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2008-2010, Auto Leveling HID Headlight Problems

32K views 27 replies 21 participants last post by  Wk2driverdd 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys,

I am just trying to see who else has had problems with these god forsaken auto leveling headlights on these trucks?

Granted, I drive mine in the winter as well, but I have had to replace the damn sensors EVER SINGLE YEAR since I bought my 08. Like clockwork, middle of every winter, they start to get sketchy, and then go out entirely pointing at the ground all the time. I am on my 5th apparent sensor replacement right now, and this is bullshit to say the least.

What doesn't make sense is that the sensors do not actually "fail", they still continue to send a signal, albeit a reduced signal. It is VERY weird. I have taken old sensors apart, and I cannot even find a failure mode... which brings me to...

Has anyone had the leveling module fail? I am wondering if perhaps somehow the control module itself is actually causing my sensor failures. If so, what symptoms?

Also post up if your sensors failed... curious to see how big of an issue this really is.
 
#3 ·
Truck is long out of warranty, and they don't have any capabilities that I don't have. I am mainly trying to figure out if this is as common of an issue as I am seeing, or if I am just this damn lucky, lol.
 
#4 ·
I think ur just that damn lucky bro LOL.
 
#5 ·
The sensors on the front upper arm (R/S) usually bends/breaks the stem.
The rear sensor usually has a low voltage fault and also ends up requiring replacement. They are in spots subjected to projectiles off the tire and are usually damaged. 50% of all the 08's+ I have seen are broke/shorted.
There is also a flash update for the'non-broken' ones for a jittering headlamp. However, its not as common.

-Jim
Hemi Shop Director
516.204.5133
 
#16 ·
Hey Jim,

Could you explain what a jittering headlamp would be?

Thanks!!
 
#6 ·
Not sure what issues you have when they fail but mine have been acting strange recently.

Every once in a while when they come on they stay pointed down, then after a little bit of driving they come up to the normal height.

I had a guy come over this past weekend to flash my PCM (trying to fix a cat code) and he said there were codes for the height light leveling sensors but wasn't sure what it meant. He clear them but haven't driven it at night since to see if it's still happening.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app
 
#7 ·
I havent had any issues with mine??

My auto leveling headlights level every time I start the Jeep up. I have driven through 2 winters in the Jeep and never had to replace anything on my headlights.

I dont think its that common of a problem... I hope you get it fixed man, I hate fixing something just to know its gonna break again soon.
 
#9 ·
Yeah, mine crapped out as well. It seemed as if they never worked correctly honestly. They will level off at startup, and then either point to the ground or actual go to a normal level. It seems as if they trade off every other week....good, then bad, then good, then bad...etc etc etc. I manually forced them up, so now when they are not pointing at the ground, they are "high beams" and people usually flash me with theirs pi$$ed off. Oh well.....I'd rather see than die at night.

I figured I would bring them in and get them fixed, but I don't know if the design is an unflawed design or not. Would I be wasting my time? That and I hate going to the dealer.
 
#10 ·
Same issue since last winter on my 2010. And it seems the system only malfunctions in cold weather. I've taken it to two different dealers (just returned from the second this morning). The first dealer looked at them this last summer. I mentioned it in passing while we were dealing with the Jeep not running at all. They replaced the forward wiring harness and reprogrammed something and said they should be fine.

The second dealer blamed my HID fog lights and re-calibrated the Smart Beam/auto-leveling system. I asked the service writer why it was my fog lights and she said, "The system is showing something was disconnected, but the tech has them working just fine now. If you have the problem again, the HIDs have to go."

The lights have worked fine, except for in the winter, and I've had HID fogs installed since two days after I bought the Jeep. I even put a new HID kit on this Fall after the wiring harness debacle. So, I really do not know how the HIDs could be to blame.

If they act up again, I would prefer to just disable the system all together. Does anyone know if there is a fuse or connector that could be unplugged to shut the auto-level system down without killing something else?
 
#13 ·
Good point... How the hell did I pull that one off. That explains why I couldn't find it in the forum when I went back to look! lol


Still might be a valid question for the WK2's as well...
 
#15 ·
I know this is an old thread but I totally missed it. Mine did the same thing, locked in the down position. Couldn't see very far in front of me. Very unnerving. Anyways, the motor was the main culprit on the drivers side but they found that both sensors weren't sending the signal they should to the system so the dealer replaced both along with the driver side headlamp assembly. Luckily I still had warranty at that point.
 
#17 ·
Just an update, but this always turns out to be the sensors in my case. I get about 1.5-2 years per set... kind of a joke. They start to get "dead spots" in the output range, or voltage range reduces drastically.
 
#20 ·
I just got my 2008 GC fixed for this problem. Turned out to be the rear sensor and the "module" powering it. They also replaced the connector and wiring to it saying that the connector wasn't making a good connection. After bitching that this was all something that should have been covered under the expensive "bumper-to-bumper" warranty, they reduced the price from $1400 down to $850, but said that it was not covered.
Read the fine print on the warranty - if it's not listed, it's not covered!
Knowing what I know now, if it happens again, I'm taking the headlights apart and "pinning" them in one position!
 
#22 · (Edited)
My lights are having similar issues man. I start the rig and the lights will go up and then down to normal level. However the problem I see is that every little bump on the road the lights bounces up instead of trying to keep the lights level. How can I tell what sensor is bad fellas?

Thanks!
 
#25 ·
my headlights are pointed straight down towards the ground. at night i can barely drive the thing. took it to the dealer & sure enough, there is a "level performance code". heres the catch, dealer refuses to fix the issue. my truck is lowered on eibachs, so of course this is the reason why my lights are not functioning. service advisor said to put the stock springs back on & issue will resolve. yea sure because the broken/shorted module will automatically fix itself when i do that. so ticked right now.
 
#28 ·
Gents,
I had the same issue after putting a 2" lift on my WK2. A 4 hour drive down the highway at night with the trucks flashing high beams at me said something was not right. When i mentioned it to the Jeep dealer they told me it was "normal, just get used to it. The HID lights are very bright." Not satisfied i crawled under the right side of the truck to find the front and rear sensors. I followed the light calibration procedure in the service manual disconnecting the rear sensor & pushing it up (opposite to the way it should have moved after the lift) but the front sensor obviously overrides and the lights wouldn't stay at the right location or pointed to the road.

I even fabricated an extension to bring the sensor back to where it theoretically should have been prior to the lift but could still not get it to the right level.

In frustration, I thought there was something I was missing so lay under the rear once more. Trying the unusual, I discovered that the sensor can move through ~270 degrees! In other words, when the lift kit was done the sensor was reconnected 180 degrees to the correct orientation (tip pointing to front bumper). Now rotated back to point towards the rear bumper the lights calibrate and level correctly. Finally!

Hopefully it helps you to.
 
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