konst_ms

Yesterday night I was driving in a very dark park with narrow roads and sharp turns. I was expecting Active Frontlight System to shine up for me, but honestly didn't see it doing anything.

Yes, I checked that when the car starts the right frontlight does its movement to the right and back, so it is Ok.

Yes, I tried to turn AFS on and off with the button on the dash and... didn't see ANY difference in driving conditions. Frankly I didn't see any light moving when I turn, although I was specifically looking for it.

I have a feeling that AFS works just as a buzz word to help sell Acuras, but doesn't have any practical value and will probably go away when more and more people realize that.

Bitium

I'm sure is hard to tell in action unless you do a test. Just remember only the turning side moves outward by 20 degrees. So if you make a right turn, the right headlight will move towards the right (outwards). I can't tell you much because I don't own the car.

kph3

Mine works just fine....it cools to see it move as you turn the wheel. How fast were you going? I know you have to be traveling over a certain speed for them to be active. I don't know off hand what that speed is, but that could be your issue. Check your manual and try it again.

Bitium

Yeah about 5mph!! I'm pretty sure is not

petemc

The AFS is very subtle, and given the already good coverage by the lights, it doesn't make that much difference. I have deliberately tried to observe the movement of the lights, and the only way I could discerne it was that a little notch on the upper limit of the light beam did shift and return after the corner.

I agree with konst_ms that this will end up more of a marketing gimmick than a really invaluable piece of funtionality.

Pete

bluemule

My experience with AFS is that it's very subtle (to the point of not being noticeable) under normal road conditions. My driveway is a sharp right turn off of a county gravel road, with an equally sharp left turn immediately following...the movement of the headlights is especially noticeable under those circumstances, and the effect is especially useful. AFS is also quite noticeable when parking in a 90 degree parking space.

DCD

Ours works great at all speeds. To me, it is not a gimmack at all. Actully, I wish it were on our other daily driver...an 04 Lexus GX470 (and it does not even come with xenon headlights!).

Rob L

Mine works just fine and I notice it when driving.

BTW AFS is not just some acura thing so you shouldnt try to imply Acura came up with it and it is some gimmick to sell cars.

g6civcx

There are 2 possible things at work here:

1. It is working correctly, and you're unable to notice.
2. It is malfunctioning.

Mine works perfectly and I appreciate a little of light into the corners at night. Remember that it only moves a little bit. Don't expect it to move 45 degrees or so.


Also, Acura did not come up with this. It was invented long ago.

acurafox

Yeah, I remember reading about steerable headlights on the '73 Citroen SM, which was quit a cutting edge car for its time (if you could get past the looks!). They were illegal in the US for some unknown reason, so the US spec cars didn't have this feature.

Throtex

I notice them. You know how the headlight pattern has a kind of 'hump' because the right headlight is aimed higher than the left headlight? If you take a right turn, you should see almost a second 'hump' forming off to the right. I guess you might not see it if you aren't looking for it, but it's not all that subtle.

427

I believe it was a feature on the 1948 Tucker automible.

DCD

The reason they were not legal in the US was due to lighting issues for left handed turns. The NTSB was concerned that the light would shine in people faces while in traffic. You will notice that when you are sitting at a light and when you turn LEFT, the headlight will not move (you have to be fully stopped). However, when turning right from a dead stop, the light will turn...becuase it does not turn into traffic.

Bitium

That is correct.