I picked up my RLT-E in November, have had +7,000 trouble free miles. Suddenly my auto high-beam have completely stopped working. Same roads, zero traffic, no new traffic signs, just quit.
Things I've tried:
1. Spotless clean exterior
2. Reset setting in the vehicle defaults via the radio control center
3. Switch to off/on multiple times, tried always on headlights then back to auto
Anybody else?
I have oil change coming up, so I ask dealer to warranty of course but was hoping for other ways to address this.
Weird, I had that happen for the first time yesterday morning. But I pulled the high beam lever briefly (like flashing my lights) and it went back to normal.
Since you are discussing auto dimming headlights, i have a question. How does the RL know when to dim the high beams when there is no on-coming traffic, but when you come up to a slow moving vehicle ahead in your lane going in your direction? Does the RL high beams blast them unless you have to manually switch to low beams? Or, does it switch itself?
I was thinking that myself. I think someone at Honda in alabama is watching the camera, remotely, and when you approach another car or someone is headed towards you, they shut them off remotely. Only possible explanation. :wink:
■ Temporary cancellation
The auto high-beam system operation is temporarily canceled while:
• You are continuously driving at a speed below 15 mph (24 km/h).
• The vehicle speed is below 6 mph (10 km/h).
• The windshield wipers run at high speed for more than a few seconds.
The system operation resumes once the condition that caused it to cancel improves.
Auto High-Beam (High Beam Support System)
For the auto high-beam to work properly:
• Do not place an object that reflects light on the dashboard.
Keep the windshield around the camera clean.
When cleaning the windshield, be careful not to
apply the windshield cleanser to the camera lens.
• Do not attach an object, sticker or film to the area around the camera.
• Do not touch the camera lens.
If the camera receives a strong impact, or repairing of the area near the camera is required, consult a dealer.
Who is going to remember to do this when parking???
To help reduce the likelihood that high interior temperatures will cause the camera system to shut off, when parking, find a shady area or face the front of the vehicle away from the sun. If you use a reflective sun shade, do not allow it to cover the camera housing. Covering the camera can concentrate heat on the camera.
■ Temporary cancellation
The auto high-beam system operation is temporarily canceled while:
• You are continuously driving at a speed below 15 mph (24 km/h).
• The vehicle speed is below 6 mph (10 km/h).
• The windshield wipers run at high speed for more than a few seconds.
The system operation resumes once the condition that caused it to cancel improves.
.
Actually what happens is if your speed drops below 15 mph the auto high-beam dims the lights, and when your speed exceeds 25 mph they are reactivated. I drive home on a narrow twisty often very dark road. At night when I slow to turn onto the narrow road my high-beams dim. Because I normally drive the road at less than 25 mph the high-beams never re-illuminate, so for a short distance I will accelerate to 26 mph, which re-illuminates the high-beams, then drive the rest of the way at ~20 mph.
Update by OP: Problem caused by the OI unit controlling the vehicle upon startup. OI is term for operator ignoramus. I tried them again last night and once I was above 25mph, I held the light stalk back for a few seconds until a tiny "A" appeared in the illuminated headlight icon on the dash. From then on, the auto dim worked perfectly.
Glad you fixed the problem with the OI UNIT!! I hope it was covered under warranty!!!
Based on what I've seen and read in the manual, Honda's automatic dimming headlight operation is not very intuitive to turn on and off. Maybe its my old brain but it doesn't make sense the way this is made to work. Seems both too hard to accidentally turn off (flash your high beams once for example and it turns off then you have to flash them again to turn it back on which may end up flashing someone you didn't mean to flash - how are they supposed to know you were just turning your automatic high beams back on!!!). Also seems too hard to intentional turn off or on (having to hold the high beam flasher for 30-40 seconds each time?). Why not a dedicated button or setting through a menu somewhere?