Light sensitivity fixed following service

[Rolfe]

Which happens on roads. They're called tunnels. I know modern ones have lighting, but this isn't always the case. I think it's a wise precaution to have them come on immediately, just in case.

 

[mikgle]

I can't think of a single situation where I would be "suddenly plunged into darkness" unless I drove into a black hole.

Driving into a darkish tunnel?

 

[Swift]

I preferred it when they were more sensitive as they used to turn on when overcast/raining. Of course now I turn them on manually, except sometimes I forget to turn them off again and the car doesn't warn you when you exit. A few times I've returned to my car parked up with the lights on.

If only they also fitted a rain sensor - I had a 2007 Fiat that automatically turned on the lights if the auto wipers were triggered. With the amount of people driving with no lights on in heavy rain, I don't know why this isn't a standard safety feature on all cars by now.

 

[tsedge]

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, mods feel free to delete/merge as necessary. But I've noticed the issue I had with the lights coming on during the day whenever it wasn't brilliant sunshine because the sensor lacked sensitivity has been fixed at the service. The lights come on when it is dim, and go off when it isn't. It means I can also leave the screen in auto mode for light and it doesn't flick between day and night modes all the time.

Now if only they could fix the LKA and I think there are essentially no niggles left to bother me.

Yep, there's an update that fixes this, I received it in March at first service.

 

[Rolfe]

I had my first service in April and it's just the same as it always was. Way over-sensitive but fixed with the replacement sensor cover.

I preferred it when they were more sensitive as they used to turn on when overcast/raining. Of course now I turn them on manually, except sometimes I forget to turn them off again and the car doesn't warn you when you exit. A few times I've returned to my car parked up with the lights on.

If only they also fitted a rain sensor - I had a 2007 Fiat that automatically turned on the lights if the auto wipers were triggered. With the amount of people driving with no lights on in heavy rain, I don't know why this isn't a standard safety feature on all cars by now.

You could try putting something over the sensor cover to make it slightly less translucent, maybe? I assume you haven't replaced the original sensor cover?

 

[Kithmo]

Driving into a darkish tunnel?

Hardly a plunge, daylight at the ends for quite a distance.
But there are no tunnels where I travel anyway. ?

 

[Rolfe]

They have to take into account that the car may go places where there are unlit tunnels. And daylight disappears quite fast if it's a dull day.

 

[Kithmo]

They have to take into account that the car may go places where there are unlit tunnels. And daylight disappears quite fast if it's a dull day.

But if it's a dull day wouldn't you already have your lights on anyway ?

 

[Rolfe]

Not everyone would switch their lights on just because it's a dull day. It's a safety thing. Designing a car where you could drive straight into a dark tunnel without the lights coming on almost immediately isn't safe. And I think most people appreciate being able to see where they're going immediately.

Thinking about it a bit more, a very bright sunny day might be worse, particularly if you were driving into the sun so it wasn't shining into the tunnel. Being plunged suddenly into darkness when your eyes are light adapted can be very disconcerting. I appreciate modern tunnels with white-tiled walls and continuous strip lighting but they're not all like that.

 

[crl84]

If you drive into an unlit tunnel, you can manually flick on your headlights in less than a second. Like people did for decades before auto-lights became a thing. Pitch black unlit tunnels are complete edge case.

Driving under a motorway fly-over bridge for a few seconds on a cloudy day shouldn't have the auto-lights turning on.

FWIW, I got my first update last week, with a specific complaint about auto-headlight sensitivity and was told that there were no updates available. They updated the Infotainment to R59 after I had a complaint for bluetooth and radio favourites dropping off. Performed "all the updates" apparently, but no idea what those entailed.

 

[Rolfe]

Sure. I just don't think it's a big deal, and it could be the better option in certain circumstances.

I'm happy enough with the way the lights perform with the replacement sensor cover I'm using, which has a cut-out on top. However I've kept the original in case they ever apply a fix to my car.

 

[siteguru]

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, one of the updates I got at my 1st service last November fixed the auto lights issue on my car - I've been using the original cover for months now and all seems to be working OK. (I actually refitted the original when I found that the lights weren't coming on when I would expect them to).

 

[dsr]

A cloudy day today. I was driving on a fairly busy A road, with intermittent tree cover. After a few on-offs I felt, for the benefit of others, I had to go for manual beam. Not sure what auto and auto sensitivity can do about such a scenario.

 

[Rolfe]

Changing the sensor cover, on the other hand, completely fixes it. And then you get the right software update, who knows which one, and you have to put the original sensor cover back on.

 

[siteguru]

You soon realise when you have the correct software update (if you're using an "open" cover) as the lights stay off too long.

 

[tsedge]

I wouldn't say the software update fixes it perfectly, it is still too prone to lights coming on with shadows in the day time, but it is acceptable (just) and so it doesn't bother me, but someone more sensitive to it probably wouldn't be satisfied by the software fix.

 

[Rolfe]

Maybe a change of sensor cover to one that lets in a bit less light but isn't as opaque as the original would do it.

 

[Ian Key]

Soon after getting the car I modified my sensor cover by drilling a 10mm hole directly above the sensor chip. I then carefully glued a clear 10mm round piece of perspex (bought off eBay) into the hole to keep the dust out. The modification worked OK.

I've since had the software update and it now performs as I would like it to. If at some stage I find it's not coming on soon enough I could always scuff up the perspex to make it more opaque.

 

[tsedge]

Soon after getting the car I modified my sensor cover by drilling a 10mm hole directly above the sensor chip. I then carefully glued a clear 10mm round piece of perspex (bought off eBay) into the hole to keep the dust out. The modification worked OK.

I've since had the software update and it now performs as I would like it to. If at some stage I find it's not coming on soon enough I could always scuff up the perspex to make it more opaque.

And depending how you are feeling, you could even slide in your "filter of the day" and tweak their behaviour to perfection! ?

 

[Ian Key]

And depending how you are feeling, you could even slide in your "filter of the day" and tweak their behaviour to perfection! ?

Life's too short ?