Modern cars come with some pretty incredible features, but one of the coolest of them all has to be Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlight systems. These systems are so much more than just flashing your high beams on and off when an oncoming car is detected. They can actually change the trajectory of the headlight beam to avoid blinding other drivers – that is, if you’re not in the U.S.
Pixel LED headlights from Polestar, found in models like the Polestar 2, have an excellent way of achieving this. Even though the hardware and vehicle software capabilities are modular worldwide, U.S. cars are not equipped with this feature activated due to federal vehicle safety regulations. This leads to some Polestar owners taking it upon themselves to activate this feature with a special cable and some software.
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Adaptive headlight hack
Some Polestar owners are activating adaptive headlights on their cars even though they are not approved for use yet in the U.S.
An enterprising Polestar Forum member found a way to modify a control module within the car using a few pieces of software last August.
The process involves purchasing a subscription to Volvo’s Polestar Tech Hub and using software like VIDA and Wireshark to capture and extract the necessary PINs. Then, the software OrBit allows the owner to program the controller and activate region-locked features, such as Pixel headlights.
While Polestar’s over-the-air updates have reset this feature, it can be reactivated using the same process. However, owners need to be aware that taking their car in for service might result in their VIN being blacklisted by Polestar engineering.
Despite the challenges, the reason for doing all this is simple: it’s cool. ADB headlights not only look great but also serve the practical purpose of not blinding other drivers when the high beams are in use.
Polestar’s Pixel headlights adapt to light and weather conditions to provide optimal visibility without blinding other drivers. Polestar’s website speaks to the technology’s safety-enhancing features.
While the U.S. only recently approved ADB headlights, a formal testing procedure for manufacturer compliance is yet to be finalized by the NHTSA. Moreover, there are discrepancies in the safety standards that have made implementing the tech a bit challenging for most automakers.
So, for now, the only way to get ADB headlights in the U.S. is to activate them yourself. That is, if you own a Polestar, Ford F-150 Lightning, or a select few other cars.