрын

    A number of years ago now, an old police class 1 advanced driving examiner, (not many of those left) quoted to me, "do we develop technology too take control from the driver or do we develop drivers to take responsibility for their own actions ".

  • @dakerbal

    @dakerbal

    3 жыл бұрын

    We develop technology. That's how innovation and progress works - would you still want to drive without TCS and ABS?

  • @ashley_neal

    @ashley_neal

    3 жыл бұрын

    I would have asked him whether he ordered wind up windows with his latest car instead of those electric ones!

  • @dominicfindlay

    @dominicfindlay

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ashley_neal not the same, you still have to trigger the window to go up and down. For the lights you are expecting the car to decide when to do it. It's still a 'dumb' computer. There was that viral automatic brake fail where the CEO/manager got hit by the car. (A volvo) As long as there's a way of controlling it manually if you want to, then its not bad. With the Tesla model 3 so many options are only accessible through the touch screen in the middle. Kinda dumb.

  • @ashley_neal

    @ashley_neal

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@dominicfindlay as you say it’s still a dumb computer so you still have to oversee it constantly, especially knowing its limitations.

  • @GMBasix

    @GMBasix

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ashley_neal I think that is one of the problems, though. Increasing automation removes the driver's sense of responsibility. The language of road responsibility is often tailored to avoiding responsibility. "Accident" - they don't happen; "the pedestrian was struck when the car veered off the road" - the driver drove it off the road, more like. "The lights didn't dip because the system wasn't responding" - the driver failed to control his lights. If we add a system that introduces fallibilities which we then have to monitor, why introduce it? Why not just remain used to the flappy lever that controls the lights and retain the responsibility of when to use them?

  • @geko7844
    @geko78443 жыл бұрын

    The auto high beams on my car are pretty useless. Once, they basically flashed someone out of a junction whilst I was approaching at 50mph. At least the brakes worked properly ...

  • @karlbbb

    @karlbbb

    3 жыл бұрын

    To be fair, most use a camera system which can recognise oncoming headlights and tail lights ahead. If a car comes from a side-road, it doesn't match those two profiles so they don't see a reason to shut off the main beam.

  • @geko7844

    @geko7844

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@karlbbb I’m not concerned about them not recognising emerging cars - I can switch it off myself. The issue is when it switches them off, then back on and off quickly which looks like I’m flashing the waiting car - so they emerged when I wasn’t expecting them to.

  • @nathant8951

    @nathant8951

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@geko7844 what car is this out of curiosity?

  • @geko7844

    @geko7844

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@nathant8951 New Peugeot 2008 (don’t say anything 😅)

  • @nathant8951

    @nathant8951

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@geko7844 Your secret's safe with me 😉

  • @whophd
    @whophd3 жыл бұрын

    Found this feature by accident - 5 years ago I rented a Mercedes S-Class for my 40th birthday (I wanted to try 200 km/h in Germany, visiting from Australia) - and I was being deliberately lazy on the drive home from the party … when, suddenly, voila! The high beam “curtained” and showed me that it had about 5 or 10 segments that carved up the scene ahead of me. It was a bonus birthday present 🎁

  • @nicksh1990
    @nicksh19903 жыл бұрын

    My car has auto headlights. I can't stand them. They're nowhere near as intuitive as a person. I can see the lights of a car coming around a corner and drop my full beams before they come around, avoiding blinding them for even a second. My auto headlights won't pick up on that, instead waiting until the other driver is facing the car, meaning they get an eyeful of full beams for up to a few seconds, which I feel is much more hazardous. It also doesn't work across a distance. Where I live, there is a road which is straight and flat (old roman road laid the foundation), and it often takes a while for the car to realise there's one ahead, by which time I've been flashed and had to turn them off myself. As a result, I much prefer to forego the automation in that regard, and prefer to use my own brain for it.

  • @clickrick

    @clickrick

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the first-hand feedback. It was exactly these sorts of situations where I imagined it could fail, along with failing to spot cyclists or pedestrians and when you or I would, that would put me off paying extra for such a thing.

  • @nicksh1990

    @nicksh1990

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@clickrick 100% agreed, keeping an eye out for anything other than a motorised vehicle is a must. It -sometimes- picks them up, but not reliably enough to let me be comfortable with it.

  • @thedoctor007dfw

    @thedoctor007dfw

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed. I have them on my Skoda Octavia and another downfall of them is if a car is waiting in a side road on a country lane to pull out, it won't pick them up for obvious reasons. My car has LED headlights as well and whilst it's nice that I can see into the future with them, full beam is going to blind someone coming the other way.

  • @DeeSock

    @DeeSock

    3 жыл бұрын

    I am still learning how to use but this has been my experience too for the matrix type. Blinds the numerous nightime truckers on motorways and too slow to react to oncoming traffic on country roads and dangerous in city in case of inadvertant flash. The video shows following other traffic which is a benefit though and helps mask oncoming traffic from experiencing the initial glare

  • @TobyField
    @TobyField3 жыл бұрын

    I do have a problem with auto high beam. When I cycle on unlit country roads, my front light isn't bright enough to trigger the headlights on all of the cars I've encountered so far.

