Automatic Brights/High Beams

15033 Views 20 Replies 7 Participants Last post by JFazio, Jan 6, 2021

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · Sep 26, 2019

Anyone like them? Or do they annoy you?

I like the idea but sometimes when driving they go on and off too much. Today I was driving to work in the dark and got behind a van that did not have his lights on or his taillights were burnt out so the high beams were flashing on and off repeatedly which pissed him off. So much in fact that he slowed down and when the lanes opened up he got next to me and rolled down the window and flipped me off and was yelling at me at the next stop light. I tried to tell him that the high beams are automatic and since he did not have his taillights on when it was dark out the car kept turning the high beams on and off. All I got was a big F#ck You.

I might end up turning that feature off too like I did with the automatic tilt mirrors. They seem to be more of an annoyance than a convenience.

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

SmithR

· #2 · Sep 26, 2019 (Edited)

That's definitely a rough place to be in with the auto high beams, sorry to hear that happened to you.

There are apparently a few ways for the "IntelliBeam" lights to not work effectively, and your situation is one of them.

gmauthority.com

General Motors IntelliBeam Technology

IntelliBeam is a General Motors lighting technology that automatically turns the vehicle's high-beam headlamps on and off according to surrounding traffic conditions. How It Works IntelliBeam turns on a vehicle's high-beam headlamps when it[...]

gmauthority.com

Unfavorable Conditions

The vehicle’s high beams may not turn off automatically if the system cannot detect other vehicle’s lamps because of any of the following:

The other vehicle’s lamps are missing, damaged, obstructed from view, or otherwise undetected

The other vehicle’s lamp are covered with dirt, snow, and/or road spray

The other vehicle’s lamp(s) cannot be detected due to dense exhaust, smoke, fog, snow, road spray, mist, or other airborne obstructions.

Your vehicle’s windshield is dirty, cracked, or obstructed by something that blocks the view of the light sensor

Your vehicle’s windshield is covered with ice, dirt, haze, or other obstructions

Your vehicle is loaded such that the front end points upward, causing the light sensor to aim high and not detect headlamps and taillamps

You are driving on winding or hilly roads

If any of the above conditions exist, you may need to manually disable or cancel the high-beam headlamps by turning the low-beam headlamps on.

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #3 · Sep 26, 2019

SmithR said:
That's definitely a rough place to be in with the auto high beams, sorry to hear that happened to you.

There are apparently a few ways for the "IntelliBeam" to not work effectively and your situation is one of them.

General Motors IntelliBeam Technology

IntelliBeam is a General Motors lighting technology that automatically turns the vehicle's high-beam headlamps on and off according to surrounding traffic conditions. How It Works IntelliBeam turns on a vehicle's high-beam headlamps when it[...]

gmauthority.com

I think I might just disable them all together. It is a quick flip of the lever to turn the high beams on if I need them.

trailblazer

· #4 · Sep 26, 2019

Sure sounds like something we should keep on a list of Blazer Hacks for all owners and future owners.

SmithR

· #5 · Sep 27, 2019

bobiroc said:
I think I might just disable them all together. It is a quick flip of the lever to turn the high beams on if I need them.

That's fair, it will definitely avoid problems like this going forward. It's not a big thing to turn off either, I've never had an issue with using my highbeams manually.

SmithR

· #6 · Sep 27, 2019

trailblazer said:
Sure sounds like something we should keep on a list of Blazer Hacks for all owners and future owners.

For sure, hopefully something like this situation doesn't happen to anyone else.

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 27, 2019

SmithR said:
That's fair, it will definitely avoid problems like this going forward. It's not a big thing to turn off either, I've never had an issue with using my highbeams manually.

Me either. It is one of those features that I thought I would like but I think was designed for those drivers that do not pay attention to their dash and even know or care if their brights/high beams are on blinding the drivers in front of them and never turn them off when they should.

SmithR

· #8 · Oct 1, 2019

bobiroc said:
Me either. It is one of those features that I thought I would like but I think was designed for those drivers that do not pay attention to their dash and even know or care if their brights/high beams are on blinding the drivers in front of them and never turn them off when they should.

That's very true, it was definitely designed for casual drivers. But on the other side of this situation, what was the other guy doing driving in the dark without his lights on?

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 1, 2019

SmithR said:
That's very true, it was definitely designed for casual drivers. But on the other side of this situation, what was the other guy doing driving in the dark without his lights on?

I don't know. The van was equipped with DayTime running lights so those were on but I would think the dashboard would be dark so he clearly was not paying attention. Not sure why the vehicle did not have automatic headlights that come on when it is dark. I think it was one of those Ford or Dodge City vans.

JimC

· #10 · Oct 3, 2019

bobiroc said:
I don't know. The van was equipped with DayTime running lights so those were on but I would think the dashboard would be dark so he clearly was not paying attention. Not sure why the vehicle did not have automatic headlights that come on when it is dark. I think it was one of those Ford or Dodge City vans.

That's a crazy story @bobiroc. I've seen people in newer vehicles on the road that don't have automatic lights on as well and it blows my mind. I don't get how people drive like that and think it's ok.

