Recently purchased my CX-5 and enjoy the look, feel and ride. While traveling at night on secondary (back 2 lane roads) on a downslope (downhill) the auto leveling lights tilt down to low and greatly limit visibility. I took it in to the dealership service department - after approx. 4 hours service department advised me they had tested the leveling sensor with the computer and it was working correctly and initialization of leveling headlight. They furtheradvised that the self leveling headlight module is located on the left rear wheel. They could see what I was telling them - the lights were low when traveling downhill and visiblilty was limited but the computer indicated all was in correct working order. One technician told me I could turn off the AFS - which did not make sense to me. Anyone having this problem - any help is appreciated.
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2013 CX- 5 - Touring awd -problem with the HID headlamps with auto leveling
- Thread starter mazdainpa
- Start date
I have taken the car out each night since my trip to the dealership service department - lights project onto the roadway approx. 35 feet - they never move up or down at all - I now intend to go to another dealership and test drive another CX-5 (during darkness) with the same lighting system. Once I see for myself this is a problem with my particular vehicle I will give my service department via dealership owners another chance. This is a real safety issue - night driving visibility is a must !
davidhbrown
Member
- :
- 2013 CX-5 GT AWD/Tech
I thought auto-leveling was supposed to relate to vehicle loading / cargo: to compensate for the rear of the car riding lower and so tilting the lights up, not whether the road was going up or down. Rhode Island is pretty flat, but I'm pretty sure on the few hills we have, they stay pointed straight ahead.
I thought auto-leveling was supposed to relate to vehicle loading / cargo: to compensate for the rear of the car riding lower and so tilting the lights up, not whether the road was going up or down. Rhode Island is pretty flat, but I'm pretty sure on the few hills we have, they stay pointed straight ahead.
This. Auto-leveling adjusts based on vehicle loading as measured at a suspension mounted sensor.
The grade of the roadway shouldn't affect anything.
In Consumer Report's road testing of the CX-5, they noted that the low beams had a reasonable distance but too sharp of a cut-off which they felt reduced their effectiveness. Overall they gave a rating of "average" to the CX-5 headlights.
Consumer reports knows little to nothing about headlights. Just a bunch of idiot journalists trying to be experts in every area. There is no such thing as "too sharp of a cut-off". The entire idea is to be bright near the cut-off because light decreases with the square of the distance (it is not linear). This means the light next to the cut-off is the light that must travel the furthest down the road. If the cut-off was more gradual the light near the cutoff would be useless anyway. A well designed light has a very distinct cut-off.
My CX-5 has the self leveling HID headlights and they are the best headlights I've ever used. I've been driving on a lot of dark unlit, twisty roads in the rain and dark and they offer really excellent visibility without blinding oncoming drivers.
To the OP, the headlights auto adjust for changes in the vehicles ride height front to rear, not for roads of different grades. There is still a baseline setting that can be adjusted by a technician, you may want to have yours raised slightly if it is out of spec. My 2013 CX-5 was delivered with headlights that are about as high as they can go without blinding oncoming drivers and this is sufficient lighting to illuminate the road far enough out to be comfortable above 55 mph. My 2010 Ford F-150 has some of the worst lights ever (but I didn't spring for the higher spec headlight option). Not only do they have a huge amount of glare (I know because I've seen my wife driving towards me at night) but they don't illuminate the road adequately to drive faster than about 40 mph.
My 2000 Volvo S-80 headlights are very good but the Mazda's are noticeably better.
When you 1st start your CX-5 wth the self leveling HID headlights do the lights rotate up and down and then level themselves out. I have been told this is the norm on all self leveling systems. I have observed numerouse videos on YouTube that show the lights doing this self leveling upon being activated. My HD lights do not move up/down they do move slightly from side to side when 1st turned and back to center. Unfortunately the weather here has been miserable and I have not been able to visit a dealership at night to try another CX-5 slf leveling system.
SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
- :
- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
The CX-5 does not do the vertical projector aim test upon start up, only horizontal. The auto y-axis aiming is very subtle and will not adjust to bumps, only to difference in rake due to weight bias. That is done via two sensors connected to the front and rear sway bars.
Your imput has been appreciated! Finally resolved problem with the HID headlamps with auto leveling... after contacting (3) different dealerships and speaking with numerous service technicians I have been advised there is no manual adjustment to raise or lower these headlights .....it does not have dial adjustment on the dash as some more expensive vehicles or at the headlight assembly. It is all tied to the suspension by sensor/module (whatever tech word you care to use). This is our 1st Mazda - and we very happy with the performance and ride - however I will never purchase any vehicle without test driving it during the hours of darkness again. Technogoly is a wonderful thing but their should always be a manual override ..... remember the terminator. These headlights are to low and are a safety issue ... it will be matter of time before the recall begins. Thanks again.
These headlights are to low and are a safety issue ... it will be matter of time before the recall begins. Thanks again.