  • @seberous
    @seberous3 жыл бұрын

    That's pretty impressive. Being able to turn them on and off automatically is amazing, but being able to angle them to avoid glaring people is as well, that's just awesome. Although if you get too used to them, going back to manual lights would be a bit tricky.

  • @anon1903kg
    @anon1903kg3 жыл бұрын

    Got to see this first hand in a fancy Audi rental while working in Germany back in 2019, was pretty impressed with what it was doing. I expected it to dip completely for the on-coming cars but you could clearly see it was selective with how much it dipped. Great stuff.

  • @12crepello
    @12crepello3 жыл бұрын

    08.15 I don't think it recognised the vehicle from the side. It dipped because your speed was below the specified limit. My Qashqai auto dips below around 18mph.

  • @jondavies8870

    @jondavies8870

    3 жыл бұрын

    I have an XC60, and you’re right, if you slow right down such as at a junction it dips the headlights.

  • @kierantyrrell8842
    @kierantyrrell88423 жыл бұрын

    My dad has them on his car and he loves them. Technology is apsalutaly fantastic these days

  • @roberttaylor465
    @roberttaylor4653 жыл бұрын

    We have a kuga fitted with it, didn't know when we bought it, I initially thought what a gimmick but now we're use to it it's quite useful and it hasn't blinded anyone yet, great.

  • @joshwilliamson3428
    @joshwilliamson34283 жыл бұрын

    Love the channel, love the Volvo and their impressive lights. My 11 year old golf doesn’t even have Bluetooth. Such a jump from modern cars to cars just a decade ago

  • @Ep1cure
    @Ep1cure3 жыл бұрын

    All very nice, but I can't help but feel it will be all extra repair hassle and expense further down the line. Like many things, there are pros and cons.

  • @derekp2674

    @derekp2674

    3 жыл бұрын

    My car's too old to need periodic software updates :)

  • @PedroConejo1939
    @PedroConejo19393 жыл бұрын

    I've just driven home from work and then sat down to watch this. Bizarrely relaxing. My car is 13 years old so nothing as fancy as the Volvo but it does have auto on/off headlights, which mostly work well but don't detect fog. It also has cornering lights (these are not fog lights, they're in addition to those) that come on with the steering left/right. Now that is something that is really useful here in the sticks but it has no means of detecting traffic that falls within the beam. I'm still a few car purchases from having something fancy with matrix lights though.

  • @sassyboofle6983
    @sassyboofle69833 жыл бұрын

    That was very interesting to watch , there are a few factors whether the oncoming car or the one you are following has all of its lights working properly ,then your sensors may not pick it up or the lay of the road , the amount of people and or luggage in your vehicle . These lights are very clever but still nothing beats a human for being able to decide if it should go on or not and as the cars all catch up with each other for tech then it will be as you say rolled out . Have them on our own and find I don’t like them as can make me lazy and or if they get defective in some way or reason ie dirt on sensor . But still very clever . Volvo is a good make , one of the safest . These videos are really great to watch and thank you for allowing us to comment , 👍

  • @michael_houghton
    @michael_houghton3 жыл бұрын

    Got automatic main beam lights on my Leon. Was bit nervous using it at first but once I saw it worked well I use it all the time now.

  • @tonyb1223
    @tonyb12233 жыл бұрын

    Had this on both the Peugeot 3008's I've owned, never had any problems with it, I live in a semi rural area with country roads and drive a fair bit at night, its never failed me switching between dipped and full beam 😁

  • @ClaireYunFarronXIII
    @ClaireYunFarronXIII3 жыл бұрын

    I love this feature. My car has it. My next car will have it too, but it is way more advanced and adaptive. The car"s high beams will always be on, but more adaptive and clever than my current car. The lights do a curtain-like effect when adapting and turning with the steering wheel. I love looking at it, and more noticeable to see them working.

  • @ben_9134
    @ben_9134 Жыл бұрын

    I'd love to see a test of how these lights deal with motorcyclists. I'm constantly being full-beam dazzled by cars while riding and I often wonder if it's automatic headlights to blame.

  • @jondavies8870
    @jondavies88703 жыл бұрын

    I have an XC60 - just one thing to watch with auto headlights is that they don’t recognise either cyclists or pedestrians. So you still have to stay aware of your surroundings, and dip your lights for some road users. But the way the car ‘cuts out’ a shadow for other motor vehicles is fantastic.

  • @friendofallcats3544
    @friendofallcats35443 жыл бұрын

    My father owns a Volvo V60 T8 and that car has brilliant automatic headlights, I can even get close to other cars and they stay on on the outer edges of the light bundle. Can't wait to see this tech become available as an aftermarket part to retrofit into older models!

  • @Maddmank
    @Maddmank3 жыл бұрын

    The auto dip doesn't work very effectively I've been dazzled loads by them.

  • @hybridangel3403

    @hybridangel3403

    3 жыл бұрын

    Some people are just inconsiderate or don't know how to use them.

  • @Maddmank

    @Maddmank

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@hybridangel3403 I'm talking about auto dip dazzling me, I get dazzled more by modern cars using auto than old cars with a person doing the high/low switching

  • @ashley_neal

    @ashley_neal

    3 жыл бұрын

    Could you let me know how you knew the adaptive full beams were in operation and it wasn’t the driver being a numpty? I wouldn’t have thought you could tell?

