Headlight assistant

[Sireyn]

Just interested to see what experiences people have had with the headlight/main beam assistant since collecting your octy's?

I've got an Elegance estate coming very soon! Particularly interested in the time delays from when main beam is on to when the systems switches it off as the brochure indicates that it leaves it quite late which may blind other drivers from a significant distance away on a long straight stretch of road.

Does the assistant pretty much change the lighting when you would without it?

Cheers,

[drewpost]

Just interested to see what experiences people have had with the headlight/main beam assistant since collecting your octy's?

I've got an Elegance estate coming very soon! Particularly interested in the time delays from when main beam is on to when the systems switches it off as the brochure indicates that it leaves it quite late which may blind other drivers from a significant distance away on a long straight stretch of road.

Does the assistant pretty much change the lighting when you would without it?

Cheers,

I have it with the Xenons on my Octy 3 elegance hatch. I use the assist all the time now and have been quite pleased with it. I find the reaction time is the same as I would do. The only time I have had to manually intervene was when I was coming up on an old lorry that had really dim rear brake lights that didn't trip the sensor.

The videos and brochure are a bit misleading. I've had it go off when cars are ages down the road. It seems to error on the side of caution more often than not.

Hope this helps!

Edited 13 October, 2013 by drewpost

[Richie647]

I have it with the Xenons on my Octy 3 elegance hatch. I use the assist all the time now and have been quite pleased with it. I find the reaction time is the same as I would do. The only time I have had to manually intervene was when I was coming up on an old lorry that had really dim rear brake lights that didn't trip the sensor. The videos and brochure are a bit misleading. I've had it go off when cars are ages down the road. It seems to error on the side of caution more often than not. Hope this helps!

 

Thank you for that, I've Xenon's coming with my elegance week after next and wondered how light assistant worked with them.

 

Regards

 

Richie

[boff180]

I have it on mine with the standard lights. Was a nice surprise as my dealer was adamant I only had normal auto headlights when I collected the car!

 

TBH in the countryside it reacts a lot slower than I do. The beam doesn't dip for oncoming vehicles until that cars lights are clearly visible (ie. you blind them for a fraction of a second), personally I usually see the car coming round the corner from the road lighting up and have already dipped the beam by the time its visible.

 

It also doesn't seem to intervene when approaching major lit road junctions such as roundabouts for some strange reason.

 

Andy

[DavidF3911]

Works great on my Elegance - just switch it on and leave it now the nights are getting darker. Actually puts main beam on at times I wouldn't normally think to, which is how it should be

[Sireyn]

Cheers for the feedback! I suppose you always worry whether an assistant is going to work as well as you would usually do yourself! But it sounds promising!

I'm upgrading from a 56 plate Seat Ibiza with virtually no toys on it apart from electric windows so the new Octy is gonna feel like a limousine!

[drewpost]

It also turns on the corresponding fog light when you indicate. This illuminates the side of the road where you are turning.

[redandwhitepauly]

I have it on my elegance and its pretty quick to switch main beam off when it notices a car in the distance, it certainly is no difference to doing it manually. It also happens to do it with street lights and even bright reflections from certain street signs with fluorescent backgrounds, but I really like it and so do our friends !!

[TudorM]

TBH in the countryside it reacts a lot slower than I do. The beam doesn't dip for oncoming vehicles until that cars lights are clearly visible (ie. you blind them for a fraction of a second), personally I usually see the car coming round the corner from the road lighting up and have already dipped the beam by the time its visible.

 

So you're complaining it doesn't have a human brain that can realize a car that isn't visible yet is coming your way because you can see its headlights lighting up the road? Awww...

[TheWanderer]

You can't please everyone all of the time.

[boff180]

So you're complaining it doesn't have a human brain that can realize a car that isn't visible yet is coming your way because you can see its headlights lighting up the road? Awww...

No I was merely pointing out it isn't as fast as a human can be, I wasn't complaining at all, I use it after all.

Then again judging on some peoples intelligence they can't recognise that a car is coming towards them until they were being flashed madly by the blinded driver....

[spitzie]

How do you know if you have got it?

I didn't order it back in May nor did I order the auto lights. However I have the auto lights and there appears to be an option on the lights setup menu. I haven't noticed anything happening at night, but I have only been driving on roads with streetlights.

[Stuarted]

This is a useful and informative thread - thank you!

A sensible, considerate driver will of course be "ahead of the game" and will dip his headlights when he detects the light of an oncoming car around the next bend, but that does not stop an automatic system being useful.

