# Auto-Headlights turning on in the middle of the day....



## M Diddy (Sep 25, 2002)

So this started in my Arteon two days ago, and no idea why. With the light switch set to Auto, no matter how bright it is, the car turns on the lights as if it was dark out. There's nothing covering my light sensor and I have no idea why this is happening. You can see in the pic below. I'm in direct sun light, the lights are all on, and the NAV screen goes to dark mode. This isn't temporary. They stay on all the time. Any ideas?


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

The right shadowing can cause this to happen, even in sunlight or in what looks like sunset in your case if the shadows fall in the right spot on the sensor your lights turn on. I’ve had this happen on our Chevy Equinox, Volvo S60 and my VW Tiguan. 


Sent while on the run


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## M Diddy (Sep 25, 2002)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> The right shadowing can cause this to happen, even in sunlight or in what looks like sunset in your case if the shadows fall in the right spot on the sensor your lights turn on. I’ve had this happen on our Chevy Equinox, Volvo S60 and my VW Tiguan.
> 
> 
> Sent while on the run



It's all day though. Noon, 2PM, etc. Prefectly sunny day. Also, the Tiguan was sitting right next to my Arteon with the lights on Auto and they were off.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

M Diddy said:


> It's all day though. Noon, 2PM, etc. Prefectly sunny day. Also, the Tiguan was sitting right next to my Arteon with the lights on Auto and they were off.


Have you gone into the infotainment and adjusted the sensitivity? Have you read the OM section on it?


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

M Diddy said:


> It's all day though. Noon, 2PM, etc. Prefectly sunny day. Also, the Tiguan was sitting right next to my Arteon with the lights on Auto and they were off.


Maybe the auto headlight sensitivity is set to early? Check the lighting settings via the car menu settings. 

My CC used to do this. Could never figure out why but setting the rain sensor to the lowest setting strangely helped since they were the same (rain/light sensor). 

My Arteon does not have this issue though.


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## M Diddy (Sep 25, 2002)

ice4life said:


> Maybe the auto headlight sensitivity is set to early? Check the lighting settings via the car menu settings.
> 
> My CC used to do this. Could never figure out why but setting the rain sensor to the lowest setting strangely helped since they were the same (rain/light sensor).
> 
> My Arteon does not have this issue though.


Where the setting for the Auto-headlight sensitivity? I know there a setting for the HBA where you can set that to come on early, normal, or late, but, can't find anything for the auto headlights.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

M Diddy said:


> Where the setting for the Auto-headlight sensitivity? I know there a setting for the HBA where you can set that to come on early, normal, or late, but, can't find anything for the auto headlights.


Even though the setting says "Light Assist," It is for the auto headlights. Early, Medium, Late. 









The only setting for the auto high beams is by holding the stalk for 15 seconds for increased sensitivity, which resets each time the car is restarted (per the owners manual).


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## M Diddy (Sep 25, 2002)

In that case, I have it set to late. Makes no difference.


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## zackiedawg (Jul 21, 2000)

Nothing like that on mine so far - though honestly I don't keep mine in Auto mode. I tried it today when I went out for a drive to the wetlands - bright Florida sun, but then turned into heavy overcast - lights never came on. I think mine were on Auto when I bought it, but I switched it to off, and like to control it manually myself.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

zackiedawg said:


> Nothing like that on mine so far - though honestly I don't keep mine in Auto mode. I tried it today when I went out for a drive to the wetlands - bright Florida sun, but then turned into heavy overcast - lights never came on. I think mine were on Auto when I bought it, but I switched it to off, and like to control it manually myself.


When lights are in the on position, there is no adaptive front lighting or cornering lamps. Something to keep in mind. They only work in automatic above 6mph.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

M Diddy said:


> In that case, I have it set to late. Makes no difference.


That's all I've got. Mine are set to medium without any issues. Did they do anything with your windshield like tape over it or something when the body work and paint work was being done? Have you looked at the rain/light sensor below the front facing windshield camera?


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## M Diddy (Sep 25, 2002)

ice4life said:


> That's all I've got. Mine are set to medium without any issues. Did they do anything with your windshield like tape over it or something when the body work and paint work was being done? Have you looked at the rain/light sensor below the front facing windshield camera?


Work was done weeks ago but no issue until this past Thursday. Checked the sensor and nothing there that I can see. I even cleaned it off. 

Thinking it may just be a faulty sensor.