  • @Maddmank

    @Maddmank

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ashley_neal can't confirm 100% however I use country lanes a lot to get to and from work and when it's mostly 19 plate plus cars that are always dazzling me I can safely assume that most of those cars will be using auto dip lights.

  • @RidgwayBrandon

    @RidgwayBrandon

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Maddmank a lot of new cars have very bright dipped lights, not main beams, which have dazzled me multiple times on lit roads where auto lights wouldn't come on and drivers don't have a need to manually activate them

  • @sparkatron9334
    @sparkatron93343 жыл бұрын

    You ran a video recently about only using indicators when it helped others and so using your brain to actively monitor your environment and respond correctly. Surely similarly here we should manage our own lights to suit conditions, then we would have our minds tuned in to look out for others ahead - or do we just let the computer do it. Trouble is this type of tech makes us think less and be lazy and even worse when we temporarily drive someone else's car without this tech we can cause problems for us and others. We can often detect a car's highbeam shining upwards and towards before it comes into view. We should drop to dip beams just before then or just as they come into view so that the other driver sees we have. Waiting just a few extra seconds for the tech to respond is enough for some people to react negatively or is potentially dangerous as they are blinded for longer than necessary.

  • @inasteinbergs1393
    @inasteinbergs13933 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the info., very interesting. I haven’t got auto headlights on my nearly 25 Jeep Cherokee 😂 but your video goes some way to explain to me why when some cars are coming towards me around a bend, their full beam doesn’t dip until that car actually sees my lights, which means that I’m blinded for a second or two. Then their full beam is back on before they’ve fully passed me, often at my side window. My habit is that I will manually dip my lights before the bend when I see other vehicles lights coming towards me & put them back on when I have completely passed that vehicle. Have a good snowy day.🙂

  • @iliketowncars
    @iliketowncars3 жыл бұрын

    Love your videos.

  • @AKAMustang
    @AKAMustang3 жыл бұрын

    Wow, that was very impressive, I'd be totally happy with making use of this tech.

  • @lordnick1575
    @lordnick15753 жыл бұрын

    My ford fiesta does it too, it's so useful. I've never paid much attention to how it works but occasionally if I interrupt the automatic fullbeam and turn it on/off myself, it sometimes seems to cut it out of the auto mode, so I just have to be careful not to think it's working when it's not.

  • @CJ0175
    @CJ01753 жыл бұрын

    I've got Matrix LEDs on my A6 and they're fantastic. You can see the beams splitting around cars in front, or tracking around vehicles coming towards you. Not had anyone flash me yet, so can only presume they're doing a good job.

  • @patricksavage8519
    @patricksavage85193 жыл бұрын

    Have an XC60 with LED adaptive headlights. Works really well 95% of the time. Some road signage especially if it has a largely white area will cause the headlights to dip which can be distracting when negotiating something like a sharp bend. That said the system as a whole is very clever.

  • @user-rfyl4t
    @user-rfyl4t3 жыл бұрын

    Very interesting video!

  • @AlexLapinski
    @AlexLapinski3 жыл бұрын

    What a great example! I wouldn't mind a feature like this myself.

  • @mr.baconmontages8929
    @mr.baconmontages89293 жыл бұрын

    Automatic Headlights on my Astra are amazing, however they are not automatic dipping/full beam, they only turn on and off and they work very well. Automatic full beam lights are generally not as good as a person as they work on a set of fixed parameters whereas a person can judge each situation, like when you see lights before a bend, both cars tend to dip before they blind each other whereas auto lights will wait til it sees the vehicle which is often too late to prevent dazzling a driver

  • @CED99

    @CED99

    3 жыл бұрын

    I think these "matrix" style LEDs are very clever giving maximum light for safety, while preventing you from blinding other cars

  • @callumlaird5158
    @callumlaird51583 жыл бұрын

    One of my fav features in my Volvo!

  • @wipeout456
    @wipeout4563 жыл бұрын

    They’re very good, the automatic matrix led lights on my Audi operate brilliantly

  • @simonpage9980
    @simonpage99803 жыл бұрын

    Did you know Cadillac had auto dip headlight as option in 1956 and Citroen had turning headlight set up on DS back in 1960s so not new just reinvented --- good ideas but if they could invent function to prevent stupid driving would be great ----- Another brilliant video

  • @thomasDLC
    @thomasDLC3 жыл бұрын

    I've experienced these on a ford ranger service loan car. They were working well until 1 time they failed to disengaged high beams when a car was approaching. After that I didn't use them. I was kinda liking them until that happened.

  • @David_Owsnett
    @David_Owsnett3 жыл бұрын

    I have it on my Honda CRV. Not used it yet. Going to try it out after seeing this video.

  • @broadsword6650
    @broadsword66503 жыл бұрын

    I had not even heard of this system but it is very impressive. I’d say it was better than “automatic”, it’s “intelligent” and makes better use of the directable high beams than a human driver could do, so that they are actually an aid to safety.

