I am looking for something that has better illumination when making turns at night, not so much dimming headlights for oncoming traffic.

Pros works very well. Cons expensive to replace. I know Volvo's have them on their vehicles. God Bless

I don't know if this is the same thing but my 2017 Subaru has a feature where in a turn the onside fog light automatically lights up then goes out as you straighten up. Poor mans version of what you are talking about?

It helps and it isn't complex that's for sure.

My CTS has them. I'm not all that impressed, but they do look funny on the garage door during their self-test.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I don't know if this is the same thing but my 2017 Subaru has a feature where in a turn the onside fog light automatically lights up then goes out as you straighten up. Poor mans version of what you are talking about?

It helps and it isn't complex that's for sure.

Pretty much.

Older vehicles had "cornering lights" that came on with turn signals. The ones on my '94 Town Car do a decent job of illuminating the intersection in the direction of the turn.

My '16 Mazda CX-9 has the adaptive lights that swing a few degrees with the wheels. They probably help and certainly don't hurt.

The IIHS is starting to include headlight ratings on new cars. Here's the page for a '16 Mazda 6, which I owned for about 14 months before upgrading to the CX-9. It's rated "acceptable." The only car to receive "good" was the Toyota Prius V, and it doesn't have adaptive lights.

Having lived with them for about 1 1/2 years, I can safely say I would not base a buying decision on the presence or lack of adaptive lights. LED projector lights, yes, but not the adaptive feature.

My BMW has them.

I dread the day one needs repair.

Tucker had them.

I have these on my Mazda 3. I believe only the headlight on the inside of the turn rotates to light up the path. I think it's a great feature.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
My BMW has them.

I dread the day one needs repair.

Yeah, mine has 'em. $1600 each I hear.

I like them, but talk to me when one is broken and out of warranty.

It doesn't really turn all that much. I can notice it on freeway on and off ramps that circle and on winding roads. But when I notice it, I don't really think it adds that much more illumination to the side. Maybe 5 degrees?

I have a Lexus GS350 and an RX350 for what it's worth.

Hearing about those things always makes me want to watch that Tucker car movie

This, and many other convenience options, are great unless and until they break and you have to repair them.

I like them alot, on all three cars right now. Like others, I sometimes shudder during their startup routine thinking of the replacement cost....

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
My BMW has them.

I dread the day one needs repair.

Most likely repair will be to the wiring harness. The side-to-side movement will eventually cause a wire to cut itself in two. My E46 did so, last year (it was 12 years old at the time).

Otherwise...the ballasts will go. You can find them used (but tested and working) on eBay. Audi also used the same ballasts.

Finally: on BMWs, if you manually turn the headlights on/off via the switch, the adaptive part is disabled. It's only active when you leave the headlight switch in the "A" setting for automatic. No leveling and no turning on E46 chassis, at least.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I don't know if this is the same thing but my 2017 Subaru has a feature where in a turn the onside fog light automatically lights up then goes out as you straighten up. Poor mans version of what you are talking about?

It helps and it isn't complex that's for sure.

They do more than that the aim point changes too. Next time you start it while parked facing a wall they "look" up and down.

Works great on my grandmother's 2014 Mercedes S550

My Volvo has them. Only time when I really notice it is when I switch to my truck and it doesn't do all that fancy stuff. The Volvo does have a switch to turn off the adaptive function.

Here's what the manufacturers say:

A car with adaptive headlights uses electronic sensors to detect the speed of the car, how far the driver has turned the steering wheel, and the yaw of the car. Yaw is the rotation of the car around the vertical axis -- when a car is spinning, for example, its yaw is changing. The sensors direct small electric motors built into the headlight casing to turn the headlights. A typical adaptive headlight can turn the lights up to 15 degrees from center, giving them a 30-degree range of movement. When the car is moving slower than 25 mph (40 km/hour) and turning, the cornering lights can illuminate up to 80 degrees of additional area to the side of the car. They also respond to hill descent and ascent.

As Mars_Attacks observed, they are an expensive toy if broken. I have a friend who did a U-boat Commander routine with his Volvo in flood water. (ran into a deep "puddle"). Killed those adaptive headlights dead. Cost him around $1500+ to fix them, like all gadgets.

Reminds me yet again of British cars- I love 'em but Lucas, Prince of Darkness always wins.

My understanding is that the Kia K900 has them and replacements are close to $4,000 per side....

I have them on my BMW, but I don't use them.

Maybe I'm weird, but I found the movement a bit distracting.

It's an '06 with Xenon headlights that illuminate very well, so I don't think I'm missing anything.

I have them on a '16 GTI Autobahn. They are the best headlights I've had - even without the adaptive part. The movement is quite noticeable driving through the neighborhood at night, and it helps quite a bit with particular corners. The headlights also have cornering lights with H7 55w bulbs. First time I've had a car and didn't want to upgrade the headlights for one reason or another.

And as already stated - only real con is if they were to die outside of warranty :O