Auto headlight issue....maybe?!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 385
Likes: 92
From: Bognor Regis UK
Alfa 159
Auto headlight issue....maybe?!
When I have my headlights on auto...which is all the time... I notice that if I drive through a tunnel or a heavily wooded area that my lights come on as they should but can take up to half an hour of driving in the light before they go off again. Its not every time but probably one in three. Im not talking an overcast cloudy day here but a bright blue sky, sunglasses day! Surely under those circumstances they should turn off as soon as you immerge from the dark?? I've read that the sun being low in the sky can cause this if the rear view mirrors get more light than the screen mounted sensor and the car assumes the sun is behind you and leaves the lights on...sound unlikely to me and I've seen no evidence to back it up....also today I was driving nearly due south for half an hour in bright sun before they went off....the sun largely in front of me. Any ideas? Not particularly worried about it...just feel a little silly with my lights on , on the hottest day of the year! I know I can turn them off completely....but that's not the point!! Anyone with the same issue?
Super Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 684
Likes: 14
From: Lebanon
2007 BMW 550i
Sounds like a dirty sensor or it just needs calibration. The sensor itself it behind the mirror, make sure it looks clear (sometimes if the windscreen was replaced they install it incorrectly and it looks foggy because they reused the old glue). Or somebody with STAR can adjust it. I think its called blue Sky effect. Theres a specific option that decreases sensitivity in a bid to fix the blue sky effect.