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## zackiedawg (Jul 21, 2000)

ice4life said:


> When lights are in the on position, there is no adaptive front lighting or cornering lamps. Something to keep in mind. They only work in automatic above 6mph.


Yeah, I sort of use 'Auto' as the 'on' position when I get into the car to drive at night...so I still get the automatic functions - I just don't leave it on all the time...when I'm done driving I turn it back to off again. Just old habits I guess!


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

M Diddy said:


> Work was done weeks ago but no issue until this past Thursday. Checked the sensor and nothing there that I can see. I even cleaned it off.
> 
> Thinking it may just be a faulty sensor.


It very well could be. I mean they should be able to pretty easily replicate it if you say its doing it all the time. Then I would think they would replace it under warranty. I'd be scared of them ripping out my windshield to get to it, but maybe they can do it from behind the mirror housing instead. I know a lot of cars get leaks after they've had the rain sensor replaced because the techs often don't seat the sensor in the "goo" correctly and it slides out of place- But your dealer seems to be on top of things which is nice so hopefully it will be 1 and done.


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## Dieseldog12 (Jul 29, 2012)

can you try and read codes?

Maybe the wire loom broke and the default is for the lights to come on all the time, rather than never come on at all. 

What about auto wiper function, does that still work?


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## Faramarz1 (May 13, 2010)

It’s normal for the lights to come on when direct sunlight hits the sensor at down or dusk. That kind of sun beam practically blinds some sensors. I’ve had several cars doing this in the past


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

Whatever happened with this? Mine has been doing it in direct sunlight in the morning as Denver has been having strange solar flares every morning.. it does return to normal when leaving the direct sunlight though.


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## SDArteon (Jun 16, 2019)

ice4life said:


> Whatever happened with this? Mine has been doing it in direct sunlight in the morning as Denver has been having strange solar flares every morning.. it does return to normal when leaving the direct sunlight though.


My new SEL-P had the same issue - in bright daylight the lights were on. 

Today, I just changed the sens setting to late and they went off. Will try setting the sensitivity and investigate further to understand what is going on.


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## AlexSky (Nov 2, 2019)

SDArteon said:


> My new SEL-P had the same issue - in bright daylight the lights were on.
> 
> Today, I just changed the sens setting to late and they went off. Will try setting the sensitivity and investigate further to understand what is going on.


Now that you guys mentioned it, I can tell you mine does it too...
I noticed a few weeks ago but never really thought it was an issue.
The physical button is always ton Auto but it seems like its ALWAYS on. Like I can't recall seeing my car without the headlights on...


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## LSIII (Jul 15, 2000)

Set it to late. Works much better. 

I’ve actually done that with every car owned that lets one adjust it. 

My ‘12 Maxima was the worst. Even on late it was worse than my other car brands on early. I started watching other Nissan and Infiniti cars on the road and quickly realized Nissans setup was terrible. I caught myself subconsciously turning the switch to off whenever going under certain long overpass and then back to Auto after clearing the overpass. 


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

The headlight is on when there is a possibility of solar glare, its for safety reason. Did VW just started doing this, BMW, Audi and Mercedes have been doing this for years.


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## SDArteon (Jun 16, 2019)

The G Man said:


> The headlight is on when there is a possibility of solar glare, its for safety reason. Did VW just started doing this, BMW, Audi and Mercedes have been doing this for years.


I thought that was the purpose of DRL? Inherited from Sweden. Volvos had them first in the late 70’s.

My headlamps have been on all day long in bright sunlight - maybe its a sensitivity calibration issue. I switched them to “late” and they are off now, so problem solved, but reason not understood.


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## The G Man (Jun 26, 2019)

SDArteon said:


> I thought that was the purpose of DRL? Inherited from Sweden. Volvos had them first in the late 70’s.
> 
> My headlamps have been on all day long in bright sunlight - maybe its a sensitivity calibration issue. I switched them to “late” and they are off now, so problem solved, but reason not understood.


DRL is day time driving safety, turning on the headlight does help in solar glare situation. Same reasoning behind turning on the headlights when its raining. If your headlight is on at high noon, you may have another issue. Looking at the OP's picture, that's when the headlight should go on, when the sun is low.