Mine are not too low (they are high enough that any higher would start blinding oncoming drivers). The HID headlamps with auto leveling of the CX-5 are the best headlights in any car I've driven in the last 30 years. A dark and stormy night is the real test of any headlight system and I've been putting many miles on my CX-5 in these very conditions. I'm arriving more relaxed and rested and I attribute this largely to the excellent lighting system.
I don't think there is any evidence that a recall will be necessary. It is possible that yours need to be properly initialized.
I find your post to be inconsistent to the point of being silly - you start out by saying "Finally resolved problem with the HID headlamps with auto leveling" but conclude with "it will be matter of time before the recall begins." That only makes sense if you are irrational. Meanwhile, I'll keep enjoying the excellent headlights during this dark northern winter on narrow, dark, rainy, unlit, curvy roads.
MikeM. ......The CX-5 that I not you purchased from the Mazda Corp. have HD headlamps that are set to low. In my 1st post I noted the service dept. tech at the dealership agreed they were low. In my last post I noted with explanation why my problem had been resolved. Unfortunately the (3) individual dealership service tech's I spoke with did not offer or suggest the possibility that mine need to be properly initialized. Of course none of them are enjoying the excellent headlights during this dark northern winter on narrow, dark, rainy, unlit, curvy roads. I raised this as a safety issue for myself/my family and other person(s) traveling on any roadway I may be operating my Mazda CX-5 on during darkness. I never intended to amuse you with my silliness. Your prompt attention and compassion has been most appreciated!
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davidhbrown
Member
- :
- 2013 CX-5 GT AWD/Tech
The very sharp cut-off on the headlights does take some getting used to. We drive our cars about forever; our CX-5 is a replacement for a failing 2001 Grand Caravan. My wife's '95 Saturn is holding up better while she waits in hope that truly compact pickup comes to the USA, but its headlights are very weak compared to the Mazda's. After taking the CX-5 out one night, she commented how odd it was that they put a tint on the upper half of the windshield. Took me quite a while to realize she was perceiving that projector cut-off as dark glass!
SayNoToPistons
Wheels, not rims...
- :
- CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech, RX-8 GT 6spd w/ 'goodies'
Take a picture of your cutoff in front of a wall at a given distance, and post it for us. We want to see your "low" headlights...
NascarSigEp
Member
- :
- 2013 Cx-5 GT/w Tech
I am under the impression that not all of the Cx5's with Xenons have the Auto Level feature. We have a GT with the Tech package and no Auto Level, but have the adaptive horizontal movement.
One oddity on mine is that the left hand beam seems to cut off closer to the car than the right hand beam. It looks a bit odd, but actually seems to be better safety wise, as you are less likely to blind the oncoming traffic. I am not sure if this is on purpose or not, but they are definitely not adjusted to the same height on mine.
That's definitely done on purpose. See the link belowOne oddity on mine is that the left hand beam seems to cut off closer to the car than the right hand beam. It looks a bit odd, but actually seems to be better safety wise, as you are less likely to blind the oncoming traffic. I am not sure if this is on purpose or not, but they are definitely not adjusted to the same height on mine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Low_beam_light_pattern_for_right-hand_traffic.svg
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All xenon lights have to be equipped with auto leveling by law in US.I am under the impression that not all of the Cx5's with Xenons have the Auto Level feature. We have a GT with the Tech package and no Auto Level, but have the adaptive horizontal movement.
From Wikipedia
The regulation stipulates a more stringent version of this antiglare measure if the vehicle has headlamps with low beam light source(s) that produce more than 2,000 lumens – xenon bulbs and certain high-power halogens, for example. Such vehicles must be equipped with headlamp self-leveling systems that sense the vehicle's degree of squat due to cargo load and road inclination, and automatically adjust the headlamps' vertical aim to keep the beam correctly oriented without any action required by the driver
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NascarSigEp
Member
- :
- 2013 Cx-5 GT/w Tech
All xenon lights have to be equipped with auto leveling by law in US.
From Wikipedia
The regulation stipulates a more stringent version of this antiglare measure if the vehicle has headlamps with low beam light source(s) that produce more than 2,000 lumens – xenon bulbs and certain high-power halogens, for example. Such vehicles must be equipped with headlamp self-leveling systems that sense the vehicle's degree of squat due to cargo load and road inclination, and automatically adjust the headlamps' vertical aim to keep the beam correctly oriented without any action required by the driver
I would love to have the Auto Leleing feture on mine. How do I enable it? I am told that the Cx-5's with the Auto Leveling feture have a small dial with a 1-4 adjustment just left of the sterring wheel. I do not have this and the lights do not Auto Level.
I would love to have the Auto Leleing feture on mine. How do I enable it? I am told that the Cx-5's with the Auto Leveling feture have a small dial with a 1-4 adjustment just left of the sterring wheel. I do not have this and the lights do not Auto Level.
The lights will only auto-level if you load the back down with so much stuff that the front starts to aim up a little. The dial is not for auto adjusting headlights, but rather in Europe and Asia lots of cars come with manual adjusters, which is what that dial is. The CX-7 had a manual HID controls.
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