  • @ProzYYnc
    @ProzYYnc3 жыл бұрын

    I don't know if i've been living under a rock, but I have never seen this... this is class, wish my Fiesta had this 😂

  • @MrBenjaminHDM
    @MrBenjaminHDM3 жыл бұрын

    I have this tier of adaptive high beams on my Volvo where it paints a shadow on vehicles in front and oncoming vehicles. It's superb for lighting up the pavements or whatever else is either side of the road so you can better anticipate risks without glaring other drivers. Really love them but very occasionally I get flashed as the system hasn't reacted quite quickly enough. The change speed can be altered in the menu system too.

  • @matthewwhittenham7528
    @matthewwhittenham75283 жыл бұрын

    Great to see some car tech which seems to work very effectively. One reservation I've always had with modern driver assistance features however, is the consequences of it not working as expected, in certain cases. If you are relying on a car to do something that is usually your job as the driver, and it doesn't do it, you've then got to realise this before intervening manually. If it didn't exist, the expectation would be that you have to control whatever feature it is manually in the first place, which avoids this issue. Certainly with this feature on that car, it seems to work very reliably (and at least as reliable, if not more reliable than drivers who need to remember to turn them on/off manually - something many seem to have an issue with!). But I'm not sure this is the case with all tech thats fitted to cars nowadays, particularly in cheaper ones.

  • @hugoburton5222
    @hugoburton52223 жыл бұрын

    I have a 1st gen XC60 with adaptive headlights. And yes, it's only the dipped headlights that turn, not the high beams. You can only really notice it when you make a turn (for example, into a road. So like at least 70° or more. It's not really noticable with small inputs at any kind of speed.

  • @CycleCalm
    @CycleCalm3 жыл бұрын

    There's even higher tech matrix headlights on Audis, BMWs and some others which are supposedly able to track and follow where other cars are, and only dip a precise section of the beams around them. Meant to detect pedestrians on unlit roads and 'highlight' them too. Seems very cool if it works, though it only takes it to mess up once to cause an accident if it's something you just rely on and are too complacent. Cornering lights, whether by extra lights on the side or steering ones, I think are a more important addition and probably a great safety feature that should be mandated on all new cars if they aren't already.

  • @johnbower7452
    @johnbower74523 жыл бұрын

    I didn't have it on my new car (too low in the range) but the Skoda Octavia has full beam that blocks part out if it detects another car. So basically the full beam stays on but doesn't blind the other person. Very clever. I can't help but feel as a driver that too much is being taken away from us now. If it carries on like this you'll be out of a job as we won't need to be able to drive.

  • @readhead12
    @readhead123 жыл бұрын

    I once had such a car behind me on a motorway, about 300 meters. It was horrible. It was constantly flashing me from behind. I think the automatic turned on the headlight, blinded me from behind, regocnized my car and turned itself off for abour 2-3 seconds until it started again flashing for 1 second.

  • @ashley_neal

    @ashley_neal

    3 жыл бұрын

    Sounds like the Police to me!

  • @neiltill7414
    @neiltill74143 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant technology, I definitely don't have it in my car, I live in the countryside so this type of thing would be very useful to me, I'd definitely look for it in my next car.

  • @allancumming3743
    @allancumming37432 жыл бұрын

    I was on holiday in the UK a couple of years ago, and we were driving a rental Nissan with this feature to visit friends on Mull. Very dark, mid winter, on very narrow roads. Frequently, when the high beam hit a reflector on the roadside, the high beam would switch off significantly reducing the visibility ahead. We drove a long way very slowly!

  • @Azurren
    @Azurren3 жыл бұрын

    Automatic full beams are fantastic! Can't wait for the day these come as standard on every vehicle so I'm not blinded by every other vehicle :P Can remember my first ever encounter with a car equipped with smart headlights when I was riding my 125. Rather than "dipping" it was almost as if the car was projecting darkness directly at me, like someone was holding a perfectly motorcycle shaped shadow puppet in front of the oncoming cars headlights.

  • @keithramsay3340
    @keithramsay33407 ай бұрын

    my 17-plate Mokka X has the full beam assist and I think its brilliant

  • @tonymiller3182
    @tonymiller3182 Жыл бұрын

    We've adaptive headlights on both our cars, and generally, they're very good. My only issue with them is with lorry drivers coming towards you; their higher driving position means they're often dazzled by the main beam before the sensors on our cars pick up the lorry's headlights. We're often driving across the Pennines on the A66, and I've been flashed so much by lorries that I now switch to manual dipping when driving on that road at night.

  • @AdamCalow
    @AdamCalow Жыл бұрын

    I have Matrix Headlights fitted to my Audi A3. I find them especially useful on motorways as I can use the adaptive full beams on unlit sections, even when there is other traffic on the road. In general, they make night driving much more pleasant and I find myself looking forward to driving on dark winter evenings to get the chance to use them. It is a shame that car manufacturers don’t do more to explain their benefits, as I think they are a major safety innovation. They will be on my must-have list for all future car purchases.

  • @andrewbaines8760
    @andrewbaines87603 жыл бұрын

    I have the S90 and the automatic fill beam adjusts the beam angle as well as the full beam, so when there’s lights in the distance it reduces the lights angle but keeps full beam on

  • @monza1002000
    @monza10020003 жыл бұрын

    I have these lights on my C4 Grand Space Tourer and they are excellent. The only problem l have found is the system can get confused when you get a row of cars coming for the opposite direction that have a gap between them. Close together, no problem, long way between them no problem but get that 50/50 and the lights go back to main but don't dip immediately for the next. Hope that makes sense. All in all l think they are great.

