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General Motors IntelliBeam Technology

IntelliBeam is a General Motors lighting technology that automatically turns the vehicle’s high-beam headlamps on and off according to surrounding traffic conditions.

How It Works

IntelliBeam turns on a vehicle’s high-beam headlamps when it is dark enough and there is no other traffic present, and then turns them off when conditions change. The system works via a sensor located at the top center of the windshield, which automatically controls the system. As such, keeping this area of the windshield clear of debris to allow for best system performance.

IntelliBeam will only activate the high beams when driving over 40 km/h (25 mph).

Enabling IntelliBeam

This light comes on in the instrument cluster when the IntelliBeam system is enabled.

This light comes on in the vehicle’s
instrument cluster when the
IntelliBeam system is enabled.

To enable the IntelliBeam system:

  1. Place the turn signal lever in the neutral position
  2. Turn the exterior lamp control to AUTO
  3. The blue high-beam on light will appear on the instrument cluster when the high beams automatically turn on

Driving with IntelliBeam

Under automatic control, the high-beam headlamps remain on until one of the following situations
occurs:

  • The system detects an approaching vehicle’s headlamps
  • The system detects a preceding vehicle’s taillamps
  • The outside light is bright enough that high-beam headlamps are not required
  • The vehicle’s speed drops below 20 km/h (12 mph)
  • The turn signal lever is moved forward to the high-beam position or the Flash-to-Pass feature is used

Disabling IntelliBeam

IntelliBeam can be disabled by the High/Low-Beam Changer or the Flash-to-Pass feature. If this happens, the High/Low-Beam Changer must be activated two times within five seconds to reactivate the IntelliBeam system. The instrument cluster light will come on to indicate the IntelliBeam is reactivated.

Unfavorable Conditions

The vehicle’s high beams may not turn off automatically if the system cannot detect other vehicle’s lamps because of any of the following:

  • The other vehicle’s lamps are missing, damaged, obstructed from view, or otherwise undetected
  • The other vehicle’s lamp are covered with dirt, snow, and/or road spray
  • The other vehicle’s lamp(s) cannot be detected due to dense exhaust, smoke, fog, snow, road spray, mist, or other airborne obstructions.
  • Your vehicle’s windshield is dirty, cracked, or obstructed by something that blocks the view of the light sensor
  • Your vehicle’s windshield is covered with ice, dirt, haze, or other obstructions
  • Your vehicle is loaded such that the front end points upward, causing the light sensor to aim high and not detect headlamps and taillamps
  • You are driving on winding or hilly roads

If any of the above conditions exist, you may need to manually disable or cancel the high-beam headlamps by turning the low-beam headlamps on.

Vehicle Availability

IntelliBeam availability varies by GM vehicle and vehicle model year.

Check your vehicle’s sticker, instruction manual or attempt to enable IntelliBeam in your vehicle by following the instructions in the Enabling IntelliBeam section above.

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