Dynamic Light Assist Problems

[DarrenW]

Has anyone else had problems with Dynamic Light Assist not engaging the high beam?

I had my first proper night drive in the new GTI last night. For about 30 miles of country road driving the DLA wouldn’t turn on the high beam.

It was completely dark, no cars around, there were no visible lights and the speed was well above 50mph average.

It was definitely turned on with the grey high beam symbol with the ‘A’ in the centre.

It was raining pretty heavily so maybe that could be the cause? My previous cars with the simple on/off auto high beam worked fine in the rain though.

Could it need recalibration?

[I wanted a GTi]

Has anyone else had problems with Dynamic Light Assist not engaging the high beam?

I had my first proper night drive in the new GTI last night. For about 30 miles of country road driving the DLA wouldn’t turn on the high beam.

It was completely dark, no cars around, there were no visible lights and the speed was well above 50mph average.

It was definitely turned on with the grey high beam symbol with the ‘A’ in the centre.

It was raining pretty heavily so maybe that could be the cause? My previous cars with the simple on/off auto high beam worked fine in the rain though.

Could it need recalibration?

Rain will have no it working. I'm guessing you had the light switch in A(auto) because you had the A symbol on the dash.

Mine wouldn't work one night and I thought something had went wrong with it but when I got out of the car a bird had done it business right spot on the camera.

[Daz Auto]

I don't think I have driven in really heavy rain yet.

It does say in the manual that heavy rain is one of the system limits. I guess the rain would effect the camera.

At first glance Dynamic Light Assist does not appear to be in the Owner's Manual. It is not in the index. I found it under Main Beam Control p107.

System Limits

The system has to be manually switched off under the following conditions, as it is not switched off by the main beam assist in time or not at all:

- In poorly lit streets where there are highly reflective signs.
- There are other road users with insufficient lighting facilities, such as pedestrians, cyclists.
- In tight bends, brows of hills or depressions in the land or half-hidden oncoming traffic.
- With oncoming traffic on streets with central barrier where the driver can clearly see over the central barrier e.g. truck drivers.
- In fog, snow or heavy rain.
- In dusty or sandy areas.
- ... damaged...
- ... dirty...
- ... broken...

WARNING

- Do not let the extra convenience afforded by main beam control tempt you into taking any risks when driving - this can cause accidents.  The system is not a substitute for the full concentration of the driver.
- Always check the lights yourself and adjust them to the prevailing conditions for lights, vision and road traffic.
- The main beam control may not be able to recognise all driving situations correctly and may not work properly in certain situations.
- blah, blah... dirty, covered, damaged...

[DarrenW]

It wasn’t super heavy rain. My other cars have worked fine in much heavier torrential rain.

I can understand rain might affect its accuracy in tracking cars and creating a tunnel of light, but even in heavy rain it should be able to detect whether there are lights ahead and revert to a simple on/off high beam.

The camera is perfectly clean too.

There is a rattle coming from within the camera/roof light unit so I wonder if it’s related.

[mcmaddy]

Rattle is probably the plastic cover. Mines rattled since day 1.

[Vwjap]

Mine rattles too

[Stevep1041]

I had this problem once but realised that I had a sat nav set up on top of the dashboard in the centre, and the light from it was affecting the light assist sensor.

I turned the nighttime brightness as dim as possible and angled the sat nav down and the light assist worked perfectly again.

[I wanted a GTi]

It wasn’t super heavy rain. My other cars have worked fine in much heavier torrential rain.

I can understand rain might affect its accuracy in tracking cars and creating a tunnel of light, but even in heavy rain it should be able to detect whether there are lights ahead and revert to a simple on/off high beam.

The camera is perfectly clean too.

There is a rattle coming from within the camera/roof light unit so I wonder if it’s related.

Yeah rain, even really heave rain like the type that you'd feel uncomfortable driving in doesn't stop it working.

[DarrenW]

Went out for a test drive tonight and all was working fine. Hopefully it was a one off.

DLA is brilliant when it works.

[DarrenW]

Just been out driving in some light drizzle and had the same problem. DLA wouldn’t turn on the high beam at all so I had to take manual control.

Looks like a trip to the dealer for calibration is needed.