  • @nafangibby
    @nafangibby3 жыл бұрын

    Auto LED full beams on my MK8 Ford Fiesta ST3 are really good 😀 they work 90% of the time and I’ve never blinded anyone. Wouldn’t get a car without them!

  • @stuartjames1971
    @stuartjames19713 жыл бұрын

    Excellent idea. The more upmarket cars will have these as standard. This one is good because it’s a Volvo. They know what they are doing as do the German manufacturers.

  • @harrydebling1
    @harrydebling13 жыл бұрын

    Hi Ashley. I have not had a car with automatic full beam lights, only standard auto lights. It is something I would go for. My thoughts on the system is it’s a good idea. However when teaching pupils driving at night I would get them to switch on and off the full beam function manually as not all drivers will have this on their cars.

  • @peterhurst
    @peterhurst3 жыл бұрын

    That's pretty impressive, nice to have a real world test to see. What do you make of the brightness of LED lights over Xenons? Any other observations on reliability (of the Beemers obvs)

  • @stefanb155
    @stefanb1553 жыл бұрын

    My experience with those on various cars: The adaptive ones that can dim individual zones are amazing on country roads. You see a lot more than with dipped beam, even when following a car, or with oncoming traffic, The ones that can only switch on/of full high beam are pretty useless. They need too long to switch on when no one os in front, and often too long to switch off with oncoming cars. And since the full beam with LED lights is daylight bright, it takes a second or two to adjust the eyes back to dipped beam. This gets tiring after a while if the automatic is switching every few seconds. With those i prefer to stay at dipped beams, and only use manual high beam if i am sure i can use them for a longer time. Where they all struggle more or less is on motorways. The cam often can,t see the headlights of oncoming cars since they are hidden behind the guard rail/divider in the middle. If the other car is same height or lower it’s still ok-ish, since if you can’t see his lights, he can’t be dazzled directly by yours. But if you are in a low sedan, and he’s in a high box van... For some reason all the vans don’t have position lights on the roof like the HGVs do. But sometimes the system also struggles to pick up those and dim the area in time. It amazes me that it is still allowed to sell new cars with shitty halogen bulbs main beam these days. While questionable systems like lane assist and blind spot warning become mandatory. (Those can be good, usually are good in mid range+ cars, but in cheaper/basic cars i often find them useless or even dangerous)

  • @Shaneisace
    @Shaneisace3 жыл бұрын

    5:50 you can see the lights move to left to where you're steering that's pretty cool it does that xD (When the high beam deactivated)

  • @nemz7505
    @nemz75053 жыл бұрын

    Only seen BMW adaptive lights and they do make driving safer, not been flashed yet.... One thing that does concern me is driving past cars with ridiculously bright white dashboards at night. Manufacturers should be nudged towards a standard so dashboards can be White or any colour during the daytime and change to Red or Amber for nightime driving. Any white light in your dashboard displays at night, will dramatically affect your eyes ability to adjust to the darkness.

  • @rogerwilco2
    @rogerwilco23 жыл бұрын

    I know that automatic lights are often rubbish if there is fog during daytime. In the Netherlands it is also illegal to use high beams when driving next to a canal, as you can blind people on boats. It is also illegal to use high beams in built-up areas, no matter if there are street lights or not. I am also not sure if it would recognize bicycles or pedestrians properly, given that it does not react to the reflective cat eyes in the middle of the road.

  • @bluecardholder
    @bluecardholder3 жыл бұрын

    I have auto hi-beam on my 2016 Qashqai - never had any issues with them dimming for cars in front or coming the other way.

  • @Peakwanderer

    @Peakwanderer

    3 жыл бұрын

    Do they dip for pedestrians and cyclists with lights too? and if they don't do you do anything?

  • @Daryl...

    @Daryl...

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Peakwanderer depends on the situation, it isn't perfect. My Volvo V40 does at least, again, depending on the situation.

  • @lewismatthew2747
    @lewismatthew27473 жыл бұрын

    Adaptive headlights in my Seat Leon work perfectly. However we also have a Vauxhall Grandland X (Peugeot 3008 with a different badge) and they are useless. It don't recognise cars untill they are way to close, anything reflective confuses it, for example with traffic cones it will constantly switch them on and off as the reflection off the hi-vis reflectors confuse it. But that's if you even manage to get it moving in the first place as changing gear feels like stirring a bag of bolts.

  • @georgecromar4094
    @georgecromar40943 жыл бұрын

    How well sorted is that light system!😎

  • @Creator245
    @Creator2453 жыл бұрын

    I really like the auto high beams function, tho I think the more modern "lazer" type headlights which only dim sections of their beam to not dazzle you, don't seem to be very consistent. I'm constantly seeing cars with these types of headlights not detecting my car until I'm fairly close, as well as not working very well in a fog. The auto high beams on the normal LED headlights seem to be the best option for now.

