bluemule

The RL's headlights have an autoleveling function. Does this kick in when driving normally, or just when loading that 300 pounds of shelled corn and birdseed into the trunk?

With all the discussions about headlight aim, it's occurred to me that no one has questioned whether autoleveling comes into play.

The first time I saw the feature touted was on a 3 series Bimmer I test drove several years ago, and perhaps wrongly, I had the impression that the headlights would autolevel when driving.

sotiri

No it doesnt kick in, after I adjusted the lights, it seems that the lense is adjusted higher, but the entire mechanism is unaffected.
FYI, love the headlights now that they are aimed higher.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

The mechanism doesn't react fast enough to do it while driving. It's intended to help maintain a consistent headlight level when you load up the rear end. No autoleveling mechanism is capable of functioning to react to the constantly changing road conditions.

yahtzee

I was under the impression that the headlights only followed a turn by 20 degrees when going over 12mph. I thought it was pretty cheap of a company to only offer that and not offer auto-leveling until i was out the other night. I swear this car has it but its not overly-noticeable. Sitting at a stoplight, the lights do look extremely low.

sotiri

the mercedes system does react quickly- at least on the S420 that I have.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I doubt it is able to react to every bump in the road. To road gradients maybe, but certainly not bumps in the road.

sotiri

not road bumps, but gradients in a faster time than Acuras.

jftjr

Long ago and far away, a grey market Maserati Biturbo found its way into the hands of a friend of mine... it had a wonderful feature -- a dial on the dashboard to allow you to adjust, within a range, the height of the headlights.

That, and the dash clock, and the suede headliner, were the best parts of that car.

Trying to adjust Weber carbs in a pressurized plenum box, however, and running the risk of fouling the spark plugs if you didn't operate the MANUAL CHOKE just right on starting, however, were the worst.

Mike_TX

And the humble Nissan Murano has that to this day ...

db22

A lowly Fiat Punto has headlight height adjustments. Most cheaper cars do in EU due to the brightness of the lights and the fact that the cars are so small that a bag of potatoes in the trunck almost lifts the front wheels off of the ground. I am surprised that the Nissan has them as well but they are French aren't they?

mrdeeno

The Q45 was probably the first Nissan/Infiniti to have them, and the QX56 I know has them.

slawek65

And Infiniti FX has that to. Most cars in Europe have this plus every car in Europe with HID must have headlights washers.

mrdeeno

so is Nissan/Infiniti the only automaker that has this feature in some of its cars in the U.S.?

stingerbtry

No, Mitsubishi has it in the Evolution, or at least they did in 03 when they came out here.

03CoupeV6

The Mazda3 with HID option has the dial on the dash, as well.

db22

I find it hard to believe that Infinity does not had Auto-Load Levelling. With this feature the headlight adjustment is superfluous.
The adjustment on the dash is considered a "cheap" alternative to the real thing.

bkw

STi as well.

mrdeeno

Infiniti has auto-leveling headlights.

Do research and learn to spell.

mrdeeno

I just did some research and I don't think ANY acura model has auto-leveling headlights...even the RL.

Can someone look in the driver's manual or somewhere else to confirm this?

db22

I was worcking on my resurch progect as to y a Nissan Oner was in this phorum butt I cood not find the spelchekur - sorry.

stingerbtry

I'm guessing he is or was at one time an Acura owner:

Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Lower Nazzie, Pa
Age: 28
Posts: 2,501

db22

If mrdeeno was an RL owner then he probably wouldn't be asking if "anybody could look in the owners manual", he could do it himself. I know he can read because he sure can spell.

lflorack

It's mentioned in the RL's AFLS demo video on the Acura site. It sounded like it's only for loading compensation.

mrdeeno

duhh...obviously i am not an RL owner.

stingerbtry

I said Acura, not RL. Not sure why anyone whould post that much on a car forum if not.

mrdeeno

maybe i just want to start shit...

but really...i had a cl-s that got stolen and shot up.

Mike_TX

Hahaha! You knew you wouldn't get away with that, didn't you? Actually, France belongs to Nissan.

(Okay, okay ... Nissan owns a bunch of French carmaker Renault's stock.)

mrdeeno

actually, Renault owns more of Nissan than Nissan owns of Renault.

Are you the same Mike_TX on Freshalloy?

db22

Manufacturers assume, correctly so, that if you auto level the car then the headlights will still be aimed correctly. If you have a manual adjustment on the dash one must assume that the car does not have load leveling.

mrdeeno

what are you talking about? load leveling of the car or the headlights?
The RL has auto-leveling of the headlights...not the car.

Further, I find it hard to believe that Acure does not have auto-leveling headlights for any other car besides the RL. The MDX doesn't even offer HIDs. I guess not offering ANYKIND of leveling adjustment (short of popping the hood) on most of their models is considered the "CHEAP" alternative to the real thing.

bluemule

The autoleveling function is part of the adaptive front lighting system. Section 22-237 of the service manual shows the location of the components. The adaptive front leveling sensor is on the rear suspension and the motors are up front. There is a headlight leveling sensor, along with other sensors and adjuster motors. The leveling sensors react to vertical movement (22-239). Along with tests for the various functions, the service manual additionally details a "learning" procedure for the headlights.

The posts regarding the effectiveness of the RL's headlights have been all over the board and this is why I previously checked the manual and then posted after speculating in my case whether autoleveling is affecting the effectiveness of my RL's headlights and what I consider to be very poor performance in that regard.

mrdeeno

My M45 has adaptive as well as auto-leveling headlights, but the auto-leveling I can't "perceive" working. The headlights were actually aimed too low (reportedly a common problem) from delivery, so I had to crank them up a little.

I don't know if the auto-leveling should be perceived by the driver or not...maybe its one of those things that you know works when oncoming traffic doesn't constantly flash their highs at you.

I think with these projector headlights, automakers are being "safe" in aiming them lower than needed at the factory. And with the sharp cutoff, it "appears" that they are aimed too low, when in fact they are in the "acceptable" zone, but can also be raised slightly and still be acceptable.