LED Headlamp malfunction indicator lit (intermittently) on 2017 CX-5 GT

[13BT]

Hi all - we recently took delivery of 2017 CX-5 AWD Grand Touring with the Premium Package in Sonic Silver. It's a beautiful car, and although we only have about 500 miles on it right now, one odd issue has cropped up. My wife noticed a couple of new lights illuminated in the gauge cluster earlier last week, one of which was for the auto high beams (which seemed odd, as it was the middle of the day); the other I didn't recognize. Consulting the manual, that indicator in the tach is apparently for "LED headlamp malfunction". Both the auto high beam and LED headlamp malfunction lights stayed lit for a few days, until we took it back to the dealer and turned the car off in the service bay. Naturally, both of them went out and wouldn't light back up (except for when the car was starting, then they both went out as normal). They stayed off for most of yesterday, until last night on the drive home at night, when both lit back up again. This morning, in broad daylight, they're both still lit.

The headlights seem to work as intended - low beams, high beams, DRLs, etc - so I'm at a loss as to what it could be. Two possibilities I came up with:

1 - There is no problem. We're unfamiliar with the car, the dash indicators, and the various light switch positions (we have the headlamps in AUTO and the foglights left in the on position). Is this just normal operation and I need to get accustomed to those lights?

2 - There is an issue of some kind - LED light unit, sensor, other. The service writer did not hook it up or run any diagnostics as the lights were not lit when she looked at the car, and wouldn't relight despite repeated on/off cycles. I can take the car back to the dealer next week for further investigation and resolution, but want to get this solved ASAP.

I've attached a picture to show the lights as they are now - LED headlamp malfunction indicator is by the tach needle, auto high beam indicator is near the 0 on the speedo.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks...

Jason

 

[yrwei52]

Since "LED Headlamp Malfunction" warning light has been on, your Mazda dealer should be able to read the error code related to LED headlight malfunction. Only the error code can tell what is the problem triggering the warning light.

 

[Anchorman]

The conditions for the orange warning light are shown in the chart of the attached pdf. They basically revolve around a dirty or misted windshield in the area of the camera which is behind the interior rear view mirror. The whole sheet is worth a read as it shows how the main beam is formed from 24 variable leds.

 

[Turborascal]

The conditions for the orange warning light are shown in the chart of the attached pdf. They basically revolve around a dirty or misted windshield in the area of the camera which is behind the interior rear view mirror. The whole sheet is worth a read as it shows how the main beam is formed from 24 variable leds.

Interesting read ... thanks for sharing.

 

[yrwei52]

The conditions for the orange warning light are shown in the chart of the attached pdf. They basically revolve around a dirty or misted windshield in the area of the camera which is behind the interior rear view mirror. The whole sheet is worth a read as it shows how the main beam is formed from 24 variable leds.

Another excellent document for us to read and we really appreciate it! (cool)

Unfortunately for OP's problem the information is unrelated as we don't get sophisticated ALH (Adaptive LED Headlamps). We don't use Forward Sensing Camera (FSC) for our LED headlights even with AFS.

 

[Pipemajor]

Another excellent document for us to read and we really appreciate it! (cool)

Unfortunately for OP's problem the information is unrelated as we don't get sophisticated ALH (Adaptive LED Headlamps). We don't use Forward Sensing Camera (FSC) for our LED headlights even with AFS.

yrwei52 is correct. USA market doesn't get adaptive LED headlights. There was an extensive write-up where Toyota and other manufacturers petitioned NTHSA to allow adaptive lighting. They conducted some comprehensive tests using European autos with adaptive lighting but, we're stuck with the distinct low/high beam technology for now.

My GT w/premium pkg has the auto high beams and I've found they work reasonably well. Driving a car with halogen lighting now seems like a step back into the dark ages.

 

[Anchorman]

Yeah but the warning stays the same. The ALH headlights are astonishing. I'll upload some footage from my dashcam when I get chance.

 

[13BT]

Thanks all for the info! I'm going to make an appointment to take it on Wednesday and ask them to run diagnostics, as it sounds like there's definitely something amiss. Once I have more info (and hopefully the resolution!), I'll update the thread.

Thanks....

Jason

 

[vvoid]

Hi @13BT, I know 3 years have gone since you had a problem, but did you get the solution? I‘m having the same issue in my CX-9 2019 GT.

 

[yrwei52]

Hi @13BT, I know 3 years have gone since you had a problem, but did you get the solution? I‘m having the same issue in my CX-9 2019 GT.

The best bet is you take your 2019 CX-9 to the Mazda dealer for warranty service. Then please let us know the diagnostic of the problem afterwards.

 

[13BT]

Hi @13BT, I know 3 years have gone since you had a problem, but did you get the solution? I‘m having the same issue in my CX-9 2019 GT.

Hi vvoid - the dealer ended up having to replace the headlight. The intermittent nature of the problem made that a little tougher than it should've been, but we were finally able to replicate it while at the dealer and they swapped the whole light assembly out. Three years later, all is good.

 

[vvoid]

Thanks for the answer. The indicators in my car had turned off the day after I wrote a post in this thread... They are still off, so I have nothing to show the dealer yet, lights work as expected, and hope it will work so in the future.

 

[Boilermaker1]

Have a 2018 CX-9 and the same lights came up. Wiped the windshield of the forward-facing camera area. Went away, came back again, went away for now but thought to at least add a data point

 

[chickdr]

Have a 2018 CX-9 and the same lights came up. Wiped the windshield of the forward-facing camera area. Went away, came back again, went away for now but thought to at least add a data point

The OP said he had a faulty headlight. Are you under warranty? If so I would get into the dealer and have them take a look.

 

[Boilermaker1]

The OP said he had a faulty headlight. Are you under warranty? If so I would get into the dealer and have them take a look.

My CX-9 is at ~75K miles - hoping it’s not the headlights since those look like they’re working - but I’ll have the local dealer look at it when I take it in for routine service in a couple of weeks.