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 3, 2019

JimC said:
That's a crazy story @bobiroc. I've seen people in newer vehicles on the road that don't have automatic lights on as well and it blows my mind. I don't get how people drive like that and think it's ok.

My Sister in Law has newer Hyundai Santa Fe that has LED DRL and Auto Headlights and she purposely turns off her DRLs every time she gets in the car and has the automatic lights disabled. She says the car should not decide for her when the lights should go on. The funny part of this story is she got a ticket earlier this year when it was pouring rain and did not have her headlights on and it is state law that head lights or DRL have to be active when it is raining out. I couldn't help but remind her that is why they make modern cars with DRL and automatic lights.

SmithR

· #12 · Oct 4, 2019

bobiroc said:
My Sister in Law has newer Hyundai Santa Fe that has LED DRL and Auto Headlights and she purposely turns off her DRLs every time she gets in the car and has the automatic lights disabled. She says the car should not decide for her when the lights should go on. The funny part of this story is she got a ticket earlier this year when it was pouring rain and did not have her headlights on and it is state law that head lights or DRL have to be active when it is raining out. I couldn't help but remind her that is why they make modern cars with DRL and automatic lights.

That just seems unnecessarily complicated lol. Did the ticket change her mind or is she still doing the same thing?

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 4, 2019

Nope. She still forces the lights off including her LED DRL. I don't get it. She acts like the government is doing some mind reading or spying through the DRL and automatic headlights of the car.

JimC

· #14 · Oct 7, 2019

bobiroc said:
My Sister in Law has newer Hyundai Santa Fe that has LED DRL and Auto Headlights and she purposely turns off her DRLs every time she gets in the car and has the automatic lights disabled. She says the car should not decide for her when the lights should go on. The funny part of this story is she got a ticket earlier this year when it was pouring rain and did not have her headlights on and it is state law that head lights or DRL have to be active when it is raining out. I couldn't help but remind her that is why they make modern cars with DRL and automatic lights.

bobiroc said:
Nope. She still forces the lights off including her LED DRL. I don't get it. She acts like the government is doing some mind reading or spying through the DRL and automatic headlights of the car.

Of all things to not want to use, the DRLs is very interesting. Does her Santa Fe have any features like navigation, backup camera, and other safety features? If so does she not use those either?

bobiroc

Discussion Starter · #15 · Oct 7, 2019

JimC said:
Of all things to not want to use, the DRLs is very interesting. Does her Santa Fe have any features like navigation, backup camera, and other safety features? If so does she not use those either?

It has all that but she has no idea how to use it. Especially things like the navigation. She shouldn't figure out how to sync her phone with bluetooth so I helped her and she says answering the phone is too hard using the car so she just talks on the phone with it in her hand. Long story short her and technology don't mix. I am also not allowed in her car anymore because I threatened her that I would take the phone out of her hand and throw it out the window.

JimC

· #16 · Oct 8, 2019

bobiroc said:
It has all that but she has no idea how to use it. Especially things like the navigation. She shouldn't figure out how to sync her phone with bluetooth so I helped her and she says answering the phone is too hard using the car so she just talks on the phone with it in her hand. Long story short her and technology don't mix. I am also not allowed in her car anymore because I threatened her that I would take the phone out of her hand and throw it out the window.

Well good on you for not putting up with her talking on the phone with her hands while she's driving. It's mind blowing how many people don't think it's a distraction.

dstrobel

· #17 · Jan 31, 2020

I had a problem with mine. I ended up flashing a cop one night. Thank goodness I didn’t get pulled over. Needless to say I disengaged mine.

JFazio

· #18 · Jan 4, 2021

bobiroc said:
Anyone like them? Or do they annoy you?

I like the idea but sometimes when driving they go on and off too much. Today I was driving to work in the dark and got behind a van that did not have his lights on or his taillights were burnt out so the high beams were flashing on and off repeatedly which pissed him off. So much in fact that he slowed down and when the lanes opened up he got next to me and rolled down the window and flipped me off and was yelling at me at the next stop light. I tried to tell him that the high beams are automatic and since he did not have his taillights on when it was dark out the car kept turning the high beams on and off. All I got was a big F#ck You.

I might end up turning that feature off too like I did with the automatic tilt mirrors. They seem to be more of an annoyance than a convenience.

JFazio

· #19 · Jan 4, 2021

The automatic high beams feature has caused us issues on two occasions (we have a 2020 Blazer). Once in a sudden snow storm and again in heavy fog. We live in upstate New York and neither situation required us to drive less than 25 mph. The high beams continually switched off / on when they should not have been on at all. How do you override this feature? I've read the owner's manual and researched online. Can't find anything (other than if you're driving 25 mph or under).

JamFam

· #20 · Jan 6, 2021

JFazio said:
The automatic high beams feature has caused us issues on two occasions (we have a 2020 Blazer). Once in a sudden snow storm and again in heavy fog. We live in upstate New York and neither situation required us to drive less than 25 mph. The high beams continually switched off / on when they should not have been on at all. How do you override this feature? I've read the owner's manual and researched online. Can't find anything (other than if you're driving 25 mph or under).

We finally found a button to press on the turn signal arm. It has the high beams symbol w letter A Had the same issue driving in dark in fog.

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