Irritating adaptive headlamps

[northern_nubie]

Disappointingly - for me - Ford have stopped owners being able to turn off the adaptive headlamps feature. I'm on my second 4th generation Titanium (first one bought used, current one bought new last September). The user guide and Ford's website says putting the lighting control knob into the dipped position, rather than Auto, stops adaptive headlamps kicking in. This is false. And Ford UK and 3 separate Ford dealers have told me adaptive headlamps can't be turned off. No control given to the driver. (Ford say oh, it's a safety feature. But all other so-called safety features *can* be turned off.) There's no setting in the display to turn them off, or on the steering wheel controls.

Many people won't mind adaptive headlamps, but without exaggeration I detest them. I find then irritating to the point of distraction, and also unnecessary. And I live in a place with twisting roads, so the headlamps flick around constantly at night. You'd think a software upgrade or something might disable them, or an alteration in the steering column, but dealers say this isn't possible. 😠  Any ideas on whether I have any options, apart from selling the car? I love the car in many ways, but can't deal with adaptive headlamps.

Another thing I've found with the face lift Titanium is that whatever setting you have the climate control on, even on the lowest strength setting, the vents work very vigorously, even after the car has already reached the right temperature. As with the headlamps issue, control is taken away from the driver. Once at the right temperature the vents still pump out absurdly strong currents of barely luke warm air even on setting 1 out 7. Other cars I've driven don't do this. The Auto setting makes no difference either. And turning off the AC button does nothing to solve it.

 

[alexp999]

Why did you buy a second Focus with the adaptive headlamps if you don't like them so much?

They are an option on all trims except the ST and Vignale.

A standard Titanium shouldn't have them.

[unofix]

12 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Why did you buy a second Focus with the adaptive headlamps if you don't like them so much?

Funny I was just thinking the exact same thing as I read the OP's post.

Could have saved quite a bit of money and just had the lights standard lights.

[northern_nubie]

22 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Why did you buy a second Focus with the adaptive headlamps if you don't like them so much?

They are an option on all trims except the ST and Vignale.

A standard Titanium shouldn't have them.

The issue, as I said, isn't whether a vehicle has adaptive headlamps or not, it's whether it can be turned off. It could be turned off in my previous Focus.

That's why I began the post by saying Ford have now stopped owners turning off the feature (despite the manual and website saying it can be turned off).

[northern_nubie]

As for saying a Titanium shouldn't have adaptive headlamps, that is surely not the case, as mine does have them.

[alexp999]

1 minute ago, northern_nubie said:

As for saying a Titanium shouldn't have adaptive headlamps, that is surely not the case, as mine does have them.

Which means it was add as an option.

Most don't, it's not standard.

So if you don't like them, don't buy a car with them?

Same reason I didn't buy a car with a sunroof as I don't trust Ford can make one that doesn't leak or creak.

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Same reason I didn't buy a car with a sunroof as I don't trust Ford can make one that doesn't leak or creak.

Indeed, for that you need a Toyota...

[northern_nubie]

Just now, alexp999 said:

Which means it was add as an option.

Most don't.

So if you don't like them, don't buy a car with them?

Same reason I didn't buy a car with a sunroof as I don't trust Ford can make one that doesn't leak or creak.

That isn't the issue I posted about. With respect, not sure why that isn't clear to you.

It's about the ability to turn them off. Which the manual and website says you can for that vehicle. It's quite understandable to most people that someone would buy a vehicle for many reasons (things they like about the vehicle, the way it drives, etc)  but they also know they can turn off the AH if they wish. Like me, a buyer may not have even known what adaptive headlamps are when buying the vehicle, but were told there's an option to turn them off if they don't like them. What you say isn't relevant to what I was saying.

[alexp999]

I suggest you reject the car if you've been lied to in that case.

[Buxty]

Do you mean Auto Highbeam? Mine has a setting under Vehicle Settings > Lighting to disable it. 

[northern_nubie]

41 minutes ago, Buxty said:

Do you mean Auto Highbeam? Mine has a setting under Vehicle Settings > Lighting to disable it. 

Thanks for your reply. No, that's a separate thing. I've already disabled that, in the way you mention.

Adaptive headlamps (or adaptive front lighting, as Ford more accurately calls it in the user guide), is when using dipped headlamps. It adds extra illumination as you drive around bends. After dark, the system detects when you turn the steering wheel left or right and adds the extra light on the left or the right. But I can already see both sides of the road very clearly without the feature, as my previous Focus (also with LED headlamps) didn't have adaptive headlamps and it was no problem going safely around bends. All I see is a constant, irritating switching of the headlamps in a left and then right direction as I negotiate many bends. Quite astonished Ford has denied drivers the option of disabling it in the face lift 4th gen Focus.