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## mjb12 (Jan 7, 2013)

*Same Issue*

I brought it to the dealer recently for some minor fixes. Less than stellar experience from the start (on a brand new car go figure) and I noticed the headlight issue after I dropped the car off and picked it back up. Possible dealer messed with it? Some sort of Vagcom setting or something they can do to screw it up?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

mjb12 said:


> I brought it to the dealer recently for some minor fixes. Less than stellar experience from the start (on a brand new car go figure) and I noticed the headlight issue after I dropped the car off and picked it back up. Possible dealer messed with it? Some sort of Vagcom setting or something they can do to screw it up?


Can you imagine how tired the service departments get in having to deal with the whiny, clueless owners? They should be candidates for sainthood.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

mjb12 said:


> I brought it to the dealer recently for some minor fixes. Less than stellar experience from the start (on a brand new car go figure) and I noticed the headlight issue after I dropped the car off and picked it back up. Possible dealer messed with it? Some sort of Vagcom setting or something they can do to screw it up?


Not a chance they messed with it. The solar flare issue is not limited to the arteon. I had the issue in multiple VWs including my Touraeg and CC. 

But yes the VW dealer experience is horrid no matter where you go. The one or two who get their D sucked by the dealer because they keep returning for more cars (you know who you are on here), are the exception. All 5 dealers in the Denver area suck hard. 

I stopped buying FCA cars because of the dealer experience. Primarily on the service side. When you don't trust the professionals to do the work anymore, it's time to find those you can trust. Unfortunately VW is falling into the same bucket and I don't trust them with my car. So this is the last one. I don't need an ownership headache/stress that's entirely avoidable. There are 44 brands and nearly 400 models after all..

/End rant.


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## RocknRolla (Jul 19, 2006)

I don’t know if it’s a VW thing, but my wife’s Tiguan light sensor is super sensitive and will trigger the headlights with even the slightest shadow. My A6 is much more intuitive.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ice4life said:


> ....But yes the VW dealer experience is horrid no matter where you go....


Any backup for that? Or just your opinion? Ever think the issue is you (we read your posts, you are a jerk)?


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## Joshuaortiz31 (Oct 16, 2019)

Does anyone know if this may have to do with speed? I have seen that mine turn on while I'm driving on the toll road averaging ~85mph (Thank you Texas!) when I get to that speed, I notice the headlights turn on. And then after about 10 minutes of below 60, they'll turn back off. Or do you think it's too fast for the sensor to see something?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Joshuaortiz31 said:


> .....Or do you think it's too fast for the sensor to see something?


Too fast to see "light"?


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

Joshuaortiz31 said:


> Does anyone know if this may have to do with speed? I have seen that mine turn on while I'm driving on the toll road averaging ~85mph (Thank you Texas!) when I get to that speed, I notice the headlights turn on. And then after about 10 minutes of below 60, they'll turn back off. Or do you think it's too fast for the sensor to see something?


I think they are set to come on around 85mph for added safety. I remember my friend used to tell me about that function on his B6 Passat.


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## LSIII (Jul 15, 2000)

Joshuaortiz31 said:


> Does anyone know if this may have to do with speed? I have seen that mine turn on while I'm driving on the toll road averaging ~85mph (Thank you Texas!) when I get to that speed, I notice the headlights turn on. And then after about 10 minutes of below 60, they'll turn back off. Or do you think it's too fast for the sensor to see something?


Yes they will turn on at about 85-90 mph even if it is broad daylight.


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

Just looked in coding and it is called autobahn light activation.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

ice4life said:


> Just looked in coding and it is called autobahn light activation.


Where is this magical coding you found?


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Where is this magical coding you found?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


iirc it is in 09 in the light sensor settings. Every VW has this function already including NAR models. Mine was set to active.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Scoured my 09 admap and not seeing anything with the word Autobahn 


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## ice4life (Nov 6, 2017)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Scoured my 09 admap and not seeing anything with the word Autobahn
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


09, adaptations, light sensor, Exterior_light_on_highway

I swore I saw something that said autobahn


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Mine shows as not active, will enable. Also underneath I see Exterior_light_on_rain is not active. 


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Exterior_light_on_rain is not active, does anyone know if this is different than lights coming on with wipers?


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Well turned on the “autobahn” on my vehicle and at 90 mph today, nothing. So going to pop it off. 


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## eteather (Feb 25, 2020)

Reihenmotor5 said:


> Well turned on the “autobahn” on my vehicle and at 90 mph today, nothing. So going to pop it off.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Mine takes a minute to turn to on when driving 85+. I did a couple of tests with the Nav display on to watch it turn from bright to dark while >85.


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

Ah so it isn’t immediate, will test on my way home. 


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