  • @jimg492
    @jimg4923 жыл бұрын

    My car has auto full beam. I've only had it since xmas and used it very little. It's pretty good apart from one thing. If driving in a built up area which changes to a national unlit road, the main beam activates way too late. I'd like to have a manual override by preference.

  • @dukeofdevon5608
    @dukeofdevon56083 жыл бұрын

    My 60 plate insignia has this on as well as adaptive head lights, best feature by far but have to make sure for the auto high beam that the sensor is completely clean or it doesn’t work properly. I think also it only works over 25mph

  • @stefanb155

    @stefanb155

    3 жыл бұрын

    Matrix LED on Insignia/Astra is really good. Unrivaled when it came out, still one of the best today. The transitions are really smooth and easy on the eyes. Only shortcoming is that it’s not linked to steering angle. (And afair no jets for washing, in winter you often have to stop to clean the headlights)

  • @arcanuke3294
    @arcanuke3294 Жыл бұрын

    I think if it just turned high beams on and off I wouldnt really care but the side high beams is actually pretty neat. I think thats a bit too finicky to be worth bothering with thinking about if you had to do them manually but if theyre automatic thats a neat feature.

  • @chriscooper5875
    @chriscooper58753 жыл бұрын

    Ashley I do a lot of travelling on the motorway and see loads of new cars driven on the motorway in bad weather conditions with NO rear lights on, but have the front ones on. When I’ve stopped at the services and noticed a driver in front of me in that condition I’ve politely ask the driver do you realise you have no rear lights? they are amazed that although the dashboard indicates that the lights are on but not the rear. Have you come across this at all? Great Videos 👍

  • @jhareng

    @jhareng

    2 жыл бұрын

    I saw a van with no rear lights on, but front head lights were on. I knew the owner of the company and sent a message.

  • @trucktalkvideosandy8185
    @trucktalkvideosandy81853 жыл бұрын

    My Golf don't have them but very smart very cool...

  • @matt_ken
    @matt_ken3 жыл бұрын

    A little experiment where you drive towards a car with auto full beams and show how fast/ slow it is compared to a driver paying attention.

  • @ronniebrown6225
    @ronniebrown62252 жыл бұрын

    My 2017 Ford Focus Titanium X has what they call Ford's intelligent lighting system, It has HID headlights. It uses auto main/dip on the headlights. It has the cornering facility whereby whichever way I am turning the HID light swivels into the corner another bulb next it then illuminates to light the area straight ahead where my headlight has turned away from. I love the system and leave it on all the time, in fact, my lights are always on auto. Another thing the ford system has is that if like in the video a pedestrian ( or animal) is at the side of the road a beam of light comes from my fog light toward that area to warn me there is someone there. I think all cars should have a system like or similar to this.

  • @RiverMersey
    @RiverMersey3 жыл бұрын

    Yesterday, I had a tiny Kia (cheap) something following me in busy traffic. When we stopped at traffic-lights, the car automatically switched the headlights off, when the car began to move switched the lights back on again! Great idea to avoid causing dazzle in leading car's read-view mirrors!

  • @Peakwanderer

    @Peakwanderer

    3 жыл бұрын

    I do that all the time using a switch, perhaps the driver of the kia was doing the same.

  • @scottlaaa

    @scottlaaa

    3 жыл бұрын

    Wish drivers would use their handbrake at traffic lights and not just press down on their brakes dazzling whoever is behind!

  • @RiverMersey

    @RiverMersey

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Peakwanderer Yes, I understand that it could have been done by the driver using a switch. However, the correlation between the car stopping and starting with the lights being off and on was extremely accurate on multiple stop-points. Just made me think it was an automatic feature on the Kia

  • @Peakwanderer

    @Peakwanderer

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlaaa indeed indeed, when I mentioned this here I was told new cars leave the brake lights on with the handbrake now, no idea which cars but yet another ill conceived innovation from car manufacturers if true.

  • @RiverMersey

    @RiverMersey

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlaaa yes, I agree - that's how I was taught how to wait; using handbrake only. Possibly the only thing that is worse than waiting using footbrake is waiting while riding the clutch - each time I see that I fully expect the clutch to give out at any moment and the car to roll back into mine!

  • @jfletcher1029
    @jfletcher10293 жыл бұрын

    The new Mercedes S Class has 1.3 million mirrors in the headlights to help with this function. They can also work as a projector.

  • @MK-1973
    @MK-19733 жыл бұрын

    Very interesting Ashley, thank you. One question - can you instantly override it, e.g. for a pedestrian, someone sat in a parked car with only sidelights or no lights, or if you were shining your main beams into someone's front room? Would it pick up a cyclist, with or without lights? All that said I can see why you were impressed with the Volvo's system. That main beam either side of the vehicle in front is a great feature.

  • @rickbat

    @rickbat

    2 жыл бұрын

    yes you can, just pull the stalk back once to turn the high beam off, my xc40 doesn't seem to pick up cyclists very well, unless they have very powerful expensive light systems fitted

  • @will4may175
    @will4may1753 жыл бұрын

    The trouble with them, is I am still constantly watching them when cars appear to make sure they do the job, so I may aswell turn the feature off and do it myself. My wifes Fiesta has auto main beams, but they have a flaw, if an on coming car causes them to lower, then goes past the lights go back up fine, but if instantly another car appears the light are slow to react as if they were still in the switching on mode and couldn't react until it had finished, as the Fiesta auto mains come on gradually. The only feature I do like is the extra side lighting when you turn, my S-Max had it aswell, it's great for when turning into your driveway at night so you don't run into anything.

