Can anyone please confirm if you need beam deflectors with adaptive LED headlights when driving on the continent. Some forums I've read are saying that LED AHL are a much flatter beam and do not need deflectors. I'd much rather not fit deflectors as I couldn't get the glue off the last time I used them on normal headlights.
Any help appreciated.
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I haven’t used deflectors for over 20 years. Never had any problems. How many foreign lorries and cars over here every day?…. Count how many have beam deflectors.
(I’ll save you the trouble… none 😳)
There may be a setting to change the beam pattern.Our Hyundai has HID lights which can be switched using the menu on the instrument display and buttons on the wheel. You may be correct about yours.
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No you don't, we had them on our BMW and they don't need deflectors, if you have auto main beam, you will have a setting to change them so the camera looks more towards the left than the right for oncoming cars though
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Like one of the comments above I haven't fitted beam deflectors on my vehicle for years. The last time I did stick some on one had fallen off by the time we disembarked from the channel tunnel !!
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On the few occasions we took our car to the continent, I used beam deflectors. The only difficulty was making sure they were correctly positioned. They always held securely and any left over adhesive wiped away with a paper towel dampened with cellulose thinner.
Quote: Originally posted by degsytroy on 10/1/2023
Can anyone please confirm if you need beam deflectors with adaptive LED headlights when driving on the continent. Some forums I've read are saying that LED AHL are a much flatter beam and do not need deflectors. I'd much rather not fit deflectors as I couldn't get the glue off the last time I used them on normal headlights.
Any help appreciated.
Very easy question, with a very short answer……..No you don’t. 👍
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Any web site I read say that deflectors are still a legal requirement, unless your car doesn't need them for some technical reason eg if it has a switch fitted to automatically deflect the beam. They must be fitted before leaving the ferry because they are a legal requirement in daylight too ... presumably for the reason that you never know (breakdown, traffic, etc) if you're going to be driving in the dark or not. For the £5 or so they cost I'm not sure why you would want to take the risk.
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Quote: Originally posted by arthurdent on 12/1/2023
Any web site I read say that deflectors are still a legal requirement, unless your car doesn't need them for some technical reason eg if it has a switch fitted to automatically deflect the beam. They must be fitted before leaving the ferry because they are a legal requirement in daylight too ... presumably for the reason that you never know (breakdown, traffic, etc) if you're going to be driving in the dark or not. For the £5 or so they cost I'm not sure why you would want to take the risk.
as far as I am aware they have never been a legal requirement ever. The actual law according to someone who has lived in France for the past 20 years simply states that it is an offence to blind an oncoming driver which is why beam deflectors were fitted by UK drivers.
We still use beam benders (probably more from habit than anything else, tbh) but they're the same set we've had for years - stuck onto clean, warmed headlights with a few bits of blu-tack. Whether we'd get a new set if they fell off, I don't know.
as far as I am aware they have never been a legal requirement ever. The actual law according to someone who has lived in France for the past 20 years simply states that it is an offence to blind an oncoming driver which is why beam deflectors were fitted by UK drivers.
We live in France and correct, the law is not to dazzle oncoming motorists. I'm still using my RH drive car I brought from England and we have beam benders fitted permanently - mainly to pass the controle technique (MOT).
Go back to the OP, the modern car with adaptive LED headlights, do NOT need deflectors. Call the technical department of say Ford, BMW or Hyundai, and ask the question, and they will tell you you don’t need them, AND they will put that in writing for you. I know, the last two new cars I have had do not need them as advised by the manufacture.
It matters not how long you have been fitting deflectors, the vehicle as described by the OP does NOT need deflectors. But just to be sure, ask the dealer for confirmation……..I know what the answer will be. 👍
Quote: Originally posted by Devonatheart on 12/1/2023
Call the technical department of say Ford, BMW or Hyundai, and ask the question, and they will tell you you don’t need them, AND they will put that in writing for you. I know, the last two new cars I have had do not need them as advised by the manufacture.
Lol, that went well. The guy in Ford had no idea what a beam deflector was and advised me to take it the car to the nearest Ford dealership where they could tell me what work I needed done. But he could tell me where my nearest dealer was so there was that.
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Topic: Beam deflectors
via mobile 10/1/2023 at 5:38pm
