[on_the_virge]

Evening

I have been out in our 2023 M40i and used the High Beam assist and noticed that it didnt seem to be working correct and was putting the high beam on when not needed.

I have looked around on the forum following some comments that the car has adaptive (matrix) headlights? Is this the case as we haven't upgraded to the laser lights....

Thanks
Virgil

[SORA MONKEY]

If you have the matrix headlights then it’s possible that the high beam is on alot of the time but areas are shut off. That’s how mine works. Lasers- no idea 2019 M40d.

[Goody4]

Well. You have two separate issues here.

First, HBA. If certain lighting conditions are met, and you have HBA activated, the high beams turn on. As to "high beam on when not needed", that's purely subjective, as you and your car disagree as to when the high beams should be on. (For the record, I agree with you that the HBA does not always get it right switching between low- and high-beam.)

Second, yes, you have matrix headlights. Laser is not required for this feature. I think the simplest way to observe these is when you're making a turn at night. You should notice your peripheral path (that is, left or right) getting headlight shined on it, when before you turned the wheel, the pathway was still dark.

Honestly, anti-dazzle programming strongly shows how matrix lighting works. Search "anti-dazzle coding" and you'll get a dozen threads discussing and showing how it behaves.

[SORA MONKEY]

My observation is that if you are out of town the the matrix headlight feature is active which effectively means you are on high beam the majority of the time with areas being dimmed for traffic. I just let it do it’s thing, given occasionally you will be flashed by motorists it proves that it’s not perfect but it pretty neat…switch on and enjoy, lights to auto, then when lights are lit press the stork to activate the matrix. Some info in the manual.

[on_the_virge]

Thanks appreciate the comments.

[RedPepper]

Just been out in mine in the dark for the first time and there is now an "animation" when the adaptive lights kick in... seems to bring the light to you from down the road, whereas before it just lit up. Silly thing, but made me smile.

I agree with the comments about "occasionally getting flashed" - my village is up a fastish back road, and there is a steep brow of a hill where it will only see other traffic after gong over the top, so I always disable as have been blinded in the past coming the other way, so I see it as a feature to become used at the right time, not all the time.

[fdpxfunix]

Adaptive LEDs on mine. Works fairly well and you can see the light beams changing in front of you with oncoming traffic, but I only use the feature every now and again as get flashed a lot.

Tbh… I get flashed a lot anyway with these LEDs as other drivers think I have my main beams on most of the time, when I don’t.

J.

[Battin4th]

MY22 here. Mine seem to work pretty flawlessly. Auto on on dark stretches of road, auto off when car approaching from the opposite direction or coming upon a car in front or when brighter lighting conditions are encountered. Leave HBA enabled almost 100% of the time.

Found this in the manual in case it's useful. Who knew you could mess with sensitivity??

[on_the_virge]

Thanks people, so it would seem that it is the adaptive and now I think about it, they must be working as you don’t really see the ‘high beam’ in front just round the car, and the high beam light is on on the dashboard……will be going out tonight when it goes dark to try it.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by on_the_virge

Evening

I have been out in our 2023 M40i and used the High Beam assist and noticed that it didnt seem to be working correct and was putting the high beam on when not needed.

I have looked around on the forum following some comments that the car has adaptive (matrix) headlights? Is this the case as we haven't upgraded to the laser lights....

Thanks
Virgil

You have the adaptive matrix led head lights.

If lights are set to auto (button on left stalk next to bc button), the main beam will engage once over a certain speed and ambient darkness level. On my car they are on most of the time on the motorway and fast country lanes. I never tire of watching the masking in operation, especially if there’s a mist.

The LCI adaptive matrix tech masks other road users to ensure they aren’t dazzled, hence always on main beam for max visibility.

Bear in mind this is different tech to the pre LCI and isn’t offered by BMW in the USA on the LCI, hence not the same as their auto dipping high beam (although it appears possible for third parties to create what they claim is the same function).

[avi66]

Originally Posted by Goody4

Second, yes, you have matrix headlights. Laser is not required for this feature. I think the simplest way to observe these is when you're making a turn at night. You should notice your peripheral path (that is, left or right) getting headlight shined on it, when before you turned the wheel, the pathway was still dark.
.

The idea is that over a certain speed and ambient darkness level the high beams are always on for the BMW LCI Matrix LED headlights (market dependent). They don’t dip, but mask areas of the beam to prevent dazzle.

Unlike the pre LCI electro mechanical headlights the beam is no longer required to swivel to prevent dazzle or swivel to follow a bend when the wheel is turned. Hence, you won’t notice the effect you describe with the newer tech.

There is an extra low speed manoeuvring light source in the headlight unit for extreme side illumination when parking etc, but this isn’t part of the main beam.

This tech has been around for a while, and this old video provides an idea, but thing have progressed since this was made.

[jwong77]

I wish we could enable this feature for those of us in the US. I really don't understand why our DOT is so slow to adopt these cool new technologies.

[arRod1981]

Originally Posted by jwong77

I wish we could enable this feature for those of us in the US. I really don't understand why our DOT is so slow to adopt these cool new technologies.

It has been adopted as of last year, but instead of adopting the standards that the EU has, the US has made it more stringent. There are other manufacturers that are already offering it on top tier models.

[kscarrol]

It can be turned on for US cars vis coding as long as the car has the proper hardware.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

It can be turned on for US cars vis coding as long as the car has the proper hardware.

Is it just "turned on" or did someone attempt to reverse engineer from other countries or create a similar function from experimentation?

IIRC it's not just a simple tick in a box via bimmercode, but requires hundreds of lower level code changes.

[arRod1981]

Originally Posted by avi66

Is it just "turned on" or did someone attempt to reverse engineer from other countries or create a similar function from experimentation?

IIRC it's not just a simple tick in a box via bimmercode, but requires hundreds of lower level code changes.

You are right it is more intense coding. Though other's on the X5 side have claimed to "achieve" turning it on via BimmerCode, but several of the seasoned members said it's not the full functionality of it because you can't access all the modules required through BimmerCode.

I believe what kscarrol was mentioning about "turning it on" is through someone that is using esys to remove the 5AP (Decoding Anti-Dazzle) that is put in place.

I know when Canada adopted the EU regulations to allow Anti-Dazzle, BMWCA said the dealers could re-enable it (don't know if for free or charge). Though some people have posted in the X5 side that the dealership told them no when asked, even though BMWCA said they could do it.