Auto head lights = Awful!

[Houndkeeper]

Have a Gem Green Limited 4x4 2013 Explorer. So far I love it.........except for the auto high beams! I HATE them. They come on way to easily and blind on comers or the guy in front of me if I come up behind them just so on a hill. I want to permanently turn them off (not just temp) but I am not finding this (other than the temp way) in the manual. Any ideas???? :scratch:

 

[01STrunner]

Is there not a switch on the rear view mirror. Our Escalade has that. Except Caddy got that one right and they work awesome. Anyway that's the way it is in the GM's. Not sure about Ford

 

[Houndkeeper]

I didn't see any mention in the hand book but I will absolutley check the rear view mirror in the morning!

 

[01STrunner]

Autodimming mirrors usually have a power button as well but on ours you can tell the difference because it has the word auto on the button as well.

 

[harlenm]

Left mft screen.

Settings, vehicle, auto high beams, off.

 

[drober30]

Is there not an adjustment for sensitivity? This option/feature has been around for 20+ years and I would think that it has been perfected.

However, I rarely ever turn on my brights with the HID in my Limited so I would probably not use this feature either.

 

[peterk9]

Have a Gem Green Limited 4x4 2013 Explorer. So far I love it.........except for the auto high beams! I HATE them. They come on way to easily and blind on comers or the guy in front of me if I come up behind them just so on a hill. I want to permanently turn them off (not just temp) but I am not finding this (other than the temp way) in the manual. Any ideas???? :scratch:

I posted about the auto hi beams a while ago saying that it is not a feature I like. I had it on a '64 Caddy and the auto hi beams were more of a nuisance than a help. Large signs along the highway, especially at exits, would cause the lights to go low beam. When following a car the lights would sometimes go high beam if the area wasn't sufficiently lit. It seems that 48+ years of technology hasn't improved them a significant amount.

Peter

 

[01STrunner]

I dont know about on the Fords but the new Cadillac system works great. Signs and street lights dont affect it and they turn off well before you get to a car coming towards you or even coming up behind you. Someone earlier mentioned a sensitivity setting on the MFT???

 

[phareous]

The only issue I have had with the auto high beams is that if someone is sitting on an intersecting road to turn onto your road, it won't dim for them. I usually keep an eye out and manually turn off the highs (push the stick back) and then it stays off until I get to a really dark area. The other thing is of course it doesn't really detect homes so you could be blasting high beams into their windows (I don't see any way around that from an automatic standpoint). But as it has been stated here, if you hate them you can easily turn them off in the settings menu

 

[JohnnyO]

Left mft screen.

Settings, vehicle, auto high beams, off.

The sensor works by oncoming lights. When you come up behind someone they don't dim. Not now, not yesterday, not on a '64 Caddy.

My rule of thumb when I get a new vehicle is to turn off any and all automatic crap I can find.

 

[phareous]

The sensor works by oncoming lights. When you come up behind someone they don't dim. Not now, not yesterday, not on a '64 Caddy..

Actually, they do. I've seen it do it, and the manual explicitly states:

The system will automatically turn on your high beams if it is dark
enough and no other traffic is present. When it detects an approaching
vehicle’s headlights, a preceding vehicle’s tail lamps or street lighting, the
system will turn off the high beams (low beams remain on) before they
distract other drivers.

And

Once the system is active the high beams will switch on if:
• The ambient light level is low enough that high beams are needed.
• There is no traffic in front of the vehicle
• Vehicle speed must be greater than 25 mph (40 kph)..
• Severe weather is not detected.

The high beams will switch off if:
• An approaching vehicle’s headlights or a preceding vehicle’s tail lamps
are detected.
• The vehicle speed falls below 16 mph (25 kph).
• The ambient light level is high enough that high beams are not needed.
• Severe rain, snow or fog is detected.
• The camera is blocked.

 

[harlenm]

The sensor works by oncoming lights. When you come up behind someone they don't dim. Not now, not yesterday, not on a '64 Caddy.

My rule of thumb when I get a new vehicle is to turn off any and all automatic crap I can find.

Yeah, you're clearly wrong on that. They turn off when they detect almost any light. I've only used them once(only had the car 2 days), but they worked perfectly.

 

[Dr Plastic]

Auto Highbeams? Is this an option on Limiteds?

 

[peterk9]

Auto Highbeams? Is this an option on Limiteds?

It is an option on the 2013 Limited; HID headlamps with auto high beams.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

Ours turn off at appropriate times, whether head lights, tail lights, or cross traffic. We don't have to worry about blinding people in their homes around here, the neighborhood speed limits are low enough that the feature deactivates.

We like the feature, though I forget about it all the time and it catches me off guard when it turns on

 

[Houndkeeper]

Ok, got them turned off, thank you!!! It was really annoying.

To clarify, I had the most problem with in appropriate highbeam usage on a twisty, windy at time hilly section of road near my house. I teach a martial arts class at night so drive this stretch of road 4 nights a week. Cresting a hill, coming up behind somebody really seemed to hard for the sensor to detect. I was more concerned about "flashing" people inadvertantly then on coming traffic.

I have so many bells and whistles to enjoy on my Limited turning this one off is no biggie.

 

[Sgt1411]

Im wondering if yours are working correctly because mine work perfectly. I was actually amazed at how well they acknowledged approaching vehicles.

That and the Lane Keep Technology works extremely well in my Ex.

 

[JohnnyO]

Yeah, you're clearly wrong on that. They turn off when they detect almost any light. I've only used them once(only had the car 2 days), but they worked perfectly.

If you say so. They must have figured out how to make them work better.

 

[peterk9]

Yeah, you're clearly wrong on that. They turn off when they detect almost any light. I've only used them once(only had the car 2 days), but they worked perfectly.

That is the problem I had waaaaaay back when. I'd be taking an exit ramp from the highway, the light would reflect off the large roadside signs and the the headlights went low beam, just when you wanted the extra light. I also had the problem where I'd be sitting in a line of traffic under an unlit overpass and the lights go high beam. Didn't make me very popular.

Peter