  • @123owenboy
    @123owenboy3 жыл бұрын

    The issue I find with auto full beams is they tend to dip when there's a reflection from a street sign, I had it on a hire car on an unfamiliar road abroad and the system kept dipping for the sign telling you there was a sharp corner coming up... just when I needed full beam the most!

  • @scottlaaa
    @scottlaaa3 жыл бұрын

    Wish every car had automatic headlights, can’t tell you the amount of drivers i see driving in the evening without their lights on!

  • @Grahamvfr

    @Grahamvfr

    3 жыл бұрын

    Unfortunately often it is the people with auto lights because theve accidentally flicked off the auto function, so don't bother to check haha.

  • @scottlaaa

    @scottlaaa

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Grahamvfr drivers are retards at times

  • @karlbbb

    @karlbbb

    3 жыл бұрын

    The worst part is cars with DRLs that are on day mode because the person has forgot to put their dipped beam on. DRLs go to dim mode when sidelights or dipped beam is activated, so it's very noticeable when you're in a tunnel and a car is coming towards you without headlights on because the DRLs are designed to scatter light everywhere, compared to the more directional headlamps.

  • @scottlaaa

    @scottlaaa

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@karlbbb drl’s are a big reason why drivers forget about headlights i see cars all the time driving with just them on. My car has drl’s and they are just as bright as my headlights

  • @karlbbb

    @karlbbb

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlaaa they look like headlights are on if you’re in traffic and see them reflecting on the car in front, but in any other scenario it should be very obvious your headlights aren’t on. Like a few people here have already said, it’s drivers who aren’t paying attention and don’t understand how their car works.

  • @steveford7271
    @steveford72713 жыл бұрын

    Have been dazzled or partly blinded by some of those led’s from oncoming cars, I do find that it can be quite dangerous.

  • @javiTests
    @javiTests3 жыл бұрын

    I have a '09 ford focus with normal halogen lights and the other day I drove a 6 months old Seat Leon with LEDs like an hour at night... The low beam already looked like high beam for me! 😂 That showed me how crappy my normal halogens are (and they are totally fine, good bulbs and the headlights are totally fine). Then I used the automatic high beam and they worked quite well but sometimes they took a bit too much to switch to low beam for my liking. I get dazzle now and then by these new cars so not all of them get it quite right. Having good lights is a very important feature but I think a human with a driver license should be capable of turning the high beam on and off, so I don't think it's a very important feature and as other user have commented, more things to go wrong in the future.

  • @jfletcher1029
    @jfletcher10293 жыл бұрын

    I love this in my car but 99.9% of the time I have no use for it because I drive in London. For dark country lanes and motorways it’s absolutely brilliant.

  • @hybridangel3403
    @hybridangel34033 жыл бұрын

    I have them on my Mokka never used them this us interesting

  • @Hill_Walker
    @Hill_Walker Жыл бұрын

    I've found these systems frustrating as a road user. The lights' beam may not be focused into my eyes/mirrors, but there's still much more light dazzling me. Compounded massively with the current regulations focusing on power draw of the lights not the brightness, written before a time LEDs were even considered for car lights. The RAC and AA surveys on this topic show the same. The number of drivers reporting being dazzled by low beam lights is increasing rapidly, as these bright "smart LEDs" are becoming more common on our roads.

  • @barneylaurance1865
    @barneylaurance18653 жыл бұрын

    Does it have a motorized control stick that moves when the machine decides to turn the full beams on or off?

  • @Aliburgo1
    @Aliburgo13 жыл бұрын

    My 2016 A6 has the LED segment headlights, the only thing it has had issues with is a new Porsche Macan, which has the full width strip rear light, so it didn’t recognise it as the rear of a vehicle. Software update needed perhaps?

  • @capnskiddies

    @capnskiddies

    3 жыл бұрын

    Pretty poor considering an Audi A7 has a similar rear lamp.

  • @Aliburgo1

    @Aliburgo1

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@capnskiddies Agreed, and the new etrons, perhaps they didn’t know that was coming in 2016 and hasn’t had that system updated since

  • @Cupra-290
    @Cupra-2903 жыл бұрын

    A lot of the systems enable auto high beam at around 30mph

  • @Sluetch90
    @Sluetch903 жыл бұрын

    When was this filmed , the xmas lights seem a bit late depending on the day of filming

  • @ianprince1698
    @ianprince16982 жыл бұрын

    after several years of not driving, I bought a little run about Toyota which had auto lights, great. even put the lights on when going through the tyne tunnel, I then had the car serviced and the engineer switched it off! so I was driving around at night with no lights, of cause I was stopped by the police. had to hunt around the car for the light switch. no prosecution I must have won the prize for the best excuse of the shift.