[StephenFord]

5 minutes ago, northern_nubie said:

...Quite astonished Ford has denied drivers the option of disabling it in the face lift 4th gen Focus.

Wouldn't overly worry, judging by the number of posts I've seen on this forum, the 'adaptive' part often breaks due to water ingress, so they'll go faulty soon enough...

[northern_nubie]

14 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Wouldn't overly worry, judging by the number of posts I've seen on this forum, the 'adaptive' part often breaks due to water ingress, so they'll go faulty soon enough...

I hope so 🙂

[alexp999]

Do you mean static cornering lights not adaptive headlamps?

Adaptive headlamps move with your steering and adjust angle depending on your speed. They also give you the glare free “matrix” full beams. 
 

Static cornering lights just turn on a fog lamp or extra bulb in the headlight cluster as you turn left or right. 
 

If it’s the latter what type of headlights do you have? Perhaps post a picture as I know the facelift mk4 has no fog lamps anymore. You may just be able to disconnect the bulb if it’s halogen. 

[Don MC]

I’ve got the Titanium with the standard headlights and I think I know what the OP means. It’s the cornering lights. They turn on while cornering and, if your turn signal is on, they turn on also shortly before cornering. They cannot be turned off. And the front lamps are all LED, so there are no bulbs that can be removed either.

[alanfp]

8 hours ago, northern_nubie said:

the vents still pump out absurdly strong currents of barely luke warm air even on setting 1 out 7.

That sounds like a fault to me. I know your car's a later model than mine but on the lowest fan speed setting on mine, there is very little air flow. 

[northern_nubie]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:46 PM, alexp999 said:

Do you mean static cornering lights not adaptive headlamps?

Adaptive headlamps move with your steering and adjust angle depending on your speed. They also give you the glare free “matrix” full beams. 
 

Static cornering lights just turn on a fog lamp or extra bulb in the headlight cluster as you turn left or right. 
 

If it’s the latter what type of headlights do you have? Perhaps post a picture as I know the facelift mk4 has no fog lamps anymore. You may just be able to disconnect the bulb if it’s halogen. 

They're adaptive, LED headlamps. In dipped, the light beam shifts (or rather increases in certain areas) with the steering. As you say, speed related. But they even move when parked, just by turning the steering a little bit. When parked is not a problem for me (though I'm not sure why they do it while parked), but it's the constant flicking around, as I negotiate bends while driving at night which I find pointless and distracting. Used to be able to turn them off in previous Focuses, as the user guide shows. It's unacceptable to me that they allow you to turn off many so-called safety features, but not this. I accept some or many might like them. But not me.

[northern_nubie]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:57 PM, Don MC said:

I’ve got the Titanium with the standard headlights and I think I know what the OP means. It’s the cornering lights. They turn on while cornering and, if your turn signal is on, they turn on also shortly before cornering. They cannot be turned off. And the front lamps are all LED, so there are no bulbs that can be removed either.

I had a pre-face lift 4th gen Focus Titanium before this one and it didn't have the adaptive headlamps. Corning lights is a betters description, but Ford refers to them as adaptive front lighting. The user guide and even Ford UK's website says they can be turned off, but I've had it confirmed by several Ford dealers and Ford UK itself, that they cannot be turned off, as you say. Weird, considering many other so-called safety features can be turned off.

Btw, for anyone interested, I found the front line staff at Ford UK's customer services very good and professional. But the tech team who supply them with information take ages to respond (up to a month), and I can cite several examples where the tech team gave me incorrect information. For example, they thought the adaptive headlamps work through the navigation system. I had to tell them it's through the steering. I have other examples. Strange for a tech team in a company which designed and built the vehicle.

[alexp999]

It uses steering, speed and the navigation to adapt the shape and aim of the beams. 

[northern_nubie]

On 2/11/2023 at 11:30 PM, alexp999 said:

It uses steering, speed and the navigation to adapt the shape and aim of the beams. 

Genuine question - how do you know it uses, at least sometimes, the navigation system? I'd say the navigation system, however accurate, and hence the vehicle's location, just wouldn't be fast and precise enough to provide an input useful to changing the beams at the right time, with all the changes in position, complex bends, knowing how long to do it, etc. I believe it's purely related to the steering, and the speed.

