i've just completed a nightmare drive through the night in france with at least every other vehicle on the opposite carriageway of the motorway flashing or leaving their headlights on main beam. Even vehicles overtaking were putting on rear fogs or hazards. I must admit the lights were somewhat high on dip. The lights are dynamic and the handbook states no adjustment is required for europe. looking under the bonnet i can see a little plastic screw next to a dipped light symbol. Does this turn clockwise to lower the light, and how sensitive is it? Would 3 turns sound about right? Is there any way to direct the beam more to the right.

thanks for your help. i'm writing this on a phone with limited signal, so l apologise for any delay in replies.

The vertical adjustment of the headlamps is pretty easy.

On each front corner of the car under the bonnet is a triangular plastic cover held on by 3 pushscrews. Remove the covers.

Below you will see a white plastic screw on the lamp housing which takes 6mm hex driver. An allen key will work.

Anti-clockwise rotation will lower the lamps and clockwise will raise them. They are pretty sensitive so count the turns you apply so you can reset them if required. Do half a turn lower and see what you think.

I think the problem is related to the interaction of self-levelling suspension and self-levelling headlights. Regards

Malcolm

thanks malcolmw. a great help. i'll give it a go

If you have high beam assist the lights do not set themselves automatically, the left hand drive or right hand drive setting has to be set up via the instrument panel menu. From the manual:

HEADLAMPS - DRIVING ABROAD
The headlamps have a beam pattern that
eliminates the need to mechanically adjust the
lamps or add any external stick-on decals.
To configure the High beam assist system for
the side of the road on which you are driving,
proceed as follows:
1. Using the menu control on the steering
wheel, select Vehicle Set-Up via the
Instrument panel menu.
2. Select High Beam Assist.
3. Select Drive on Left or Drive on Right, for
the side of the road that you are driving on.

RAINBOW That sounds like the best solution  itisme

Would be good if I had high beam assist, but I haven't. The first paragraph of the instructions re no need to adjust the lights is obviously incorrect. Just ask all the other drivers who I met coming towards me. I've never had any problems in uk.

I suspect that if were headlights were set marginally high anyway (and there is a manual adjustment as described above) then you might get away with that in the UK but provoke a reaction on the continent.

I drove 2000 miles last year "over there" without adjustment to the headlights on the XF, no problem. MY2016 HSE D SDV6 - gone due to fuel dilution problems.

By the age of 50 you have the face you deserve - George Orwell.

Ok but the extract says no need for mechanical adjustment not that no adjustment is needed. I presume you have checked all of the options in the menu settings just in case the manual is wrong and high beam assist is not actually required (given it is dipped headlights that are being reconfigured) I would have thought. I do have high beam assist so I cannot check.

The 2014 brochure indicates "easy configurable left to right hand drive headlamps" are standard across the range. That would imply some configuration is required.

Click image to enlarge

Original brochure wrong: left-to-right headlamps have never been standard, only as part of high-beam assist – really annoying as I sat on the train trying to work out how to change something that had been promised but not actually present.

That first trip was a bit of a nightmare but not as bad as yours sounds so maybe there is something wrong with your general settings (or too much wine in the boot for the suspension to cope with?). I'm afraid I've gone back to old-fashioned stickers on subsequent trips placed by trial and error.

I had exactly the same issue as the OP. Several trips to the continent and I was afraid to drive at night.

In the end I wound down mine by 1.5 turns each as mentioned in the second post, and not been flashed since.

The manual is very explicit about the beam pattern not needed adjustment, but it is not symmetrical. Just try it against a wall.

The high beam assist setting does absolutely nothing to the alignment of the beams. All that does is affect which side of the road the high beam assist looks to to change from high beam to low beam and back again. Don't be fooled into thinking it does more.

Still, I don't think the headlights are as good as my old X5... 2014 MY RRS HSE Dynamic
2000 Porsche Boxster S
2004 BMW X5 (Gone)