Auto High Beams

[Meintc]

I don't do a lot of driving at night but, I did last night and my mind went to the Maverick of course. I believe my XLT comes with auto high beams. How does that work exactly? Do they go off at a certain distance from an oncoming vehicle? Do they go on after a certain interval in the dark where no other lights are present?

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[BeachBum]

I don't do a lot of driving at night but, I did last night and my mind went to the Maverick of course. I believe my XLT comes with auto high beams. How does that work exactly? Do they go off at a certain distance from an oncoming vehicle? Do they go on after a certain interval in the dark where no other lights are present?

It's been my experience that they turn off as soon as any headlights are detected, even on a divided highway. They also detect taillights so you don't blind the driver in front of you.

There have been a few times where I've switched the headlights from auto to on because it was switching from high to low to high as it was detecting lights, but they were street lights or house lights.

 

[CenTexMav]

I haven't driven at night much on open roads yet. The few times I did I noticed the high beams coming on when there was no one in front of me... popping off when a car was coming around the corner towards me. Worked great. There are a few patches on that road where critters like to run across. I'd rather be able to get a little warning so I can avoid them.

 

[Big_T]

I don't have my Maverick yet, but the automatic high beams in our Subaru Outback work great. The only thing I've noticed is once in a while they will dim for streetlights (no traffic nearby) but really don't need the high beams with the street lights illuminating the area anyway.

 

[Meintc]

Thank you. I'm assuming it can be turned off? Or if you have headlights on auto then the auto high beam is engaged regardless. I have my escape on auto headlights, but I don't have auto high beam.

 

[MLowe05]

I don't do a lot of driving at night but, I did last night and my mind went to the Maverick of course. I believe my XLT comes with auto high beams. How does that work exactly? Do they go off at a certain distance from an oncoming vehicle? Do they go on after a certain interval in the dark where no other lights are present?

All Mavericks have automatic high beams.

The windscreen mounted camera looks for headlights and taillights of vehicles and selects either low or high beam as appropriate.

NOTE: Most state laws allow high beams to be used up until an approaching car within 500 feet of you. Also, they allow high beams to be used if you're following a car as long as you're 300 feet or more behind them. I've had about a dozen cars with automatic high beam and the systems have all been able to see well beyond these limits and have acted accordingly. But sometimes they will stay on a bit longer than you might like. I suggest you learn to get comfortable with it instead of fidgeting with turning them auto/manual and stuff back and forth.

 

[Mllombardi]

I had never owned a car with auto high beams before and I like it. All mavericks have the auto high beams.
I don’t know where the sensor is but when there is no oncoming traffic or streetlights the high beams come on. If a car with it’s lights on is coming toward you they revert to low beams. If there is street lighting or businesses have lighting etc the high beams stay off.
I’ve never yet found them to be on when inappropriate and often they turn on when I wouldn’t have but probably should have.

 

[MLowe05]

Thank you. I'm assuming it can be turned off? Or if you have headlights on auto then the auto high beam is engaged regardless. I have my escape on auto headlights, but I don't have auto high beam.

From the look of the switch, your choice is auto (with auto highbeam) or manual ON, which would mean the lights run all the time. This is the same setup as both our Genesis and Kia.

What I don't know is if you can disable the AHB in the systems settings. The Genesis and Kia do not have that option.

 

[Mllombardi]

What mlowe05 said is perfect.

 

[oreomuffin]

This is my third car with Auto Highbeams (Outback/Mazda3). The Ford is, by far, the fastest at detecting headlights/taillights and has the lowest rate of false detection (streetlights). Also, it doesn't engage under 25mph so there isn't constant on/off through intersections.

 

[MLowe05]

This is my third car with Auto Highbeams (Outback/Mazda3). The Ford is, by far, the fastest at detecting headlights/taillights and has the lowest rate of false detection (streetlights). Also, it doesn't engage under 25mph so there isn't constant on/off through intersections.

Was the Mazda infuriating? We had a 2014 3 and a 2018 MX-5 and they were by far the most annoying in terms of being unable to decide between high and low beam.

My favorite system was our 2016 E-class.. we paid to have the European features unlocked, so the car had adaptive beams. It would shade out cars around you while still running high beams. It was awesome.

 

[Big_T]

Thank you. I'm assuming it can be turned off? Or if you have headlights on auto then the auto high beam is engaged regardless. I have my escape on auto headlights, but I don't have auto high beam.

Here you go -

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[Meintc]

Here you go -

.

Thanks. How do I get this manual online? I could download it to my computer.

 

[Big_T]

Thanks. How do I get this manual online? I could download it to my computer.

You can download it on the Ford website or get it here on the forum -
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/-2022-ford-maverick-owners-manual-download-pdf-inside.1129/

Ford Website -
https://www.ford.com/support/owner-manuals/

 

[oreomuffin]

Was the Mazda infuriating? We had a 2014 3 and a 2018 MX-5 and they were by far the most annoying in terms of being unable to decide between high and low beam.

My favorite system was our 2016 E-class.. we paid to have the European features unlocked, so the car had adaptive beams. It would shade out cars around you while still running high beams. It was awesome.

The Mazda is a 2020 and they must have resolved those issues because it's not bad at all but not quite the level of Ford's system.

Fun fact, with the new infrastructure bill passed, adaptive/digital matrix headlight systems are now FINALLY legal in the US.

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