Bright light issue - not working when I first start driving.

[haroldo]

I have an odd issue on my new (one week old) Model 3.
The lights set to Auto. When I start driving (suburban neighborhood, pretty dark in the morning), the bright lights don't work. If I pull back it flashes, but if I push the stalk forward, the icon for auto bright lights appears (in grey) toggles on and off (each time I push it forward), but the bright lights turn on.
Demonstration of issue

A mile away (or after driving for a few minutes), as I'm on the highway service road, the bright lights work as expected (push forward, on, etc.).
Has anyone noticed this issue?
I'm getting an update tonight, so maybe it will be resolved, but it seems odd that the bright light controls don't work until the car has been driven for a few minutes.
Thanks!

 

[Spuzzz]

I notice the auto high beams won’t activate near my home. I had presumed it was just programmed to avoiding hi beams into a neighbors window. But if you have to drive a mile for it to start working that seems excessive.

 

[haroldo]

high beams won’t activate near my home. I had presumed it was just programmed to avoiding hi beams into a neighbors window

I hope that's not the logic. My neighborhood is home to tons of deer that love to scamper in the early morning.
I'm not sure if it's time based (as I described above), based on proximity to my home, or if it's all roads without painted lines (local neighborhoods).

 

[N54TT]

I have an odd issue on my new (one week old) Model 3.
The lights set to Auto. When I start driving (suburban neighborhood, pretty dark in the morning), the bright lights don't work. If I pull back it flashes, but if I push the stalk forward, the icon for auto bright lights appears (in grey) toggles on and off (each time I push it forward), but the bright lights turn on.
Demonstration of issue

A mile away (or after driving for a few minutes), as I'm on the highway service road, the bright lights work as expected (push forward, on, etc.).
Has anyone noticed this issue?
I'm getting an update tonight, so maybe it will be resolved, but it seems odd that the bright light controls don't work until the car has been driven for a few minutes.
Thanks!

I don’t remember how it worked before….as I never use it other than dark highways. But I want to think I read a post where a recent-ish update changed the way it worked…where it doesn’t work under a certain speed. Hence why you probably notice it working on the highway but not local roads.

 

[haroldo]

where it doesn’t work under a certain speed

Seems odd, although coming from a 2008 Camry, the 2021 Tesla low beams illuminate the road like it's Yankee Stadium.
It's not a huge issue...but I figured I paid a lot of money for the high beams, I'd like to use them when I want to

 

[Candleflame]

i cant see any issue. there is no need to put the high beams on in residential areas and tesla wont switch them on below 45kmh anyway.
If the car detects enough light it also wont switch the auto high beams on.
Pulling the stalk towards you activates the light horn/flashing light which has a different purpose anyway. it is there to alert other drivers that you are about to overtake etc

The bright light you refer to are the high beams which you use if you are traveling on a dark road without any roadlights at significant speeds. and thats when the car will turn them on.

America is pretty lax on traffic laws and driving qualification but in many countries it is illegal to use high beams in residential areas or on streets which have streetlights. i doesnt really serve a purpose unless you are driving above 70-80km/h anyway.

The reason why they turn on when you are driving is that you are above the minimum auto limit (45km/h i think) and the road is sufficiently dark.

 

[haroldo]

...there is no need to put the high beams on in residential areas and tesla wont switch them on below 45kmh anyway.
.... i doesnt really serve a purpose unless you are driving above 70-80km/h anyway.

The reason why they turn on when you are driving is that you are above the minimum auto limit (45km/h i think) and the road is sufficiently dark.

That might make sense to some, but to me it's beyond bizarre. There are no laws here so it's not worth discussing that aspect.
If driver perceives a need ... whether or not a bunch of programmers (who spent time designing a fart button) 2000 miles away think that it's needed ..., it's the driver's determination.
What is the risk in allowing driver to gain better illumination and see more of the road and surrounding areas...if they want to??
What's next? Will the programmers determine that the horn shouldn't be so loud or that the car shouldn't drive over a set speed in certain neighborhoods?
Will they decide how cool the car can get in summertime?

