Auto headlight flashing

M1kee

M1kee

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Huntingdon, UK
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MG5
I have a brand new 22 plate mg5 long range. A couple of times when Ive used the car at dusk the headlights can’t make up their mind whether to turn on or not and switch on and off. This annoys the hell out of oncoming traffic which thinks I’m flashing them. I have to put the lights on manually to stop it. A couple of threads on this forum have had similar problems in the past but to my knowledge there was no fix. Anyone have any ideas? Headlights work perfectly when fully dark.
 
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Mine never operate at a suitable time but notwithstanding this they certainly shouldn't flash on and off because there will be hysteresis built into the control algorithm.
 
I have had similar at dusk seemed to be when passing under a tree the shadow turned on the lights, then off again almost immediately. Seems like there is too little hysteresis.

Ps interesting mine is also a 2 week old 22 plate.
 
I sometimes wonder if people confuse "Auto headlights" with "Auto main beam" ?
I know a few people who call dipped beam just "lights" and main beam "headlights"
 
Difference is pretty clear set the headlight switch on the stalk to auto and the headlights turn on when it gets sufficiently dark. Auto main beam is controlled through the car settings on the infotainment system.
What I observed and was referring too was the lights turning on when it gets dark.
Light level needs to be quite low before it attempts to turn on. Lights were off but, when I drove under 2 trees about 100 yds apart light tuned on then almost immediately off. A few seconds later under the second tree back on then almost immediately off again when came out in the marginally lighter open air. They then stayed off the rest of the way home.
The owners manual suggests the sensor is on the dash. There is a small dome thing in the centre of the dash. However covering that doesn't cause the lights to come on.
 
akendall1966 said:
Difference is pretty clear set the headlight switch on the stalk to auto and the headlights turn on when it gets sufficiently dark. Auto main beam is controlled through the car settings on the infotainment system.
What I observed and was referring too was the lights turning on when it gets dark.
Light level needs to be quite low before it attempts to turn on. Lights were off but, when I drove under 2 trees about 100 yds apart light tuned on then almost immediately off. A few seconds later under the second tree back on then almost immediately off again when came out in the marginally lighter open air. They then stayed off the rest of the way home.
The owners manual suggests the sensor is on the dash. There is a small dome thing in the centre of the dash. However covering that doesn't cause the lights to come on.
Click to expand...
I must admit that I took a dislike to auto lights from way back.
 
akendall1966 said:
Difference is pretty clear set the headlight switch on the stalk to auto and the headlights turn on when it gets sufficiently dark. Auto main beam is controlled through the car settings on the infotainment system.
What I observed and was referring too was the lights turning on when it gets dark.
Light level needs to be quite low before it attempts to turn on. Lights were off but, when I drove under 2 trees about 100 yds apart light tuned on then almost immediately off. A few seconds later under the second tree back on then almost immediately off again when came out in the marginally lighter open air. They then stayed off the rest of the way home.
The owners manual suggests the sensor is on the dash. There is a small dome thing in the centre of the dash. However covering that doesn't cause the lights to come on.
Click to expand...
It does sound like yours are over sensitive in terms of the duration of darkness to come on by what you're describing under the trees but under sensitive on the light level required on the other hand.
 
I can imagine how that might have been the case on a Model T back in Henry Ford's day, but when all these cars are mass produced using the exact same process and identical components (particularly electronics) it seems odd to me that one might behave differently to another.

You don't see one fridge being colder than another, or a TV acting differently, or a computer. Well, except for those which have been "modified" in some way...
 
On the Nissan LEAF the threshold for the lights turning on is adjustable by the garage (and LEAFSpy 3rd party app), in the BMW E60/1 of 2003-2010 (and probably others) it is adjustable in the car.
 
Alb said:
It would be useful to have something like that but a far simpler solution would be default manual operation.
Click to expand...
Turn auto off, then you have manual. Simples. :)
 
Switching Auto off gives you manual operation for that operating cycle only, not default manual operation.
I have Auto Lights on my other car (Ford Focus) but fortunately, you can enable or disable it. I have never enabled it in the 9 years I've owned the car!
 
Hi I have this issue on my 2022 LR - I see at least six other owners reporting this on the Facebook group and one who has had her car with MG for four weeks with no fix yet. For now I am just switching the lights on manually but when they have worked out what the fix is mine will go in for it. My husband is convinced it's not the sensor but the software that interprets the light level incorrectly.. we shall see.
 
The update on my original post is that MGUK instructed my local MG dealer to update the software. This resulted in all the safety features of the car and I mean all, to stop working and the forward facing camera to break completely and had to be replaced. The flashing continued. MGUK then instructed my local dealer to replace the sensor. This has no effect at all. Whenever I drive the car at dusk and pass through different ambient light conditions the lights flash on and off continuously, much to the annoyance of oncoming traffic. MGUK now says that this is normal. Thankfully my Jaguar F Pace doesn’t do this nor have any of my previous cars. Not sure where I go from here. I wouldn’t care a jot if auto headlights could be switched off but unfortunately ON is the default setting.
 
Have they told you in writing that this is "normal" behaviour?
 
That gives you something solid on which to base an escalation.
You will know from discussions here that it certainly isn't normal.
I'd like to cite my own experience but I find the switching is so late I dare not leave it to the auto function!
 
I would write to mg uk and reference this forum as evidence of the issue. I'd quite happily put my name to this with you.
I would put to them there are 2 issues. 1 - the general view its to dark when they turn on that seems to affect all cars. 2- the on / off cycling that seems to affect 2022 cars.
Myself this afternoon while driving around a multistorey car park had them turning on and immediately off as the light levels changed marginally.
Give them 28 days to respond before reporting it to the dvsa as a potential safety issue for recall.
 
Doesn’t every car have a neat bit of kit that’s been around before cars were invented that decides that the light level is to low and switches the headlights on ?
 
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