When did self-leveling headlights...?

[TimG]

When did the self-leveling aspect of the Xenon headlights come into being? My girlfriend's mother has an '04 325xi with Xe's, and I'm curious if what I'm seeing is the self-leveling feature or not. (Doesn't look very level to me, is why I ask -- seems like a lot of bouncing, in fact, accentuated by the Xe's hard cut off.)

[777ER]

Does it self calibrate when start the car? It's easily seen with the garage door closed.

The self leveling helps when you go uphills because it shines upward as you enter the base of a hill.

Then it shines down as you go downhill to avoid blinding oncoming cars.

[2K7328i]

Well self leveling xenons are now supposed to be mandatory for the fact of the xenons are much brighter than halogen lights. Dont you just hate to rice burners with the H.I.D. ( High Intensity Discharge ) kits. Those are just the bulbs in a fixed headlight housing. So going up or down hills, the lights would be blinding you.
Auto leveling will take out the blinding part. With the newer BMW's, you also get the corner lighting as well. Meaning turning to the right or left. The projector beam will actually turn with your car. This gives you a bit more lighting when you take the turns at quick speeds.

[bemydemon]

When did the self-leveling aspect of the Xenon headlights come into being?

I don't know when when they started but my 2003 330i had 'em.

[jmonier]

My 2002 325i has them.

[JNMACE]

I think the 5 series cars with xenon had the auto-leveling feature back in '97. My first one did. They did not have the "adaptive" function for turning with the direction of travel.

[steve99m3]

I can't wait until self-leveling lights are in all pickups and SUVs as well. I hate being blinded by a pickup because it has some crap in the bed!

[JNMACE]

I can't wait until self-leveling lights are in all pickups and SUVs as well. I hate being blinded by a pickup because it has some crap in the bed!


I just think that they need to start mounting the headlights (and bumpers for that matter) lower on the vehicle. There is no reason for the on-road lights on a street legal vehicle to be that high and blinding to other vehicles...especially those traveling in the same direction!