Hi everyone.

Realise a few threads on here about low distance dipped beam headlights prior.  I can't see any that stipulate which of the 4 white adjusters on the back of the LED headlights move the dipped beam vertically and which way to turn it. Anybody done a slight tweak that worked and how please? Realise there is a OBD11 part too but I'm just after the actual physical adjustment for height. 

I'd be getting the dealer to change the angles as it might interfere with the AFS system. They should be able to do it for little or no charge.

I'm pretty sure the AFS is separate to the actual physical height adjuster though. That plays with the lens angle within a range on the LED which gets balanced by the start up leveling process which the height adjusters really physically set the maximum of this prior. I can avoid AFS by just using on vs auto as well to compare the light which is still under my perception of normal low beam distance.

TBH too, I cant see any difference in spread or length regardless of speed if the AFS actually does work.

Where I drive and live is petty much no street lights and open road speeds 90% of the time. So Kodiaqs dipped beam is way too short for 75kph plus compared to my 2 previous LED equipped VWs which had AFS and DLA etc. Their High beam performance was better than the Kodiaqs too so slightly disappointed comparitively.

I'm sure a workshop manual will show the adjusters and which one does what but i can't find one.

Edited 9 June, 20205 yr by snala

For Superb 2 the procedure was following:

 

set the headlights to service position with VCDS

adjust the headlights

confirm new zero position with VCDS

 

I guess the same goes for Kodiaq too.

From the Kodiaq General Presentation document:

 

Excellent thanks. Thought it was number 2 by location on unit so given it 1.5 turns anti clock wise and sorted. 

Interesting as has a very large adjuster on outer edge of light units, shown above too as purple also, and no referance to what that does.

I would be happy to be wrong, but I don`t think just adjusting the screws will help.

Headlights are self levelling and no matter how much you adjust them, they always return to initial position, unless you don`t involve som diagnostics equipment.

It has changed them for me though? 

The headlights still self level and then settle to their maximum height that I set physically by the manual adjusters. The self level seems to just take them back to this set maximum if the car is at normal weight distribution.

I guess the self leveling really only has to range below the maximum height set if the car gets higher in the front i.e has weight in the back. 

If it did reset every time,  when you turn the car on and the lights do their level set based on the cars angle, these manual limit adjusters would also turn by themselves at the same time and they don't. I'm pretty sure VDCS/OBD11 only sets the leveling ranges, not the physical limits of the light units.

14 hours ago, snala said:

I guess the self leveling really only has to range below the maximum height set if the car gets higher in the front i.e has weight in the back.

 

No no, they dance during ride also. On bumby road you can see at night as they keep the height, moving up and down. That`s the whole idea, isn`t it, to avoid dazzling?

 

At least on Superb 2 you couldn`t set the height without diagnostics instrument as they always returned to initial level, as I said before already.

Superb had a device called something self levelling arm in both front wheelarcs which determined the car`s body angle relative to the ground.

Once one of these failed and I had to drive 400 km at night with lights in emergency position (turned totally downwards, beam about 5 meters long).

 

Maybe they have changed something on Kodiaq.

Kodiaq still has the levelling sensors in the suspension, same as the 3T Superb.  Two in the front one in the back.

 

I agree the Superb needed to be put in adaptation mode before adjustment.

 

It seems the Kodiaq might not, this service manual extract page 139 (attached) just sort of says 'do it mechanically'. It talks about using the VAS to perform a test of the motors but doesn't seem to mention the adjustment other than turning the screws.

 

Not conclusive by any means, VAG's documentation is often all over the place and contradictory.

 

Wish we got those cool matrix LEDs.

 

Weirdly, it seems here in AU that the LEDs don't have the washers installed, at least the two Kodiaq's I had do not.  Might be a homologation thing.

 

 

Kodiaq Maintenance.pdf

5 hours ago, wokwon said:

Wish we got those cool matrix LEDs.

 

Weirdly, it seems here in AU that the LEDs don't have the washers installed, at least the two Kodiaq's I had do not.  Might be a homologation thing.

We'll be getting Matrix LED in the upcoming facelift revealed next year!

 

Yep - in some countries, HID/LED headlights need washers. I hate mine though as they leave water spots on the entire front of the car.

In the UK if the output of the headlights exceeds 2,000 lumen the headlight washers and self-levelling are required.