Matrix LED headlights

[Mark55]

Hi
When test driving the ID.3 one of the things I could not test was the Matrix LED headlights, could only get the car during daylight hours. Having watched numerous YouTube videos on various car headlight systems, the Matrix LED head lights seem to offer a massive improvement in night time driving over halogen headlights. But several videos show the Matrix LED headlights can be a bit slow in cutting light to oncoming cars.

Has anyone had any issues with the headlight system, are they as good as the adverts make out, any tips in how to use them?
Thanks in advance
Mark

[Deleted User 192]

THE best feature of the car, without question.

I had a corneal ulcer on one of my eyes which left a scar that affects my vision, particularly at night - the matrix lights are like a revelation for me.

I've never had an oncoming driver flash me, or any suggestion that I'm blinding the car in front.

[Utumno]

THE best feature of the car, without question.

I had a corneal ulcer on my left eye which affects my night vision, the matrix lights are like a revelation for me.

I've never had an oncoming driver flash me, or any suggestion that I'm blinding the car in front.

Mrs Utumno agrees with you (though her eye sensitivity has a different root cause). She now won’t drive anything that doesn’t have good quality matrix headlights because of the difference it makes to her driving ability in the dark.

In terms of the speed of them, she always felt the Tiguan’s matrix lights were a bit slow to return to high beam matrix mode after autodipping for an oncoming car, but she was never “flashed” for having her lights on full beam. I’m hoping the ID.3 matrix lights are as good as, or better, than the Tiguan’s given they’re from the same ‘stable’.

[G43FAN]

I completely with regards to the Tiguan lights.. driving on country lanes they took an age to come up to full beam again, even with what said LED Matrix lights was one of the top 'Must Have items' on my Tiguan replacement list.
The version of the lights on the ID.3 is another huge step forward in terms of response and as above, I have never had any cause to suspect I have inconvenienced other road users.

As for using them. just push the stalk forward to switch on Auto and watch.

[mish]

Are there any scenarios where you would turn the matrix lights off? I heard someone mentioning that they might not be suitable for driving on the motorway.

[gwr]

Absolutely brilliant. I would be loathe to buy any car without it (I live in a rural area with poor road markings and long winter nights).

[Bromsgroveuser]

Never had any problems just stick them on auto and off i go, never been flashed by oncoming traffic or waved at by cars I'm following , love the way they appear to split and go down the sides of the car I'm following

[Chivers]

If you search Dr Google you will find that at night your ability to see into dark areas beside a bright light deteriorates as you get older.

Here's one voice of experience that says this does happen when you are 70 years old. I found with our halogen-headlights 2011 Touran that at night dark areas beside an oncoming car were just dark areas. But with our ID3 Family [+Matrix LED headlights] this safety problem is massively reduced.

I do not get flashed by oncoming cars, and at night you can see the matrix changing, particularly the areas that start to get lit up almost instantly when an oncoming car has passed.

[Deleted User 314]

These matrix headlights are really really good. Not only how they adjust for oncoming cars but the illumination and following of the road curve is simply excellent. We've a lot of wild boar on our roads and the headlight system definitely has picked out the beasts on the side of the road whereas normal lights would not have.

I cannot speak more highly of the matrix lights, they are excellent.

[daesimpso]

I had them on the Tiguan. If the ID3 didn’t have them I wouldn’t have bought it. They’re that good.

My wife has them on her Golf and when I’m a passenger I find them slightly hypnotising

[Utumno]

Are there any scenarios where you would turn the matrix lights off? I heard someone mentioning that they might not be suitable for driving on the motorway.

Nope. They have motorway mode.

[hungerdunger]

Are there any scenarios where you would turn the matrix lights off? I heard someone mentioning that they might not be suitable for driving on the motorway.

I've had virtually no experience of driving with lights so far so I can't really comment, but the manual advises the following:

System limits

The main beam must be manually switched off under the following conditions, as it is not switched off by the main beam control in time or at all:

In badly lit towns that the system cannot recognise as towns.

In poorly lit streets where there are highly reflective signs.

Other road users with insufficient lighting facilities, such as pedestrians, cyclists.

In tight bends, on steep hill crests or in dips in the road or when oncoming traffic is half-hidden.

With oncoming traffic on streets with a central barrier where the driver can see clearly over the central barrier e.g. truck drivers.

In fog, snow or heavy rain.

In conditions where dust or sand has been blown up.

Damage to the windscreen in the camera's field of vision.

If the field of view of the camera is covered by condensation, dirt, a sticker, snow or ice.

If the camera is faulty or the power supply is interrupted.

[bowsh123]

The matrix lights are really good, cant fault them, had the odd event where they take a second or two to block out the oncoming car but that was a rare event, couldnt be without them now

[gailjon]

In tight bends, on steep hill crests or in dips in the road or when oncoming traffic is half-hidden.

Funnily enough that happened to me for the first time yesterday as I was driving home at dusk. Drove down into a dip in the road and a car coming towards me flashed me. I had not experienced this before in the ID3.

[tomstring]

I’m really looking forward to the Matrix IQ lights. I often drive cross country late at night when babysitting my grandkids and I’ve encountered Deer on several occasions.