Automatic Headlights

Non-Technical Nissan QashQai chat. Mk2, Mk3
Canarytops
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 1:20 pm

Post by Canarytops »

Had my Qashqai (1.6CDi Acenta) a year and have used the Auto Headlight mode (ie on/off/dip etc) without any problems.
Just had first annual service and now (the day after the service [it was dusk on pickup so didn't notice any issue]) the main beam comes on in bright sunlight and stays on ! Strangely on a dull day this doesn't happen. This throws sat-nav into "night mode" which makes it unusable in (bright) daylight.
Have taken back to the garage assuming something had been changed but am assured that the sensor is on factory settings and nothing has been changed during the service ! Apparently the sensor can be de-sensitised if I wish.
The obvious "bypass" is to turn auto-mode off ...... !
Has anyone else experienced this and if so has it been "resolved" ?
Qashqai 1.6dCi Acenta Premium (2014)

AlleyCat
Posts: 571
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:56 pm

Post by AlleyCat »

Have they done any software updates on it during the service?
I'd suspect they have.

Some of the updates "flatten" the settings back to defaults.
I always have to reset the speed camera alerts, as an example.

What are the auto headlights set at currently?
There is a setting in the menu that can change it from earliest to normal to latest (or something of that nature).

Try twiddling that and see if it helps.
Nissan no more...
F1 Bob
Posts: 546
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2014 12:26 pm

Post by F1 Bob »

You can adjust headlamp sensitivity in the settings menu. Also you can change the lighting mode on Connect in the Connect settings from Auto or by pressing the button on the righthand side of the display screen, but you probably know this anyway.
Pulsar 1.5 dCi Tekna in Bronze
Canarytops
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 1:20 pm

Post by Canarytops »

Thanks for the replies.

As initially mentioned the garage claim to have changed nothing at the service ?!

I didn't realise there was a setting for auto headlights so thank you for that ! I don't know what it was set to because I asked the garage to "de-sensitise" it and can see that it is now set to "Later" but as there hasn't been much bright sunshine of late I'm not sure what difference this has made. (I sort of hope my 1 hour wait in the service reception wasn't just to allow that setting to be changed !!).

I will "play" with this setting as I monitor things once we get some sun as well as the Connect brightness setting.

As a matter of interest does this setting also control sensitivity for "auto dip" of main beam ?
Qashqai 1.6dCi Acenta Premium (2014)
Muiramas
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 5:17 pm

Post by Muiramas »

Yeah, this often happens this time of year.

Because the sun is so low in the sky, the contrast between the bright sky and dark ground / long shadows can fox the system.

For the sat nav / map, just poke the day / night button adjacent to setup to fix it. Job done.

For the lights, to be honest, you should just leave them on all the time - it makes your front indicators more much more visible during the day (see other thread) and they'll switch off automatically when you leave the vehicle anyway.

Best thing you can do with automatic full beam (if you have that too) is leave it off - there is nothing to stop it from 'flashing' someone at a junction and having them pull out / across on you. Its a dumb feature and frankly an accident in waiting.
QQ013
Posts: 201
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 6:15 pm

Post by QQ013 »

I do not get the problem you seem to have with the automatic full beam . It works great and i never had any trouble with it. It works as expected and till now without any errors .
Great feature!
QQ 1.6Dig-T Tekna
Muiramas
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Oct 14, 2015 5:17 pm

Post by Muiramas »

QQ013 wrote:I do not get the problem you seem to have with the automatic full beam . It works great and i never had any trouble with it. It works as expected and till now without any errors .
Great feature!
First of all its not an error.

I've had it happen a few times and so have others here - full beams are off and then the system has them come on for about 1/4 second or so - which is a flash. This is obviously caused by the condition being right to activate, and then something happens which causes it to deactivate immediately thereafter - easy to imagine right?

I don't care who would or wouldn't be at fault - a crash is a crash.
Lineman
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 11:51 pm

Post by Lineman »

This feature is one of the most stressful to use on the car. It will work fine if the oncoming car has bright lights and appears from around a bend close to you but if it is a distance away on a straight road, those fantastic LED lights will blind oncoming cars long before the lights dip themselves. Even worse, sometimes they will inexplicably revert to full high beam if there is a gap between two cars. In addition, on motorways where there is a solid barrier, my car will not "see" the lights of the car on the other side of the road and will go on to full high beam, which is even worse when it is a high vehicle like a truck. Finally if you are following a car at any distance, the car will frequently also go to full high beam blinding the driver in front. I have taken to turning off yet another feature which I paid for grr! :oops:
1.6 dci SVE (Tekna) Ireland. 19" diamond cut alloys changed for 17" Powder coated Black.
alter
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:56 pm

Post by alter »

Hi Lineman. I assume you have played with the sensitivity of the feature. Så far here in Norway with even more time in darkness, the system works flawlessly for the year I have owned the car.
Driving behind a car in a completely dark road doesn't activate the brights unless I leave ca. 150m-200m distance. I can see the beam never hits the back of the car in front of me with brights and immediately dip when the beam starts illuminating the back of it. Got impressed how they never activate if there is an acceptable amount of light illuminating ahead of me.
Qashqai Tekna 1.6 4x4 gunmetal
QQ013
Posts: 201
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 6:15 pm

Post by QQ013 »

It looks like a software error for some owners.
The system works flawless and i never experienced any of the aforementioned behavior.
Maybe a software update solves the problems?
QQ 1.6Dig-T Tekna
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