Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 13:38
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - mcb100
I’m running a new Grandland for 3/4 weeks - review to follow, if anyone’s interested - and the one thing that’s really impressed are the active LED’s.
Switch the lights to Auto, and leave them alone. There are 84 individual LED’s in each headlight unit, so as speed starts to exceed c30mph they’ll look to use main beam where possible. If it’s all clear ahead it’s a large white ‘tunnel’ of white light. If they detect either oncoming or traffic ahead, they’ll only extinguish the lights that would dazzle other folks. You can see a transition from light to dark just ahead of an oncoming car as they constantly adjust.
Beam patterns change automatically as road speed increases, motorways a longer, narrower beam, slightly slower A roads a wider beam pattern to illuminate verges.
If you’re offered it as an option on a new car, I’d take it. Going back to my halogen lights will be a shock…
I don’t have the Illumination Pack on this one - that offers infrared vision via a camera in the grille displayed on the dash, but it’d be useful if you lived in a more rural area.
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Thu 3 Feb 2022 13:50
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - badbusdriver

Very clever, but how much will a replacement cost should you need it? (I'm thinking about the current thread re BMW customer service here). Also, how reliable is the tech?.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 13:51
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - mcb100
No idea, and in the three days I’ve had it, spot on :).
Sorry, flippant reply, but it does a self test every time they come on by shining lights to their lateral and vertical extremities. I’d assume from the test that if it self diagnoses an issue it will default to a passive unit.

Edited by mcb100 on 03/02/2022 at 13:55

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 14:50
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - badbusdriver
No idea, and in the three days I’ve had it, spot on :). Sorry, flippant reply, but it does a self test every time they come on by shining lights to their lateral and vertical extremities. I’d assume from the test that if it self diagnoses an issue it will default to a passive unit.

I was thinking more of the reliability of the system a few years down the line, not so much how well it works when the car is new.

Regarding the cost, on the other thread I mentioned, the active xenon headlamp unit for the 5 Series is £1200. Someone else mentioned £2500 on an Audi A6 (presumably active at that price) and someone else said £1800 for a Golf GTI (poster said LED, so not necessarily active). And while you should be able to claim off your insurance in most cases, that kind of money will have an inevitable knock on effect come renewal time.

Not something I'd go for myself.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 15:21
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - paul 1963

My previous Mokka had something similar, worked great, switched from high beam to dipped quicker than I could have done it.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 15:53
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - brum

The problem I have with auto dipping and far more so with these ultra bright matrix and similar tech lights is that I get blinded as a pedestrian walking along the footpath. The led matrix ones are literally blinding and painful to be confronted with.

I wonder if they can be switched to permanently dipped in urban/Street light environments? They should.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 15:56
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - mcb100
Yes, you can switch the lights to manual or switch off the active element.
They are speed dependent and won’t come on at urban road speeds.
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Thu 3 Feb 2022 16:04
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - badbusdriver

My previous Mokka had something similar, worked great, switched from high beam to dipped quicker than I could have done it.

That is auto dipping, which is totally different. Just a normal headlight, but sensors or camera's detect an oncoming vehicle and dips the lights for you.

The system in the Grandland is basically using main beam all the time, but sensors/camera's detect oncoming vehicles and basically 'cut a hole' in the beam (by shutting off individual LED's so they don't get blinded).

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 16:24
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - John F

How 'intellilux' are they? Do they detect an oncoming cyclist on a dark country road? When eyes have adjusted to darkness they are completely blinded by ignorant/inconsiderate drivers who don't dip for 'just a cyclist'. I sometimes have to completely stop because I just can't see the road margin any more.

I found this written by a motoring hack for Saga, which I find unbelievable, unless Vauxhall has found a way of bending light rays at varying distances.

I tested it at night in the face of an approaching cyclist who only had a dim headlamp. The headlights picked him up immediately, and seemed to wrap themselves around his dark shape to illuminate the road around him, cleverly avoiding him and his bike entirely.