  • @andrewmolloy5095
    @andrewmolloy50953 жыл бұрын

    I have a feeling I know what Ashleys' next car is going to be

  • @Wildmutationblu
    @Wildmutationblu Жыл бұрын

    I have this tech on my new Ford Kuga ST-Line X but I don't like it as it is slow to turn the full beam on when driving with no street lights.

  • @Grahamvfr
    @Grahamvfr3 жыл бұрын

    5.30 adaptive steering lights on my i30 only work on dipped beam. When you start up the bmw see if the headlight beamd shimmys from left to right this is a check system. If they don't it won't have it.

  • @karlbbb

    @karlbbb

    3 жыл бұрын

    i30s don't have adaptive lights do they? They're just cornering lamps? I'm lucky that the dipped and main beam is done by one single projector on my Focus, so even on main beam the lights move left/right with the steering wheel.

  • @Grahamvfr

    @Grahamvfr

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@karlbbb yes they do on the premium (2016)model that I have, my previous se model only had cornering lights.

  • @radishpea6615
    @radishpea66153 жыл бұрын

    On "tight" country lane corners will the headlights dip as you approach a corner? I was told not to take a "tight" corner on main bean as it masks the dip beam or even main beam of an on coming car approaching the corner. What about pedestrians, does it dip for pedestrians walking towards you?

  • @AlanHood
    @AlanHood3 жыл бұрын

    Before developing new tech they should go back to basics. Back when I fitted front fogs or driving lights, they had to go through a relay, only switching on what the main lights were on. Whatever happened to that? So many cars now drive round on front fogs with no rear lights, 20 years ago it was impossible to do that.

  • @themittonmethod1243

    @themittonmethod1243

    3 жыл бұрын

    if you look at what the manufacturers actually say, those auxilliary lights that you are thinking are "fog" lights, are in fact "auxilliary driving lights"... this is how they get away with them being on alongside or with the mains. legally speaking, in most countries, fog lamps must still be run with main lamps extinguished and also must be amber or yellow in colour.

  • @thescottishpanda5
    @thescottishpanda53 жыл бұрын

    Could you review the XC60?

  • @L5GUK
    @L5GUK3 жыл бұрын

    I'm interested in your thoughts. I have a 2013 320d and one of my dipped beam bulbs have failed. What halogen bulb do you think from experience is the best compromise between 'perfomance' of the light beam and life span? Money isn't really an object providing that they last a while. Fortunately I've never actually had a bulb go in one of my cars, so it's the first time I've really had to consider this and the information is all either people complaining because they didn't install them properly or read the product description or marketing nonsense.

  • @jhareng

    @jhareng

    2 жыл бұрын

    A bit late but have a look at various youtube videos comparing different bulbs. You will also see the ones that project the farest have the narrowist beam, not ideal in my opinion. Had loads go even 2 at same time coming out of work at 5.45pm north Shrops in middle of no where, its dark so much so the lights at Telford at 11 mile away light up near pitch black. Drove home on driving lights and side lights A442. Must change mine in a 120D Could probably name the amount of times used full beam in 44 years on one hand.

  • @yesnomaybe955
    @yesnomaybe9553 жыл бұрын

    A lot of people are just driving around with high beams on/poor headlight alignment which can completely blind us on bikes so I keep having to put my highbeam on when I cant see because of some cars/vans.

  • @markwright3161
    @markwright31613 жыл бұрын

    Does the BMW system not turn them off if they're too close to traffic in front? I met a couple of vehicles with a 5 series tailgating and got blinded by their driver's side headlight being on full beam as I passed. I assumed it was because the camera that determine when to dip the lights is behind the interior mirror in the windscreen so it didn't detect me before the driver's side headlight was already shining past the car they were following. Also, there are points here where I thought this system seems a bit slow at turning the right beam(s) off, 35 seconds starting from 10:00 on with those few cars. I can see the advantage of lights that illuminate around traffic, if you dip your lights just before an animal runs out in front of you you will likely not see it, but lights around oncoming traffic would give you more of a chance, but there are times when I will have lights dipped before the oncoming vehicle comes into view, say around a corner with trees or telephone wires on the outside or over a hill to reflect light and it only takes a fraction of a second to dazzle someone with a 'flash' of LED or whatever the other high intensity one is. These systems will never be able to do that otherwise their own reflections off such things would cause them to dip/blank when full illumination is needed. Does dipping full beam yourself in situations like that completely cancel the auto dipping setting or does it automatically start again when you return to full beam? If you can't dip manually in the middle of this setting without cancelling it them I think it's a flawed design, particularly if you want to dip for pedestrians for example.

  • @timothymoulden1901
    @timothymoulden19013 жыл бұрын

    What engine did the Volvo xc60 Have and what year was it?

  • @ivorwhitecar
    @ivorwhitecar3 жыл бұрын

    My Fiesta Sport work van has this. They are okay on the straight but useless on bends.

  • @frzen
    @frzen3 жыл бұрын

    I have adaptive with high beam assist its great. I babysit them a bit on winding roads but otherwise just leave them on and they are great

  • @Peakwanderer

    @Peakwanderer

    3 жыл бұрын

    Do they dip for pedestrians ?

  • @frzen

    @frzen

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@Peakwanderer not sure sorry I'm never really on roads with pedestrians where there aren't also street lamps. It does turn off for cyclists