My auot leveling is not working on the car. When I start it, the DTRL do not move. When I turn on the Xenons, they point streight down on the road.

Any ideas? I've got a call in to my dealer but they are 80 miles, (one way) away. There is a closer one, but I don't know them.

 

have you lowered the car?

 

No, one tire is a bit low on air, (changing out the runflats soon).

 

Try adding some air to your tires. I read somewhere that there are sensors that measure the position of the rear suspension arms that determine the headlight levelling. Could be one of the sensors is out of alignment due to the tire being low on air. .. just a guess.

 

I had one (passenger side) on an '04 MCS that didn't autolevel, had to have the dealer replace the headlight cluster - this was around April or so, no problems since. . .

In the meantime, make sure the car is level, tires are topped off, and give the bonnet a firm slam, see if that helps.

Also, did this just recently start? Has anything on the car changed since the onset of this little quirk?

 

No, we went to dinner last night and they worked fine. When we left the resturant, they didn't work.

I just got 4 new tires, (BFGrich Euro) so I'll see in a bit if that worked.

Well, the sun went down and the lights didn't go up. Still pointing streight down.

I got a call back from my Mini dealer. "Bring it in on the 7th and we'll have a look at it".

So, let me get this right, I paid for a car I can only drive durning the day.

I'm calling Mini service in the morning to see what they have to say.

 

Excuse the noobishness...


XENONS MOVE???

I thought that was just an optical illusion/effect, as I see it every day when I leave for work in the dark. WoW!

 

Great service! This is a safety issue, and they put you off like that? Hopefully you can get quicker resolution by calling MINIUSA. Good luck, and sorry to hear of the problem.

 

Let me quess, they told you drive with your high beams too right?

 

Well, I'd probably rule out the headlight units themselves - the odds are a gazillion to one that they'd both go out the same evening. That would lead me to think sensor or computer problem.

You might want to do a search on auto level in the forums - when my single light quit leveling, I searched and found a TON of info on sensors, etc. - might be worth a check. There may be some sort of reset you can do, I don't know - but whatever it is, the dealer should get you in sooner. Talk to the service or general manager, stress to them that you drive your car at night and this is a safety issue - it needs fixed NOW. If you still don't get the love, call MINI USA and beetch to them. . .be a squeaky wheel - works for me!!

 

Either that or have some obese friends hang on the rear bumper at night.

 

I called my dealer one more time to see what they can do for me.
I am leaving out on vacation on Monday. I need to use the car for the few days I'm in town so just dropping it off, (80 miles one way to the dealership) is right out.
I was told to contact road side assistance, have them tow the car to them on Monday.
I guess that's what I'll have to do.

 

A tow (I hope they mean flatbed) to the dealer seems a bit excessive for non-adjusting headlights - personally, I'd rather make arrangements to take my car in to the dealer (75 miles in my case) than have it trucked. . .just my preference. . .

If you get time, though, you might want to crawl under the car just to make sure the sensors aren't damaged or disconnected or hosed in any other manner. . .might save you some time and trouble next week.

 

I also agree that it is a bit odd that both went out at the same time and that it must point to some other problem than the one I had unless there is some weird coincidence. When my passenger side light wouldn't move, it had actually popped out of one of the swivel sockets. If you open the bonnet and take out the little round plug in the head light housing, you can see some ball joints that the light swivels on. One of my ball joints had broken somehow and so you could hear the motor running trying to make it move, but it wasn't going anywhere. They replaced my entire light under warranty

 

Here's the latest word from the dealer...
Replacing BOTH head light units, (that's gotta hurt someone's pocketbook).

BOTH motors went out at the same time. What are the chances of that happening?

I've noticed quite a few xeon problems popping up lately on this board.

 

Both motors going out is definitely against the odds. I hope they checked the voltage in that circuit to make sure it is within spec. It would seem to me that other than a manufacturer defect in both lights (not likely) it would have to be related to voltage.

IMHO

The reason that I am here is because the Xenons on my brand new '06 MCS do not seem to have ever leveled. Going to the dealer tomorrow.

I've been reading all of the Xenon posts. :impatient