I would never have noticed this but I was checking my headlight alignment by driving back & forth towards the garage door after having set them to the wall across the road using a laser level to project the ground level from my drive.

 

Anway I had set the lights correctly but was seeing a bright band beneath the dipped beam pattern, at first I thought it was the DRL's but it was the foglights, then I realised that they were switching on when reverse gear was selected, normally I would be looking behind.

 

I cannot for the life of me work out why it should do this or how it could be a safety measure to vehicles approaching from the front.

 

Just to confirm it only does it when the main or dipped beam headlights are on, reverse is selected and the engine running, they dont come on under any other circumstances except that I programmed VCDS so that te relevant one would come on as a cornering aid light, perhaps its this that has brought the anomoly.

 

any idea why it should do this? - give yours a try!!

 

Vehicle is the 2015 Yeti as shown in my profile.

It’s not an anomaly it’s part of the cornering fog light function.

I’ve found it very handy in my previous Yetis and current Kodiaq to see what is around the front end when manoeuvring in our unlit driveway. Perhaps in well lit areas it’s pretty pointless.

Edited 19 September, 20205 yr by Kenny R

Gotcha, its for reversing on full lock so as to illuminate the swing of the front end.

 

I spend most of my time looking backwards when I am reversing, I guess it might have some value if the car has cameras everywhere and the driver is looking at a split screen.

The thing with the cars that have the Front Fog Lights coming on when Reverse is selected regardless of the circumstances or location is they can be disabled.

 

It is ridiculous the the EU Construction and use allowed this which is really against the UK Highway code were the use of Fog Lights are when the Visibility is reduced by Fog.

 

If someone goes to reverse say off a road and into a driveway there should not be Fog Lights just automatically coming on, 2 if the wheels as straight and then to one as the steering angle changes.

If a driver needs extra front lights as they reverse the 'Fog Light switch' is there at the end of their finger.

They are selecting reverse, maybe putting on an indicator, they could put on both front fogs if needed and nobody coming towards them, or even put on Full Beam to the front 

if there is the need to see where the front of the car is while swinging in someplace in reverse.

I always reverse onto my driveway from a main road, I will look at disabling the feature in VCDS, given that there seem to be hundreds or weirdly named options (probably bad translations) wherever I look does anyone know what the option is called and what module needs coding? I guess the BCM.

 

3rd link might help.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/421889-cornering-fogs-light-up-in-reverse

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/416231-front-fogs-on-for-no-reason-when-reversing

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/446209-multiple-adaptions-for-front-fog lights

 

 

Edited 20 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

I found this video on one of the links, look carefully at the light pattern from the foglights, its clear that when manouevring forwards they have a role to play and could add to safety however when reversing the cut off line is ahead of the vehicle, they show what the vehicle has passed and not what the front extremities are going towards.

 

 

And from the drivers seat unless you are a giraffe with your head out of the panoramic roof you could not even see the rear of the light pattern!

 

The video proves conclusively that the function of actuating them when reversing is a chocolate teapot and is a potential danger to other road users, on the other had it shows the value of their use in forward motion in some circumstances.

 

All the more odd that the chocolate teapot function was enabled at the factory but I had to program in the cornering function with VCDS.

 

I should add that I did try several reversing scenarios last night and could not see that the foglights gave me any more visibility, looking at the video I now know why.

The whole Cornering Fog light thing is ridiculous in some applications, like maybe much of the time.

 

The situation that i was first aware of is at the likes of traffic works in the night time.

 

You have the lights at green to let you drive on where the road has been put to a single lane and you are driving towards traffic stopped and a car at the front of the traffic and as you approach they turn the steering wheel to anticipate the light changing to green and they shine a fog light at you where just a moment before there was just 2 sidelights and dipped beam.

Plonker might not even be aware they do it.

The Original Yeti Fog lights are at what can be an annoying height IMO.

There are cars with Cornering lights that can be at an even more annoying height if you are driving something low or maybe cycling.

Those are usually 4x4's /SUV's or Pickup Trucks.