Clocks are now back and dark nights here,
What are your thoughts on 2011MY projector headlamps with standard bulbs?
The dip beam on my 2008 FL2 was much better than the "new inproved projector headlamps" in my 2011 FL2.
I have fitted +90% Halfords and found a good improvement BUT WHY have we to fit uprated bulbs to bring lights to a safer standard on a £30k vehicle.
How can LR update a vehicle with supposedly more sophisticated lighting which in practical use is of a very POOR standard.
Good lighting is a major safety facton in any vehicle.
Standard they do not give lighting which is adequate for night driving especially on country roads.

We should NOT have to pay £1000 extra for xenons to have headlamps that allow you to see where you are going. All FL2's (3) Gone
2011 Mercedes C180 CGI Gone
FL2 GS Auto SD with heated leather, factory tints, alloy spare and a few other bits.

I have driven many cars with projector style headlights, they are all as bad, the projector is set up for HID lamps in particular which has a very short and powerful "arc" of light which is then distributed through the lens and onto the road. The filament of a standard halogen lamp is much longer and much of the light is simply lost, the new extreme power lamps have a shorter filament which gets more light through the lens, also with being shorter it burns more brightly for the same wattage giving more light output.

The manufacturers are compromising safety with this, in my opinion.

My previous car, Merc C class had projector lights which were rubbish, I opted for the HID option and glad I did.

I'm finding that the projector lamps on my MY11 now function as they should with the Halfords +90 bulbs, with a highly defined cut off that you only normally get with true Xenons and projectors.

With the standard bulbs, the lamps are hopeless.

Look in the bright side, I used to be into BMW MINIs and when they went from 1st to 2nd generation, they went from twin bulb lamps to single bulb lamps and they were completely and utterly hopeless. You either paid for Xenons or, if you had any sense, put the extra money towards buying a better car. Which is what I did!

coming soon from CG enterprises, fl2 drivers night vision aid (organic and nutritious). available as a soup for those on the move.

Click image to enlarge

I bet they taste like Chicken

I've got Xenons

They are ace!

CG pity you didn't eat some carrots the night you were jumped!

dunroof wrote:

I've got Xenons

They are ace!

Only when they work properly

Her Ladyship's Adaptive Xenons which were an extra CHF1680 (GBP @ today's FX = £1,158.00) have only recently become fully operational. During the past 2yrs they have been the subject of constant complaint for not "adapting in the curve". Three different Official LR Dealers looked at them in total on 5 different occassions: 02.12.09, 23.02.10 & 10.11.10 & 24.11.10 & finally 05.02.11, and still no joy. Always AFS warning lamp i.e. "locked in straight on position" raising its ugly light almost every month.

Then, whilst on a recent UK visit I arranged for her to have the newer MY2011 "femine" front bumper fitted by a friend that has run his own garage since the early 70's. What he discovered was shocking to say the least. The black plastic fixing plates that hold the headlights in the correct position (both LH & RH units) were not attached to the body work - just simply sitting there. All the retaining lugs on both plates were broken and the bolts in them loosely rattling around in the FL2's metal bodywork bolt holes.

My friend (ex BL Dolly Spirit Work's Rally Engineer & DeLoren factory test driver employed by Colin Chapman) installed new plates and surprise surprise - the AFS lights have worked properly ever since.

That indicates that ever since I first reported the malfunction of her Adaptive Xenons no official LR dealer was able/capable to identify these damaged plates. And that, specifically the first Swiss LR dealer (who had these headlights under examination 3 times: 2nd Dec'09, 23rd Feb'10, and 10.Nov'10) was clearly grossly incompetent.

It also raises another question as to how these plates became damaged in the first place, because the first AFS alarm was logged just a few days after delivery on 20th Nov'09.

The whole episode leaves one to question the substance of the LR Warranty when their "qualified" workshop personnel fail to identify the cause of the problem. No wonder we were looking at Jupiter most of the time.

athelstan wrote:

dunroof wrote:

I've got Xenons

They are ace!

Only when they work properly

The black plastic fixing plates that hold the headlights in the correct position (both LH & RH units) were not attached to the body work - just simply sitting there. All the retaining lugs on both plates were broken and the bolts in them loosely rattling around in the FL2's metal bodywork bolt holes.

My friend (ex BL Dolly Spirit Work's Rally Engineer & DeLoren factory test driver employed by Colin Chapman) installed new plates and surprise surprise - the AFS lights have worked properly ever since.

dunroof wrote:

CG pity you didn't eat some carrots the night you were jumped!

I should have been carrying a 50kg bag of carrots to throw at the  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

Mona Geeza wrote:

So we only have to find a Delorean factory test driver to fix and problem solved, nice to know.
Land Rover never found the cause because they dont employ works rally drivers and test pilots I would think.

Think what you want and identify who you think should fix a problem, but, those are the facts in our dreadful experience.

Much like that with the replacement of the B pillar trim re seat belt abrasion. As many members on here have experienced this and have had their trims replaced by LR under warranty quickly. Here in CH I requested this also with our local Swiss LR dealer. It went like this:

5th August'10. First official LR service centre response - nothing wrong - that's normal wear n tear.
22nd August'10 after collecting a list of Freel2 members from UK to Australia and all points in between I supplied my dealer with LR's SMS and LTB on this subject plus more photographs. Initial response from LR Switzerland; this is not a recall. My response: I know, and never said it was - but - it is an approved safety update under warranty authorised by LR UK.
26th Sept'10 notification from LR CH that it is approved and they will order the parts.
18th October'10 parts arrive at Swiss Distributor to be forwarded to local dealer
16th November'10 the earliest date an appointment could be given to instal new parts. Job done in less than 45mins.

That was 103 days and a lot of asking to get a 45 minute job done. Premium Brand - Premium Service. I think not