Quote:
Originally Posted by E90Fleet
This is full adaptive BMW LED.
USA does not get this function thanks to DOT.
Rest of the world does.
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Thanks Fleet.
Question: Are there any features of the adaptive light that are DOT legal and compelling enough vs. the base light that BMW NA might still be able to justify offering them? Or will the Adaptive LED simply be omitted from the US option list entirely?
The situation is unfortunate. And it is confounding (at least to me) in that we have what BMW calls an Adaptive Xenon light option for the 4 Series and M3/M4 (and I suppose for the outgoing, pre-LCI 3 Series too). I can conclude that the way in which the Xenon light is adaptive differs from the way in which the LED light is adaptive in such a sway that former is legal while the latter is not. But the whole thing is really quite a mess, which is nothing new when government regulatory forces are at play.
Then we add in the further confusion that the one-and-only 4 Series (and M3/M4) LED light is both adaptive and sold in the US, but the adaptive features are largely (or completely - I can't remember which) disabled. So essentially, 4 Series and M3/M4 owners in the US are made to pay $1900 for a lighting setup which has features built into it that they are not even able to take advantage of. And to add to the insult, BMW now offers a version of the light which removes the hardware to support those adaptive features to 340i owners as standard equipment.
(A consolation to US 4/M3/M4 owners - they can add in the adaptive features via coding - technically running an illegal setup I suppose, but more power to them I say - whereas, if BMW fails to offer that setup at all for the 340i, the only way to get the adaptive features would be an expensive retrofit).
My point here is not to complain about the state of things, but merely highlight how ridiculous the situation is. I suspect there will be a new non-adaptive LED headlight offered for the 4 Series at the time of its LCI. Whether the M3/M4 are given that option (in the past they've not gotten updates headlights) or if they stick with the Xenon, we'll have to see.