Probably more a matter of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

 

passive-adaptive

Headlights... dark... illuminating....

A bit forced, I know.

Let the good puns roll.

 

I'll 'see' your pun and raise you a 'light' hearted joke.

 

Enlightening thread, would read again. A-Spec+++++

 

OK, Acura has really thrown us a curve regarding whether the US models have adaptive headlights.

 

Has anyone found out if the US Advance Trim actually has adaptive curve headlights?

 

Yes, it does. Sometimes I notice it, and most times I don't. YMMV

 

My 2020 Advance has 4 LEDs on in low beam, and 2 more - in high beam.
I assume the 7th LED is adaptive.
It would be nice to see how it works, including how it adjusts to steering wheel action.
And why only at these speeds? Don't we want to see sidways lit when we turn at low speed as well?

 

Read the first page of this thread.

 

The 2020 manual talks about adaptive headlights, but I can’t find any mention of it in the brochure or any actual specs for the 2020 RDX. Can anyone find it documented anywhere which trim levels have it in the US?

 

Only the Advance trim has it in the US. It’s on the IIHS website.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle...-door-suv/2019

 

I still can’t find anywhere on the Acura website that says the RDX has adaptive headlights.

 

I couldn't find it on the acura.com website, but it is mentioned on Acura.ca and on page 189 of the 2020 owners manual.

 

I can definitely notice the adaptive headlight effect when driving at night on my 2020 Platinum Elite. The effect isn’t on and off and seems to fade in and out.

 

I looked harder, and I still can't find anywhere that officially states that the 2020 RDX has adaptive headlights. The 2020 owners manual talks about them, but there is the dreaded "*" that says "Not available on all models". I did find one document on the Acura website that says the 2019 RDX Advance package has them. It's on page 5 of this document:

http://www.acuralaunchtraining.com/w..._2018_v7_0.pdf

None of the online brochures, features, Packages & Accessories documents or anything mentions that the 2020 has adaptive headlights. It's really kind of strange. Has anyone else found anything???
I wish this kind of stuff didn't bug me so much...

-Cuzz

 

Seriously, stop stressing out about it. Why does adaptive front lighting system affect you so much? It doesn't actually make a huge difference in driving, and the headlights are already plenty bright enough as it is. In fact, I get drivers that flash their high beams at me because my headlights on low beams create too much glare.

Even if the Advance model doesn't have AFS, the headlights are definitely way better than most of the other vehicles out there with AFS.

 

Lol, what bugs me is just what happened to them. Why are they advertised on the 2019, and not on the 2020? That’s all. I’m curious if Acura quietly dropped them for some reason, and if so, why? That’s all.

I over analyze EVERYTHING, can’t help it...

 

Acura hasn’t changed anything from 2019 to 2020 in terms of features. They may have slightly changed the infotainment system hardware because of the complaints, but everything else remained the same. I believe the gauge screen now shows what your last setting was when you turned off the car but that’s the only actual change you can see AFAIK. The part numbers for the headlights are still the same as last year. Also the Advance models had different headlight part numbers than the other models.

 

There is a part number for an AFS module ( adaptive headlight controller ) listed for the Advance trim, and I have identified it in my car. It's tucked up behind the glove compartment.

I don't think the adaptive system is "best of breed", but I can see it working sometimes. It's important to understand that the adaptive low beams don't provide any illumination that you won't get with the high beams. So unless there is other traffic, you should be using high beams. In any car.

 

I can confirm that my 19 Advance does have working "adaptive" lights. I was driving at 45 mph on a dark road with very little traffic, at night, with gradual curves, and I was consciously thinking about the lights, and it was obvious that there are additional lights that turn on briefly when turning the steering wheel both right and left.

 

Yup, on a 2019. I can’t find any documented proof that adaptive headlights were carried over to the 2020 model. I’d love for someone to prove me wrong. There is no written documentation anywhere that says the 2020 has them. I think Acura quietly dropped them.

 

I dunno, but they are so inconsequential that I bet 90% wouldn't even miss them.

Hopefully a 2020 owner will post.

My wife's 15 Escape Titanium has "cornering" lights, that seem to be much more obvious.

 

The IIhs actually rated the adaptive headlights worse, they do go slightly farther on the drivers side for the high beams but not as far for the passenger side for the high beams. The aspec and lower trim was rated good and the advanced only adequate.

https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle...019#headlights

 

Perhaps you missed post #133 in this thread.

I included a screen capture from acura.ca which lists the features available in the various trim levels. You can clearly see that "adaptive front headlighting system" is available in the far right column, which is the Platinum Elite.

The following is from the 2020 owners manual.

 

I guess I did miss that post, and I also didn’t see it on the Acura website when I checked the model comparisons. I will have to go back and check it out.

Thanks.

 

I just checked the US Acura website (again), and nowhere does it say anything about the Adaptive Front Lights. Your info is from the Canadian website. As best I can tell, Acura dropped this feature from the US models.

 

Adaptive headlights were only on the Advance trim for USA spec 2019 RDX. I can't find parts listings for the 2020 to see if anything has changed.

