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      11-16-2016, 09:40 AM   #1
eseres
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2016 F20 LCI LED headlights dim

Hello everyone,

I find that the Adaptive LED headlights on my 2016 F20 LCI are rather dim compared to other LED headlight equipped cars like Mercedes, VW. They are also dimmer than Xenon and I think they are about on par with halogens, although much whiter, obviously. Honestly, I would have expected that BMW make LED headlights at least as bright as Xenons as it is obviously possible to do.

Also, at speeds below about 50km/h when the light beams are wide open, there is a prominently darker spot right in front of the driver which really bothers me. Above 50km/h or so, when the left and right headlights get more forward directed , the dark spot closes up mostly. I had my local dealership check it out but they found no abnormality. Hence, I find this a design issue which makes me very disappointed.

Does anyone observe the same light pattern and dimness?

Thanks,
Erik
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      11-16-2016, 10:34 AM   #2
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I noticed a significant reduction in light power when going from a pre LCI F20 with Xenons, to a LED equipped LCI F20. I haven't noticed the pattern issue, but I didn't check the option box for adaptive lights this time.
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      12-01-2016, 03:44 PM   #3
eseres
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Thanks for your reply, ovekvam. Does anyone else have the same observation?

This is my first BMW and I am very disappointed that such a great brand allows themselves to release a facelift which essentially downgrades from the pre-version. And there is no option to order the car with Xenons which were superior to the Adaptive LEDs in terms of light output.

Do you all think that maybe BMW realizes this mistake and releases a fix or upgrade in some form, either paid or free of charge?

Thanks,
Erik
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      12-09-2016, 05:25 PM   #4
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I guess I must add a drop of positive to this depressive thread.

Appreciate ttimbo's consolation effort: http://f20.1addicts.com/forums/showt...5#post19166635. I reckon I saw that point of LEDs' light being more "natural", less "offensive" but effective elsewhere too, in some article may be. Convince yourselves that must be true. Be happy!

I love my xenon lights! (Or should I have avoided saying that here?)
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      12-09-2016, 11:15 PM   #5
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I am also expecting lower running costs with the LED lights than xenon in the long run.
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      12-10-2016, 06:07 AM   #6
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Long run? Yes, of course: LEDs are famous (claimed) to be very long lasting. Look at it this way: when you suffer it feels like never ending, happy moments feel short. (No offence, just a notice. )
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      12-10-2016, 01:31 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DK71 View Post
Another issue with lights.
I am a bit annoyed with the instrument lights. It needs to get quite dark, before the orange light is turned on. And in "daylight" there is no lights in the instruments. I was at the shop for fresh oil Thursday, but they didn´t know anything about it. According to the mechanic, 3 and 5 series have white light in the instruments during daytime (?) Also in the 1-8 "favorit-buttons"

Ove, do you have any input on that? You seem to be very well informed about the 1 series
I think our F20 has white lights in the instrument at daytime when it is in auto mode. I can not check it now, since I am in Sweden right now, and the car is at home.
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      12-11-2016, 03:40 AM   #8
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I have a m140i and the led headlights are fantastic so I was confused over this comment. I checked the f20 1 series brochure and the m140i has 14 power led headlights vs. 8 power led headlights so may explain the issue with lighting mentioned.
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      12-11-2016, 04:09 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by No one View Post
Long run? Yes, of course: LEDs are famous (claimed) to be very long lasting. Look at it this way: when you suffer it feels like never ending, happy moments feel short. (No offence, just a notice. )
and the LED headlights are also incredibly sexy they are a prime example of style over practicality....and safety more of less but they are nice
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      12-20-2016, 03:19 AM   #10
eseres
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jaze55,

Do you have a link to the brochure that specs 14 LEDs for the M140i? I can't seem to readily find it on their website... Maybe non-M140i-s could be retrofitted with the 14-LED version headlights? I would be happy to pay for the upgrade...

Thanks,
Erik
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      12-20-2016, 03:45 AM   #11
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No one,

Thanks for your "drop of positive". I do realize that the LEDs seem to cast the light to a larger distance. I also realize that LEDs are different from Xenons and their light output per unit may be lower.

What I don't get is why BMW decided to not equip the 1 series to the same level of quality as they do higher end models. I totally understand that the 1s should not get all the high end features. One can go through the configurator and see what options are available on which models and make an educated decision about what model and feature set one wants, based on that. The configurator does not, however, point out that your LED lights on the 1s will not have same output as those on the 3s and up. Sure, they won't do the split beam and all that but those are "feature" details, not "quality" details. In my opinion, a BMW should be of the same level of quality regardless of the model line. What should differentiate the lines, should be the features, not differences in quality.

Erik
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      12-20-2016, 04:02 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
jaze55,

Do you have a link to the brochure that specs 14 LEDs for the M140i? I can't seem to readily find it on their website... Maybe non-M140i-s could be retrofitted with the 14-LED version headlights? I would be happy to pay for the upgrade...

Thanks,
Erik
Erik, you can download the 1 series brochure from the Australian BMW website which provides the detail about the LEDs.
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      12-20-2016, 04:26 AM   #13
eseres
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Thanks, Jaze55, for the quick response.

Apparently, they require that I give them my contact details. I don't think they will view me a potential customer with a European phone number...

I will try anyway.
Erik
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      12-20-2016, 04:49 AM   #14
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jaze55,

Does your M140i light up all four "eyes" like the 3 series and up does? Or only the outer two like on the non-M140i-s do?

