Auto Leveling Headlights - Problem??
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Auto Leveling Headlights - Problem??
So today I got a car wash, and when i was wiping down the car afterwards, i noticed a tad of fog in the headlights (happened a lot when the car was new)....
Later on, I am driving at night, and my headlights are very obviously pointed downwards. So I pulled into a spot, turned the car off and on, to see the auto level reset.
The headlights dipped down a fraction of an inch, and back up.... normally, they move several inches down when i fire up the ignition.
The obvious-- Yes, bring it to the dealer.... but I was wondering if
a) anybody else has had these kind of issues
b) is there some way I can reset this myself?
Later on, I am driving at night, and my headlights are very obviously pointed downwards. So I pulled into a spot, turned the car off and on, to see the auto level reset.
The headlights dipped down a fraction of an inch, and back up.... normally, they move several inches down when i fire up the ignition.
The obvious-- Yes, bring it to the dealer.... but I was wondering if
a) anybody else has had these kind of issues
b) is there some way I can reset this myself?
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2012
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From: Gurgaon, India
Surprisingly, the Audi A6 does not seem to have this feature. I too found the headlight rather ineffective due to it being too low. I had to get the dealer to adjust the level of the headlights.
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why would it all of a sudden go so low.. and the motion when it auto levels on ignition, is barely what it used to be for the past year.
I have an appointment on Monday morning - my money says there is some kind of sensor that gauges the cars angle with the ground.. and its probably broken.
11k miles, 12 months.. first thing wrong with the car.
I have an appointment on Monday morning - my money says there is some kind of sensor that gauges the cars angle with the ground.. and its probably broken.
11k miles, 12 months.. first thing wrong with the car.
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From: Edmonton, AB
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why would it all of a sudden go so low.. and the motion when it auto levels on ignition, is barely what it used to be for the past year.
I have an appointment on Monday morning - my money says there is some kind of sensor that gauges the cars angle with the ground.. and its probably broken.
11k miles, 12 months.. first thing wrong with the car.
I have an appointment on Monday morning - my money says there is some kind of sensor that gauges the cars angle with the ground.. and its probably broken.
11k miles, 12 months.. first thing wrong with the car.
If the headlights are moving a lot less when they adjust, the sensors are a likely culprit; a bad servo would only affect one headlight.
There is a screw you can move to raise/lower the headlights. The calibration process (with VAG-COM) has the servos go to a 'neutral' position. THen you adjust the headlights manually, and then you tell VAG-COM to 'learn' the current position. What it really learns is the position of the car (via the sensors on the suspension). That's why the car has to be in a known state (full tank of gas, on level ground, and with an empty trunk and no passengers) prior to the learning exercise.
Make sure you move the correct screw; one is for L/R, the other for vertical adjustment. I believe they are allen screws made of plastic, but it has been a while since I adjusted them....
Also, make sure to make adjustments in very small (1/4 turn or so) increments. Aiming the headlights too high only serves to annoy other drivers with no lighting advantage. The best test I can come up with for this is to look where the lights hit a car in front of you while stopped (say, at a stoplight) and then making sure that the beam moves downward as the car in front moves away. If it stays put or 'climbs' the lights are too high.
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