One very odd thing is, as mentioned above, when stationary, if I turn the steering wheel just a tiny little bit to the left or right, the lights 'turn' to the left or right. And it doesn't seem to matter at all in my case what speed I'm going, 5mph, 30mph or 50mph, the lights do the same thing, illuminating the same extra areas, with the same amount of steering wheel turn.

I have to laugh at Ford's short video on its website, demonstrating cornering/adaptive headlights. It shows them smoothly shifting left and right, etc., not the actual instant flicking over which so annoys me.

I don't mean to get too negative. Still a great car. I mostly enjoy driving it. But less so at night, for obvious reasons.

(I should add that Ford UK's tech team didn't mention the steering at all, just navigation. If they are wrong, it's not the only thing they got wrong in their various responses to me.)

[alexp999]

31 minutes ago, northern_nubie said:

Genuine question - how do you know it uses, at least sometimes, the navigation system? I'd say the navigation system, however accurate, and hence the vehicle's location, just wouldn't be fast and precise enough to provide an input useful to changing the beams at the right time, with all the changes in position, complex bends, knowing how long to do it, etc. I believe it's purely related to the steering, and the speed.

One very odd thing is, as mentioned above, when stationary, if I turn the steering wheel just a tiny little bit to the left or right, the lights 'turn' to the left or right. And it doesn't seem to matter at all in my case what speed I'm going, 5mph, 30mph or 50mph, the lights do the same thing, illuminating the same extra areas, with the same amount of steering wheel turn.

I have to laugh at Ford's short video on its website, demonstrating cornering/adaptive headlights. It shows them smoothly shifting left and right, etc., not the actual instant flicking over which so annoys me.

I don't mean to get too negative. Still a great car. I mostly enjoy driving it. But less so at night, for obvious reasons.

(I should add that Ford UK's tech team didn't mention the steering at all, just navigation. If they are wrong, it's not the only thing they got wrong in their various responses to me.)

I just checked, the predictive lighting uses the sign recognition camera to adapt to upcoming bends and roundabouts. I thought it used the maps to do that. 
 

Mine shift smoothly and vary based on how much steering input I have on.  I find it really natural. Ends up feeling like I have a bulb out driving a car without it. 
 

Can you post a picture of your headlights so we can be sure we’re talking about the same headlights?

[northern_nubie]

16 hours ago, alexp999 said:

I just checked, the predictive lighting uses the sign recognition camera to adapt to upcoming bends and roundabouts. I thought it used the maps to do that. 
 

Mine shift smoothly and vary based on how much steering input I have on.  I find it really natural. Ends up feeling like I have a bulb out driving a car without it. 
 

Can you post a picture of your headlights so we can be sure we’re talking about the same headlights?

Now I'm getting envious, as it sounds like mine work in a far less smooth way (as well as providing a marginal increase in light which is simply not necessary, imo). I'll get a photo to you shortly.

I could get them checked at the local Ford dealer, which I probably will do. But I find with just about anything I say to them, they say "oh, that's normal", even when you point out it doesn't happen on other Focuses. And on my previous Titanium I'm also pretty sure one Ford dealer replaced a part which did not need replacing. The car was still under warranty. I imagine there's money to be made doing that sort of thing.

Do you know where the front-pointing camera is? Perhaps near the rain sensor at the top centre of the windscreen? I've looked there and can only see the rain sensor. I think the radar (for collision detection, which I like) is the metal panel below the registration plate.

[DaveT70]

You might want to have a look in FORScan settings and see what you can disable

[Karbonfaiba]

I just want to voice that as a first time owner of adaptive beams (didn't even care they existed) I enjoy the start up expression, look ahead, and the way it paints a box around the car I'm following down a dark road, very entertaining! Perhaps I would miss having them now, plus the feeling of driving something more special than your average headlight enjoyer.

I was watching a carwow review on some £40k luxury something that was marketing them as their USP "modern", "advanced" headlights, so props to Ford for giving me them at half the price, years ago lol!

Also highlights that move is superior to the simple side light design I see on a lot of French cars - that make drivers look like they have malfunctioning clear indicator lights - I wouldn't like that.

Would be great if Ford could program them to recognize the crest of a hill and point them downwards before blinding oncoming drivers though.

[ianincheshire]

Quote

The user guide and Ford's website says putting the lighting control knob into the dipped position, rather than Auto, stops adaptive headlamps kicking in. This is false. And Ford UK and 3 separate Ford dealers have told me adaptive headlamps can't be turned off.

It isnt as simple as the fact that the lighting control knob on the Mk4 isnt a physical rotary switch, is it ?

It always reverts to Auto when you start the car and you have to select anything else manually each time