Thanks,
Erik
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      12-20-2016, 11:53 AM   #15
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So here it is, the source of wisdom (could be uploaded but I see no point):

https://www2.bmw.com.au//ebrochure/BRO_F20_01_2016.pdf

(Regarding phone number, they aren't really insisting, any set of digits seems to do, but just in case: https://fakenumber.org/australia/mobile .)

Honestly, I can't trace or find the details in question there. Nor in the UK brochure I could upload here if needed. By the way, there are regional differences sometimes: if you aren't ready to move to Australia you might choose to ignore it's specifics.

Regarding range differences. I absolutely don't care what's there in the models I don't consider. It's simply no business of mine. If you are interested in the adaptive technology in the particular model, just for instance - see the description, don't look too far beyond: "To increase knowledge only increases sorrow".

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
What I don't get is why BMW decided to not equip the 1 series to the same level of quality as they do higher end models.
I can't speak for them but an easy guess is cost reduction. It's a positive guess as well: something could be still better than nothing. Sometimes. There were wild requests (around here as well) BMW must've put Xenon as standard. (At whose expense? ) I don't think those who found it too expensive would agree. It was a hard (but fortunately correct ) decision for me. Look at them offering an auto climate control as the basic now, no true manual I have. I hated that stub in a (3 Series) loaner enough to see it as forcing the full-featured climate quite offensively. They do their best, perhaps, in their own understanding.
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      12-20-2016, 02:00 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
jaze55,

Does your M140i light up all four "eyes" like the 3 series and up does? Or only the outer two like on the non-M140i-s do?

Thanks,
Erik
Had the adaptive LED on the M135, I notice only the outer two light is on, high beam is part the outer light too. Had no idea what the inner one do. My guess is... The driver's guide app mentioned variable light distribution (motorway beam pattern), activated if speed exceeding 110 km/h (69 mph) for 30s or speed reach 140 km/h (88 mph), not sure if that's what the inner lights for, but sounds like a good reason to speed pass the legal limit Otherwise, I'll find out from one of the geniuses at the dealer when I visit early next month.
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      12-20-2016, 03:43 PM   #17
eseres
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No one,

Thanks for the link, I appreciate it. Unfortunately, I had had a hard copy of that already and, as you said, there seems to be no information about the number of LEDs in the headlights.

As far as cost reduction, that is very feasible, I agree. I am not sure though why they don't offer it as an option for those who are willing to pay the premium for a more advanced system. Maybe they had done the math and figured the R&D cost would not be worth it to even offer the option. They could at least offer Xenons, however. Here, the options are halogens, LEDs and Adaptive LEDs. That is all.

I am still hopeful though that jaze55 is onto something with the 14 vs. 8 LED count between the M140 and the non-M. If the M140 indeed has 14 LEDs in whatever configuration, maybe it would be possible to purchase the units and retrofit the non-M cars. I would be more than happy to pay for it. Even if they are only available in Australia, I would probably find a way to get a pair.

ch3f,

The inner lights are actually just design elements on the non-M140s, there is no light bulb/LED or anything in them. I wonder if the M140s maybe do have LEDs in the inner eyes, too... Or if they indeed have 14 LEDs, are they all in the outer ones or...?

Thanks guys,
Erik
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      12-20-2016, 04:32 PM   #18
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According to the parts list, the part numbers are the same on the M140i as the other LCI ones series.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=63_1655
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      12-20-2016, 07:26 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
I am not sure though why they don't offer it as an option for those who are willing to pay the premium for a more advanced system.
Have no doubt, they do: the option is to go up their range (I guess I read they admitted that). It's just I would not consider a bigger car even if I could afford it: mine is quite too big for me already (a RWD trade off) and I have difficulty finding a spot to park.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
They could at least offer Xenons, however.
My guess is they might withdraw Xenon "in general" due to it's "somewhat" blinding effect just as well: the headlight washers, mandatory in most countries for Xenon, are a compromise in fact. And, of course, they fight for consumption reduction.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
Here, the options are halogens, LEDs and Adaptive LEDs.
4 Series options are Xenon and Adaptive LEDs. It looks like Xenon for brightness, LED for adaptability.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eseres View Post
Even if they are only available in Australia, I would probably find a way to get a pair.
That could make your car not road legal in your country. But those are side notes, this does not seem to be the case.

In the other thread I mentioned, another Australian appears to neglect his M4 LEDs, incidentally.

So why don't you find a live M140i at a dealer's and make sure it does light any better than yours? And if it does, have them explain why.
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      12-22-2016, 04:06 AM   #20
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"The inner lights are actually just design elements on the non-M140s, there is no light bulb/LED or anything in them. I wonder if the M140s maybe do have LEDs in the inner eyes, too... Or if they indeed have 14 LEDs, are they all in the outer ones or...?"

I will be very disappointed, if it just for looks. Really all that effort to make a fake light! Should just make it looks like the 2002 single round light. or at least a fog light, I will definitely find out more about the inner light in 2 weeks when visit to the BMW service.
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      12-22-2016, 04:32 AM   #21
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Here is a link to the Australian 1 series specification guide, refer to the lighting section for details of the differences in lighting fitout of different models. There are 3 different headlight fitouts halogen, 8 power led and 14 power led.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz...k5iSkdqQjVFZTA
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      12-22-2016, 04:44 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jaze55 View Post
Here is a link to the Australian 1 series specification guide, refer to the lighting section for details of the differences in lighting fitout of different models. There are 3 different headlight fitouts halogen, 8 power led and 14 power led.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz...k5iSkdqQjVFZTA
So what it says is that the normal LED lights are "8 power", and the adaptive one (option on all 1-series) is "14 power"?
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