 

[ahoen117]

On the quick settings page there's a toggle for auto high beams towards the top right of the page. The auto brights can be temperamental in some situations, so this is the quick way to force them back to normal, non auto lights.

I know this doesn't fix the issue, but at least allows you to use the high beams, plus its a quick toggle to go back and forth between them.

 

[N54TT]

Seems odd, although coming from a 2008 Camry, the 2021 Tesla low beams illuminate the road like it's Yankee Stadium.
It's not a huge issue...but I figured I paid a lot of money for the high beams, I'd like to use them when I want to

You can still use high beams whenever you want. What’s disabled under a certain speed is the auto high beam. You can still turn off auto high beam and manually turn them on whenever you want.

 

[haroldo]

turn off auto high beam and manually turn them on whenever you want.

Thanks, seems like a lot of tapping on the screen (and not paying attention to the road) while driving…but I guess they think that’s much safer than allowing driver to push stalk forward, like the other 100 million cars on the road can do

/sarcasm

 

[dmurphy]

Thanks, seems like a lot of tapping on the screen (and not paying attention to the road) while driving…but I guess they think that’s much safer than allowing driver to push stalk forward, like the other 100 million cars on the road can do

/sarcasm

Even when in “auto” mode, pulling the stalk should still illuminate the high beams.

from the manual:

 

[jrweiss98020]

I suspect the OP has the Auto High Beam switch ON, giving the behavior he sees. Simply turn off the Auto High Beam, and see how they behave.

I don't like the Auto High Beam, so it's always Off. I can turn on the high beams any time, any speed. Auto Headlights always On.

 

[haroldo]

OP has the Auto High Beam switch ON

Yup.
guess I’ll go old school

 

[Dogs_In_A_Pile]

I suspect the OP has the Auto High Beam switch ON, giving the behavior he sees. Simply turn off the Auto High Beam, and see how they behave.

I don't like the Auto High Beam, so it's always Off. I can turn on the high beams any time, any speed. Auto Headlights always On.

So you have choice. Either turn on the Auto High Beam control so you can use TACC/AP and live with its awful performance or turn off Auto High Beams control and toggle them manually but give up the use of TACC/AP. Neither would be acceptable to me.

 

[haroldo]

turn off Auto High Beams control and toggle them manually but give up the use of TACC/AP.

Confused.
Autipilot isn’t available unless auto high beam is enabled??

 

[haroldo]

I played around this morning (in a large, empty parking lot).

Auto Bright Lights setting locks out Manual Bright Light at speeds below 30 MPH. Once it's available, Manual Bright Lights are available at speeds below 30 MPH ... but only until speed dropped below 20 MPH, then Manual Bright Lights were locked out.

However, after driving on highway, Manual Bright Lights were not locked out at speeds below 20 MPH

From my very unscientific experiment, I think it's...

• if the car thinks you're on local roads, Manual Bright Lights are available if over 30, MPH and then until you drop below 20 MPH
• If the car thinks you're on a highway or a longer trip (maybe it's time based???) it's available at all speeds.

YMMV

 

[Candleflame]

That might make sense to some, but to me it's beyond bizarre. There are no laws here so it's not worth discussing that aspect.
If driver perceives a need ... whether or not a bunch of programmers (who spent time designing a fart button) 2000 miles away think that it's needed ..., it's the driver's determination.
What is the risk in allowing driver to gain better illumination and see more of the road and surrounding areas...if they want to??
What's next? Will the programmers determine that the horn shouldn't be so loud or that the car shouldn't drive over a set speed in certain neighborhoods?
Will they decide how cool the car can get in summertime?

thats like saying "i decide when i want my fog lights on". no you dont. you risk dazzeling other drivers and being percieved as a prick.

you are very welcome to switch auto high beams off and just turn them on manually. but dont expect the software to act unreasonably.