T6.1 dipped LED headlights abroad

[Lubrown]

Out of interest, do 6.1's have simple dipped and main beams, or matrix headlights?

Our Tig has IQ LEDs. You just leave them on Auto main beam all the time and they turn on an off the appropriate diodes that would otherwise dazzle over motorists, whichever side of the road they are on.

I followed a new Range Rover that had their version of matrix headlights. This was along some dark dual carriageway in Oxfordshire.
Really impressive system - I could see each darkened spot for the cars coming down the hill toward us and yet the rest of the road and verges were essentially floodlit.

‘Bending’ the beam on corners is good too. To think Citroen had that with the DS in the 50’s and it’s just starting to take off now!

 

[Lubrown]

In the UK, the offence is something along the lines is dazzling oncoming traffic. Not sure if its the same in France or if there is a specific offence of not having beam deflectors. I'd hazard a guess they don't.

So, as long as I'm not dazzling oncoming traffic in France by lowering my halogen H7's to the lowest level, I'm happy.

Not been flashed once this year, 4 weeks in France.

I am happy to be corrected, perhaps by one of our French contingent ?

I checked the rules of the road before travelling to France (like a good boy ) a few years back.
I don’t fully remember the wording but there is apparently a law and UK cars in France must have deflectors fitted even if only driven in daylight. That bit sticks in my mind for some reason. There was a fine - somewhere around £70 I think?

Always worth checking basic guides, from say the AA, on driving in other countries so you know specific/obscure rules before you go. Could save time, money and embarrassment when travelling. Holidays should be care free and a tiny bit of prep let’s that happen.
I’ve driven in a lot of countries and knowing the rules of the road seriously reduces stress. Understanding what road signs to expect is also nice.

 

[Sackmycook]

Just googled it.....

 

[DanTK]

I am in Belgium now and this morning I was in Uk. Just used Carista to change the instrument cluster region. Set it to Europe and you can see the LED changing pattern after saving the option. I think this will adjust the light to the right side driving. I’ll let you know when it’s dark if it worked

Did it work @Crazymind? Any dramas?

 

[Crazymind]

Hey, forgot to update! It did work. It definitely moved the cone of light towards the French and Belgium ditch side.

 

[Rupbear68]

Hey, forgot to update! It did work. It definitely moved the cone of light towards the French and Belgium ditch side.

Hi Crazymind,
First post here as in need of some help.
I’ve got a California Beach 6.1 LHD and trying to register my car in the UK as been living in mainland Europe for the last 2 years.
It failed its light check in the UK today (LED lights) as garage said lights kicked up to the right too much for the UK.
Was your change fairly straightforward and would a VW garage be able to do something similar for me?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Crazymind]

After further investigation, I drove to Belgium again last week, I have managed to
Drive in the dark more than I did during the summer and last visit . Some dark B road showed me what happens to the lights in travel mode and enabling the option Europe.
It definitely moved the left headlight light cone towards roght slightly, not much though.The main difference, it definitely lower the flick, which will reduce blinding on coming drivers. However it has lost a lot of dept of illumination.
My conclusion is, this option is good for temporary travelling in Europe.
In you situation being LHD, enabling travel mode will probably do the same, good enough for MOT not for registering you van in the Uk.
Ideally you have to find 2 Valeo LED unit without ballast and swap them over with your LED lights. Fit back your OEM led after van has been registered in the Uk.

 

[Pauly]

You can buy the low beam LED module for LHD and RHD vehicles, not cheap but maybe better than getting complete headlights ?

VW retail list price is £148 + vat each

 

[DanTK]

I am in Belgium now and this morning I was in Uk. Just used Carista to change the instrument cluster region. Set it to Europe and you can see the LED changing pattern after saving the option. I think this will adjust the light to the right side driving. I’ll let you know when it’s dark if it worked

@Crazymind Wanted to come back to this to understand what changed on the instrument cluster when you changed the region to Europe with Carista? Did anything other than the headlight setting change?

@Skyliner33's response in a separate thread on the same/similar topic suggests that the T6.1 automatically adjusts the lights based on GPS location.

Yes.

This is correct

On the assumption that the GPS location does indeed automatically adjust the headlights, I'm wondering if it's worth the bother of changing the instrument cluster region using Carista as well and what, if any, additional benefits this would give me.

 

[CarreraRSR]

Just a note. I had Adaptive LED's on a 67 Passat GTE. I never had to change the beam pattern manually as it was done automatically by the car due to it knowing via GPS/Sat Nav that it was in Europe v UK. Did the swap over when back into UK automatically also. I could go into the infotainment system to manually swap and could see the projectors move the beam. But as soon as I drove it moved them back to the correct side. I think there was an auto v manual setting. Never got a chance to test the 70 plate Skoda Superb iV with similar LED's if it did the same as COVID hit just after delivery and I gave it back last Summer before any Euro trips.

 

[DanTK]

@CarreraRSR Likewise had the ability to change lights manually on previous Golfs, Passats and (whisper it quietly) A6s - and the more recent models also picked it up automatically by GPS. Thing is I also had OEM Sat Nav in all those vehicles. I don’t have Sat Nav in the van so I’m not going to know if GPS picks up me being in France until I roll off the train and the van also doesn’t have a manual travel mode option in the infotainment system. Hence trying to get confirmation on what I need to do before I go - but maybe I’m overthinking it if ultimately the LED headlight beams are flat and I should just “trust the tech”.

 

[Rupbear68]

So to close off our move back to the UK with our LED headlamped van:
After it failed it’s first MOT I got in touch with three VW Van centres ‘near’ to me:
First one told me I needed to change the lights to Halogen ones and that was the only way I would get it through the MoT. I politely told them they didn’t know what they were talking about as all of the wiring voltages are different for Halogen.
Second one told me I would have to change to UK specific LED lights at around £1,000 a light.
Third one said pop in and we’ll have a look. Went down and they agreed there was no way to change the settings on the dashboard. They then took it into the workshop and went into the software settings where they could change which side of the road the vehicle was configured for. They changed it to UK. All at no charge.
Back to MoT garage and it just passed its light test. They still seem to have a very slight bias to light up higher to the right than the left - but within limits.
So tonight my van finally had its UK plates put on. It has also worn German and French ones since I bought it two years ago!

 

[Lubrown]

I was passed by a T5 this evening heading north on the M5 and it had LED ‘bulbs’. Not sure if they were OE but there was a glare issue in my drivers door mirror. Looking at the pool of light the van had in front I’d say the lights were pretty well aligned but the output was no better than my Phillips GT bulbs (H4) in stock headlights!
I hate cheap LEDs. They aren’t road legal for a reason.