Hello all,
I tend to have my Bi-Xenons on the automatic, so they come on when the light get's darker or when entering a tunnel. Though I have noticed that seem to be on all the time even when the weather is quite bright.

I've checked for any obstruction/dirt on the lights on the front, just in case but have found nothing. I'm a bit concerned if I leave it as it is, this may shorten the 'life' of the lights.

Or alternatively, BMW may be following the lead (after Volvo and Audi) on the use of daylight lights? - Though I haven't heard anything. Otherwise looks like a trip to my local dealer (BMW that is!)

Any suggestions?

regards
G

You can have your dealer adjuse the sensitivity of the light sensors, so that they won't be too sensitive that its dark.

Same here...! They are quite erratic and inconsistent...! Maybe I'll go for the adjustment too!

It's a shame BMW dosen't have the smart DRL as Audi have here in Europe...

The Audi's have a 55W bulb turned on, during daylight, and at night or when it rains the xenon's turn on automatic.

Attachment 26574


If I select "A" in our car, the xenons and the instrument lights are ON all the time as DRL :thumbsdown:

Nope. Some guys in America get that as DRL.

I had this problem and then realised that I had set the automatic daytime driving lights to "ON" in the i-drive. This makes the dipped beam come on all the time all the time in the UK market vehicles. I have now deselected in i-drive and they work perfectly with the right amount of light sensitivity. :thumbsup:

Do a search on the subject. Goodluck
cheers
vern

The automatic lights on the E60 have been a source of much confusion over the last few years.

There clearly were issues with earlier verision of the car's software, where the lights would come on and off rapidly if driving down a tree-lined street where pockets of sun and shade were present, etc. but that issue seems resolved with later software.

The other issue is the complaint about the lights coming on while it's still bright outside.

One thing that's important to understand is that unlike older cars that use only a daylight sensor to determine when to activate the lights, the lights on the E60 are controlled by both a daylight sensor as well as a sunlight position sensor. As most of you probably know, it's a good safety practice to use headlights when the sun is lower in the sky (early morning and late afternoon) to increase the visibility of your car to other motorists. In the old days, cars with automatic lights would ignore these times of day because it was still light out and that's all they were able to recognize. Now, using the sunlight postion sensor, our cars are smart enough to recognize these times of the day and, in the interest of safety, switch on the headlights (and turn off DRLs if active) when needed.

I truly think that many people that complain that the lights are coming on while it's still light out are not considering the sun's position in the sky during that time. I was confused at first too because I was used to automatic lights only coming on at dusk but now I realize that the car is working as designed. The clincher for me, in case anyone is skeptical (as I was) is to pay attention to other, newer high-end cars at that same time of day. You'll quickly notice that many Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, BMW, etc. cars all have their lights on too!

Again, I really think that unless your lights are flashing as you drive down a shady/sunny street or unless your lights are on at high noon (while the sun is high in the sky -- in case you're in Alaska or something) then there may be nothing wrong with your car and it's likely that you just have to understand this new design philosophy that, if you think about it, makes perfect sense.
:thumbsup:

Were excactly is this daylight sensor and sunlight position sensor located??? :confused:

Thanks Rudy for the great enlightment ;) Very nice input and some new info for me.