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      11-30-2017, 03:24 PM   #1
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LED Headlights

Does anyone know what the difference between option (5A4) Adaptive LED headlights and (552) Icon Adaptive headlights? Other than they look different on the inside is there any real advantage to getting the Icon adaptives?
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      11-30-2017, 08:34 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruz28/40 View Post
Does anyone know what the difference between option (5A4) Adaptive LED headlights and (552) Icon Adaptive headlights? Other than they look different on the inside is there any real advantage to getting the Icon adaptives?
Great question that I asked my dealer back in September. I'm still not 100% sure despite him checking with the BMW Genius and his regional contacts. In the end, I think the 5A4 headlights are supposed to be able to do "cornering", i.e. as you turn the headlights light up stuff in that direction.

But they do NOT have the Auto High Beams, that come with the 552 Full LED lights. That is a really neat feature if you live in the country and often drive where you need to turn the high beams on. The car will detect both traffic in front of you and cars coming toward you and adjust the beam pattern to keep the other cars out of the glare of your headlights. It is more than just clicking the high beams on and off when it detects the traffic. It actually creates a cone of "darkness" for the other traffic. If you google it, you can find some neat videos with more explanation.

The 552 lights are also Full LED, so there are no non-LED lights. I don't know for sure what the non-LED lights in the 5A4 actually are for (turn signals??, or maybe an even brighter set of lights for the cornering??) as I haven't ever actually seen a car with those lights.

It's a shame BMW's marketing department decided to use such similar labels for the two sets of light as it really makes it confusing. They seem to be in love with the adjective "adaptive" as they use it a LOT in their labels. And you'd think they'd get someone to write up a full description of each option, including what other features it affects and put links on their BYO site, but they haven't. So far, I've been very impressed with BMW's engineering and very unimpressed with their marketing department!!
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      11-30-2017, 10:16 PM   #3
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Thanks for the reply. I have adaptive headlights with auto high beams on my US spec 340i but none of the us spec cars came with anti-glare. Not sure if that has changed with the X3 but if not then it's not worth the upgrade.
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      11-30-2017, 10:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruz28/40 View Post
Thanks for the reply. I have adaptive headlights with auto high beams on my US spec 340i but none of the us spec cars came with anti-glare. Not sure if that has changed with the X3 but if not then it's not worth the upgrade.
I believe it is worth the upgrade if you are willing to code for it. The BMW genius mentioned this when I picked up my M40i. There are some great videos out there on how this "anti-glare" feature works for those who have not seen it before.

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      11-30-2017, 11:10 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kozzi View Post
I believe it is worth the upgrade if you are willing to code for it. The BMW genius mentioned this when I picked up my M40i. There are some great videos out there on how this "anti-glare" feature works for those who have not seen it before.

Thank you, this would be really good to add!
So is this available via coding?
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      11-30-2017, 11:26 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by voyagergab View Post
Thank you, this would be really good to add!
So is this available via coding?
Folks were coding this feature in the F25. It is just a matter of time before we will be able to do the same in the the G01. This feature is available from the factory in non US markets. Not sure about Canada.
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      11-30-2017, 11:30 PM   #7
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Cool, I'm still trying to find out from various sources what can be coded on a G01.
Talked to a local shop today, they said they can tell, once they plug my car in.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kozzi View Post
Folks were coding this feature in the F25. It is just a matter of time before we will be able to do the same in the the G01. This feature is available from the factory in non US markets. Not sure about Canada.
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      12-01-2017, 12:30 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kozzi View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruz28/40 View Post
Thanks for the reply. I have adaptive headlights with auto high beams on my US spec 340i but none of the us spec cars came with anti-glare. Not sure if that has changed with the X3 but if not then it's not worth the upgrade.
I believe it is worth the upgrade if you are willing to code for it. The BMW genius mentioned this when I picked up my M40i. There are some great videos out there on how this "anti-glare" feature works for those who have not seen it before.

Are you sure it can be coded? We were thinking the same for the LCI F30s like the 340i I have with adaptive LED Headlights and found out that there was a shutter missing from the US headlights that made it impossible to fully enable anti-glare through coding.
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      12-01-2017, 01:07 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruz28/40 View Post
Are you sure it can be coded? We were thinking the same for the LCI F30s like the 340i I have with adaptive LED Headlights and found out that there was a shutter missing from the US headlights that made it impossible to fully enable anti-glare through coding.
I did not know about the F30 headlight assembly missing parts that would make this feature unavailable. It is possible that the US headlight assembly in the G01 is different than its EU counterpart but I do remember members coding their pre LCI F25s with this feature (2011-2014).Not so sure about 2015+ but do not remember that you couldn't. There are some some folks over in the G30 forums who have already coded theirs. G01 should hopefully be no different. ICON Adaptive LED Headlights are standard on the M40i so the option only falls to those looking at a 30i with or without Executive Tier.
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      12-01-2017, 06:45 AM   #10
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It came with my Canadian spec F34 - with xenon not LED. It is better at illuminating the sides of the road where deer and antelope play. Some drivers still flash me because they see that the light is brighter, but it does not use glare on the other side of the road.