Pure science fiction. Perhaps Vauxhall provided him with a good lunch.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 16:41
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - badbusdriver

How 'intellilux' are they? Do they detect an oncoming cyclist on a dark country road? When eyes have adjusted to darkness they are completely blinded by ignorant/inconsiderate drivers who don't dip for 'just a cyclist'. I sometimes have to completely stop because I just can't see the road margin any more.

I found this written by a motoring hack for Saga, which I find unbelievable, unless Vauxhall has found a way of bending light rays at varying distances.

No bending of light needed John, just switching on and off of the individual LED's to keep oncoming vehicle from being blinded. By looking at videos on YT, you can actually seat happening as a car approaches (and while I haven't seen them being demonstrated with a cyclist, assuming the sensors or cameras do pick the cyclist up, it would work the same way)

Not witchcraft, just modern technology!.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 16:47
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - mcb100
Not tried it, but if the cyclist is showing a light at the front, the lights should mask the elements that would otherwise be illuminating man and machine.
No, they can’t bend light, but the area not illuminated by main beam will track the cycle light as the respective vehicles close on each other.
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Thu 3 Feb 2022 18:52
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Ethan Edwards

Yes my 71plate Mokka E has those as standard. I too think they're the bees knee's. Should they need replacing as a result of accident etc I would imagine they'll be pricey. Super bit of kit though . If they become more popular perhaps the unit cost will decrease. My wife has a 71plate Fiat 500e and that has regular Halogen lights. It's like comparing a lighthouse to a candle. The difference is that huge. I was looking to at least put in a brighter bulb maybe a bit whiter. But as it's a new (ish) form factor the H19 , aftermarket choices appear to be vanishingly small.

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Thu 3 Feb 2022 20:23
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Chris M

A pair of Intellilux headlamps for an Astra are a little over £1k on the Bay. New and original (allegedly).

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Sat 5 Feb 2022 11:57
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Bolt

but the area not illuminated by main beam will track the cycle light as the respective vehicles close on each other.

if it only tracks the cyclists light then the cyclist will get blinded by the rest of the beam

some of those headlights give walls of bright light on either side of the section not lit up so you can get confused at how bright they are ie you still cannot see properly as they still blind you...not that the oncoming driver cares as they dont get blinded

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Sat 5 Feb 2022 11:08
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Smileyman

These headlights sound great, do they come with wash facility, I do wonder how dirt on the outside will impact the technology and light output.

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Sat 5 Feb 2022 14:28
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Ethan Edwards

These headlights sound great, do they come with wash facility, I do wonder how dirt on the outside will impact the technology and light output.

Well in my case. No they don't and not at all. I think they use some kind of voodoo or witchcraft. They just work.

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Sun 6 Feb 2022 08:41
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - mcb100
Interesting that most Xenon headlight had to have washers (later, 25W ones didn’t), but LED’s don’t.
I suspect that part of this was the amount of heat that HID lights generate, and washers would ensure a clean lens and therefore a good supply of cool air, rather than the light baking road grime on and creating an insulating blanket.
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Sun 6 Feb 2022 09:04
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - badbusdriver

These headlights sound great, do they come with wash facility, I do wonder how dirt on the outside will impact the technology and light output.

You'd have to assume that dirt will, to some degree, affect the amount of light coming out of the headlamp.

But I doubt the sensors/camera are in the headlamp units (they are probably at the top of the windscreen), so their ability to function properly wouldn't be affected by how dirty the headlamps are.

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Mon 7 Feb 2022 19:27
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - Galad

My brother's GTI Golf, only 6 months old, had an LED headlamp shattered by a stone on the motorway. Dealer quoted £1,600 to replace. Had to claim on his insurance.

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Mon 7 Feb 2022 20:54
Vauxhall Grandland - Intellilux LED Headlights - brum

AFAIK the need for washers is dictated by the intensity of the headlight. Washers and self levelling are only required if the headlight has greater than 2000 lumens.

35w Xenons are rated at 3500 lumens, 25w Xenons at 2000 lumens, Halogens at 1500 lumens max

No idea what these LEDs are rated at, it may vary from model to model

Many modern headlamps are not sealed and as LED project little heat forwards, you frequently see headlamps internally misted on wet days. I expect the beam pattern is then completely messed up due to diffraction.

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