If it just reduces the number of drivers who engage in the following annoying types of behaviour, it will be a good thing:

(1) oncoming drivers who put their headlight back up on main beam just before they've quite gone past, thus blinding you anyway and completely defeating the object of having dipped their lights in the first place; and

(2) drivers who crawl along empty A roads at night with their lights perpetually dipped, at the head of long queues which build up behind them.  They drive so slowly because they can't see properly on their permanently dipped lights, and no-one can overtake them because the drivers behind can't see properly either.  If I am second in the queue (always a very responsible position - "it's number two who statrts the queue" - I find myself muttering "PUT YOUR BLOODY LIGHTS UP" and am tempted to put my own lights on main beam regardless of the discomfort to the leading slowcoach - which I know is bad and wrong.  
 

Edited 14 October, 2013 by Stuarted

[TheWanderer]

I'm afraid I have to admit to doing the latter.

 

It really, really p1$$es me off when you get either a pensioner or "The Fairer Sex" who go into complete meltdown, when the sun goes down & it gets dark, as soon as something comes the other way with headlights on or they come to the slightest of bends they slam the anchors on & nearly cause a prang! Even on a straight fast bit of road they just dodder along and if you try to overtake they move over to stop you! 

 

If you can't drive at night then either use public transport (if available) or a taxi or stay indoors.

 

I know that the government are on about adjusting the way youngsters are taught to drive which will include a set number of hours of having to drive in the dark. A damned good idea that. 

[boff180]

How do you know if you have got it?

I didn't order it back in May nor did I order the auto lights. However I have the auto lights and there appears to be an option on the lights setup menu. I haven't noticed anything happening at night, but I have only been driving on roads with streetlights.

With your dipped lights set to auto, push the stalk forward as if you are turning on your main beam. A logo should appear on your MFD in the bottom centre... A picture of a main beam logo with an A by the side of it.

Pushing the stalk forward again turns off auto and puts the main beam on manually.

I believe it uses the front assist camera so you may need front assist to have the feature.

Andy

[TheWanderer]

It sounds more hassle than it's worth and I much prefer to use Mk1 eyeballs & brain than get over-reliant on technology. 

[Neily03]

It sounds more hassle than it's worth and I much prefer to use Mk1 eyeballs & brain than get over-reliant on technology.

Lol, we all saw that reply coming from you!

[TheWanderer]

Well, everyone has a brain. It's not difficult or taxing to dip your cars headlights yourself now is it. 

 

And of course we don't mean like this...

 

[TudorM]

I believe it uses the front assist camera so you may need front assist to have the feature.

 

As it's been said before, Front Assist doesn't use a camera, only the radar in the front bumper. The system we're talking about here has it's own camera, next to the Lane Assist one. So you don't need Front Assist to have Light Assist.

[sworrall]

could someone with headlight assist do me a favour?  could you take a quick picture of your mirror unit as sent through the windscreen from the front?  I'd like to see if you have any more cameras than mine which has the lane assist. 

 

Reason being I was wondering if the light assist might use the same camera as the lane assist and thus be a tick box to turn on in VCDS?  (probably not as it may need another box of tricks behind the dashboard to do the calcs)

[redandwhitepauly]

More to the point is the multitude of young PLEBS who think it looks really cool to drive around in their ****e boy racer heaps with stupid spoilers fitted and with their front fogs on !!! Forget auto dimming lights, they get the full manual highbeam xenons and front fogs for their trouble. What the system needs is a "blind the complete *******" sensor.

[TheWanderer]

There's no need to speak about Bridgwater & Bath like that. 

[hawkster]

Bet the system doens't help with those very polite people who if you let them out or through a gap in front of you wait until they are about three feet away and then flash you briefly with main beam thereby blinding you (vans/minibuses/4x4 are the worst as their headlights are just nicely at eye level) - yeah a great way of saying thanks - leaving you dazzled/blinded.(sorry pet hate of mine)

[redandwhitepauly]

There's no need to speak about Bridgwater & Bath like that. 

 

hahaha now now !!

 

[Juniperz]

Bet the system doens't help with those very polite people who if you let them out or through a gap in front of you wait until they are about three feet away and then flash you briefly with main beam thereby blinding you (vans/minibuses/4x4 are the worst as their headlights are just nicely at eye level) - yeah a great way of saying thanks - leaving you dazzled/blinded.(sorry pet hate of mine)

I know what  you mean - I tend to turn my lights quickly off then on to say thanks, but modern headlights seem to take ages to come back on again...  (I have normal not Xenon).