If someone really, really wants to know the answer, it could probably be found in the online service manual, Honda Service Express. $10 for 1 day access. $50 for 30 days. $350 for a year. Or if you are on friendly terms with your local Acura parts department staff, they could probably figure it out. Just search for the AFS module under Control Unit ( Cabin ) 1. Afs Unit - Acura (33170-TJB-A01)

 

Or, just test it at night on a dark road with a curve.

 

But the difference isn't night and day.

The adaptive elements just add some more light within an area already covered by other elements, as illustrated in post #144.

And if the fog lights are on, it's even harder to see the difference, IMO.

Which is to say, I'm not all that impressed and I wouldn't view the presence or absence of the system as a deal-breaker in a buying decision.

 

I have the 2020 Canadian Platinum Elite, which is reported to have adaptive headlights. After 4 months of ownership, I have not been able to confirm that the adaptive lights are working.

It would help if I knew what I was looking for. For example are these extra lights always pointing in the same position and they just switch from off to 100% brightness when the wheel is turned, or are they on all the time and rotate in sync with the steering wheel.

Wander has already described the system exactly as I would have...............

 

Okay, since my last post I went for a drive with the sole purpose of looking for proof that the adaptive headlights are working. I am happy to say that they are working. But I also have to say that the reason I never noticed them before, is because they don't make enough difference to be noticed.

The only way I spotted them was by concentrating on the shoulder of the road, about one car length in front of my own bumper. That is the only spot that was illuminated bright enough to even notice. This seems almost useless for my needs because I have a developed a habit of looking more than one car length down the road.

Perhaps I could compare the adaptive headlights to the RDX's fog lights, which also only light up one car length in front of the bumper and do nothing to light up the road any further than that. They are cosmetic as many have described them.

You U.S. members need not be jealous any longer.

 

Fog lights are not just cosmetic. In dense fog, they illuminate the area right around the car to help see road markings and curbs. When you can't see more than 50-100 feet due to fog, these lights help your eyes focus on the road very close to the car, and, if you keep your speed low enough, you will see enough road details to proceed forward cautiously.

 

Yes, that was the original reason for installing fog lights on cars.

When I began driving, cars used sealed beam headlights. For those that don't know, a sealed beam headlight was originally about a 5" round glass envelope, with a filament in front of a parabolic reflector. There were 2 models of sealed beams. One was for low beams, and the other had the filament located in a different focal point of the parabolic reflector to create a high beam. Pretty well every car on the road used the same headlights. Eventually they created two models of "square" sealed beams for the modern look.

Eventually car manufactures wanted to personalize the styling of the headlights, so individual bulbs (capsules) were created. The car manufacturer could now shape the headlights anyway he wanted, and just plug in one of these capsules.

In the days of sealed beams, the parabolic reflectors would send out light in the shape of a cone. As much light went up in the sky, as it did on the road. On rainy or foggy nights, the light that was sent upwards, would reflect off the fog and back into the drivers eyes making it difficult for him to see. That is when someone invented fog lights which kept the light pointed below the level of the hood. The driver would turn off his regular sealed beams and drive only with the fog lights during foggy nights.

As time went on and computers started to design the shape of reflectors, they designed the reflector to take 100% of the light emitted from the capsule, and direct it entirely forward. Nothing went upward were it would be reflected back to the driver. You can see this sharp horizontal cutoff line if you pull the RDX up to a wall.

Without light being directed above the level of the hood, fog lights were no longer needed. In fact, the fog lights on most cars no longer project any light in a focused pattern, enough to be useful. The fog lights in my 2016 RDX were far from perfect, but they were much better than the ones in the 2020 RDX. The departments of transportation (Canada and USA) also created laws which only allow the fog lights to be on if the low beams are on. The law also requires that the fog lights can't be on if the high beams are on. Remember that back in the day, fog lights were meant to be turned on alone to prevent the reflection of the low beams from blinding the driver.

 

Usually there is no fog up to a foot above the ground. The purpose of fog lights is to illuminate road under the fog. Low beam also creates white "screen" reflecting of the fog when you look down, trying to see road markings. It makes it worse, but this highlighting of the fog might help to see presence of the car for the traffic coming from the opposite direction. Also, low beam might provide better overall visibility in less dense fog. In my previous cars OFF position switched off all the lights - it was impossible to drive on fog lights alone. Experts who decide upon such things know better. I can only guess.

 

here's a link to the 2020 US Model/Trim comparison stating that the 2020 RDX Advance does have AFS https://assets.acurainfocenter.com/w...INEUP_v9_0.pdf

 

So...my 2020 Advanced model does indeed have adaptive lighting? Interesting. I wonder why this isn't advertised?

 

I can now confirm my 2019 advance does have adaptive lighting. I can tell by looking on the road and I actually see the light turn on while turning on a curve. It's actually pretty obvious. It isn't obvious if you're not looking for it.

 

You have a United States RDX?

 

If he has an Advance trim, he must. Canadian trims are: Base, Tech, A-Spec, Elite, and Platinum Elite - there is no Advance trim in Canada.

 

Strange how nothing is mentioned in the Fact Sheet: https://www.acura.com/-/media/Files/...Fact-Sheet.pdf

So very strange. Just Auto High-beams are mentioned.

However, the Advanced model also has auto-dimming side mirrors as well and that's not mentioned in the fact sheet either.

I think we need an unofficial Facts sheet to go over features that simply not mentioned by Acura.