I would be disappointed if it did not come on the G01.
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      12-01-2017, 08:11 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slalom View Post
It came with my Canadian spec F34 - with xenon not LED. It is better at illuminating the sides of the road where deer and antelope play. Some drivers still flash me because they see that the light is brighter, but it does not use glare on the other side of the road.

I would be disappointed if it did not come on the G01.
It seems to me that the anti-glare feature on my M40i is working without needing any additional coding. I can see the range of the headlights change as the traffic changes and it appears it is creating the cone shown in the video. I think it is pretty awesome. Perhaps with coding it gets even better??
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      12-01-2017, 08:13 AM   #12
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If anyone has seen or knows which codes to look at for the feature I can dump the stock config from mine and see what it is.
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      12-01-2017, 08:48 AM   #13
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The base LED headlamps are not adaptive and use an incandescent bulb for the turn signal. The upgrade ICON headlamps are fully adaptive as well as full LED. Also, the corona rings on the base LED lamp are round whereas on the ICON light the are the latest design which looks like a sideways '?' I would strongly suggest upgrading to the ICON lights, they look far better than the base LED lights which look like the old F25 Xenon headlights.
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      12-01-2017, 12:51 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwcooper View Post
It seems to me that the anti-glare feature on my M40i is working without needing any additional coding. I can see the range of the headlights change as the traffic changes and it appears it is creating the cone shown in the video. I think it is pretty awesome. Perhaps with coding it gets even better??

If I remember correctly looking at the VIN decoders, US cars have this(5AP Decoding For No-dazzle High-beam As Dekodierung Blendfreier Fernlichtas) listed.

Seems like that's saying they take off some advanced version of No-dazzle but I could be reading that incorrectly.
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      12-01-2017, 01:26 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bwcooper View Post
It seems to me that the anti-glare feature on my M40i is working without needing any additional coding. I can see the range of the headlights change as the traffic changes and it appears it is creating the cone shown in the video. I think it is pretty awesome. Perhaps with coding it gets even better??
Is yours US spec?
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      12-01-2017, 01:46 PM   #16
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My Canadian spec VIN has the following listed for the headlights.

S552A Adaptive LED headlight
S5A1A LED Fog lights
S5ACA High-beam assistant

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPsedan View Post
If I remember correctly looking at the VIN decoders, US cars have this(5AP Decoding For No-dazzle High-beam As Dekodierung Blendfreier Fernlichtas) listed.

Seems like that's saying they take off some advanced version of No-dazzle but I could be reading that incorrectly.
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      12-01-2017, 02:34 PM   #17
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I am almost positive it can be coded now after looking my vin up on https://www.bmwvin.com/.

Clearly mentions the following:

S552A Adaptive LED headlight
S5A1A LED Fog lights
S5ACA High-beam assistant
S5APA Decode, anti-glare FLA high-beam assist

Not only that but there appears to be some interesting upgrades available via coding.

Available upgardes (site misspelled upgrades)
Rear view camera Check compatibility
Spare/replacement key fob Check compatibility
Smartphone mirroring Check compatibility
Additional iDrive features Check compatibility

I am currently doing some research on Carly and Bimmercode. Hopefully someone with far more knowledge will chime in after looking up their vin number.
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      12-01-2017, 04:20 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kozzi View Post
I am almost positive it can be coded now after looking my vin up on https://www.bmwvin.com/.

Clearly mentions the following:

S552A Adaptive LED headlight
S5A1A LED Fog lights
S5ACA High-beam assistant
S5APA Decode, anti-glare FLA high-beam assist

Not only that but there appears to be some interesting upgrades available via coding.

Available upgardes (site misspelled upgrades)
Rear view camera Check compatibility
Spare/replacement key fob Check compatibility
Smartphone mirroring Check compatibility
Additional iDrive features Check compatibility

I am currently doing some research on Carly and Bimmercode. Hopefully someone with far more knowledge will chime in after looking up their vin number.
Mine is the same. For some reason the US DOT or other regulatory body has not approved certain adaptive headlight features and BMW codes off adaptive by saying anti dazzle like it's a feature but the headlight clusters have all of the necessary parts to work if coded like Euro adaptive
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      12-01-2017, 04:59 PM   #19
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Hmm Smartphone mirroring. My E92 M3 would mirror my GoPro via my phone, I wonder if that is what they were talking about.
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      12-01-2017, 08:12 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruz28/40 View Post
Is yours US spec?
yes
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      12-01-2017, 08:18 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ando View Post
Mine is the same. For some reason the US DOT or other regulatory body has not approved certain adaptive headlight features and BMW codes off adaptive by saying anti dazzle like it's a feature but the headlight clusters have all of the necessary parts to work if coded like Euro adaptive
I thought I had read that the DOT had finally approved the anti-dazzle. Perhaps there are some aspects of it that they didn't like....
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      12-02-2017, 09:35 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPsedan View Post
If I remember correctly looking at the VIN decoders, US cars have this(5AP Decoding For No-dazzle High-beam As Dekodierung Blendfreier Fernlichtas) listed.

Seems like that's saying they take off some advanced version of No-dazzle but I could be reading that incorrectly.
Looks like you beat me to the punch. That is exactly what's happening here. I have no idea why the US would not allow this type of feature to be available but it is something that can be re-coded for no-dazzle high beam assist to operate as intended.
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