rgoldm2

I was under the impression these still are not functional in the us but I see many articles dated feb of 2022 that say they will be allowed. Is Porsche delivering functionally with these? I can’t find anything newer than that talking about this issue. My sa told me they do not work here still

detansinn

While US regulations now permit them, Porsche is not yet offering this functionality for the 992 in the United States. Aside from some RennList rage and bluster, there's been nothing to suggest that Porsche intends to make the current 992 US matrix headlights fully functional. The disclaimer of their limited functionality in the US has been part of the configurator since the US 992 configurator launched.

It's possible that this may change with the 992.2, but for the 992.1, it's merely an aesthetic choice.

CodyBigdog

Yes, still not activated in the US market.

Both my SA and head of the service dept where I got my Porsche, said that in a recent visit to Porsche NA HQ in Atlanta, the “Porsche lawyers” are still sifting through the recent Federal changes” before any final decision on what, if anything would be done. They told me to expect about a year before any decision is made. That was, maybe, 3-4 months ago.

The wheels of change move slowly…and especially, if there are no driving forces on Porsche, to make any change.

rgoldm2

Thanks this affirms my decision to save 3k on this option then

OliverK68

Full matrix functionality was available for the Canadian market up until MY22, however configurator seems to state it’s is no longer available for MY23.

CodyBigdog

As an aside, some of us…myself included…were hoping that 3rd party vendors would offer a software solution to activate. That’s what I did with my BMW.

Coming from the BMW community, where there is an entire cottage industry built up around 3rd party vendors offering to activate advanced features in BMW, Mercedes and Audi’s, etc…..I naive expected there to be 3rd party Porsche vendors that could activate. No such luck, as far as I am aware.

Even more stupid is the proprietary software Porsche uses for the LiPO3 batteries (for the RAS option)….that basically forces you to have to buy their battery, at a ridiculously high price. You can’t use a 3rd party Li battery on any of the 992’s.

zachr

+1, blows my mind that no one has cracked this yet. Surely the euro programming is available and just needs to be activated. I guess there's just a much smaller segment of the population with PIWIS. I have the Matrix LEDs but no PIWIS to mess around in :/

CodyBigdog

Given that many Porsche owners would spare no expense, I can’t believe it’s market driven? I for one would even spend a grand to activate it (spent about $200 to activate, and 10 other features, on my BMW).

If it’s tech driven (proprietary), Porsche should just release (leak) how to unlock? Same goes with their stupid proprietary code for the liPO3 battery. Just stupid. That way Porsche could make some of their customers happy, while washing their hands of the entire mess.

malba2366

I have heard that the modules on Porsche (and other VW) products are much more tightly locked down than BMW. I know there is one person out there who can unlock matrix lights on Audis, and it is somewhat involved and expensive....I posted the info on the previous thread about these headlights, and Im not sure if anyone pursued that. It seems like BMW almost uses the easy modifications to certain systems as a feature of the car...when I bought my X7 the dealer even gave me the phone number of someone who could turn on these headlights and modify some other parameters that are illegal in the US (trunk closing with remote etc...).

It also has something to do with buyer demographics...there is a huge population of BMW buyers who are in their early thirties to mid 40s and are much more likely to pay someone to tweak their car vs the Porsche demographic.

CodyBigdog

Yes, the BMW mod to activate my (equivalent) matrix lighting was as simple as clicking a box. I watched the guy do it…took all of a minute to activate over 10 different features on my BMW that had been previously locked.

As far as Porsche “locking down” their lights a lot more….I can’t comment on that? I have no reason to think they would, or even why they would…other than Porsche just being Porsche.

Yes, the demo of BMW and Audi owners is quite different than Porsche owners, who are older and wealthier. But Mercedes has an older and wealthier clientele, and I believe their lights can be activated by 3rd party vendors?

I simply look to the way Porsche handles their “proprietary” software for their LiPO4 battery….to keep 3rd party battery vendors out of their space. Just Porsche being Porsche and wanting to squeeze every last dime from their clients.

detansinn

The first person to do it will be a RennList folk hero. We'll sit around the campfire and sing songs about them.

I suspect the reason that it hasn't been cracked yet is due to a hardware difference between the US headlights and other regions.

No one has successfully gotten the US matrix headlights to fully function. We have some full-on PIWIS wizards in this forum and money has been no object for others to pay a professional to do it. Even with all of that, still, no success. Unfortunately, I believe that the underlying reason that no one has been able to activate them is the same reason that Porsche can't provide it as a retroactive software update. The US matrix headlights are likely missing something compared to other markets.

Sprintrider

Its unfortunate and deceptive of Porsche to even offer this option (at additional expense) and then not allow them to be activated once the regulatory hurdles are met. I heard in Feb that they would be approved and based on that I ordered this option. Since mine was just built in June I expected the factory to ship the car with lights fully functional but alas, it seems not to be the case. I will confirm when the car finally gets on a ship after sitting in Emden for the past 5 weeks. Today is supposed to be that day.

Perhaps if all US owners start peppering Porsche with requests to activate, maybe someone will listen. It has to be a simple software check box and possibly some calibration that any dealer service shop can do AND IT SHOULD BE FREE.

CodyBigdog

^ This.

detansinn

They never said that they will work in the US market. The configurator is/was totally clear on this and Porsche has been unambiguous.

I would not be surprised if Porsche saved themselves some cost (like reduced chip count) on the US market matrix headlights given that the matrix functionality was not permitted or homologated in the US. Again, if it was just software, someone would have cracked that nut by now. These US matrix headlights likely lack the hardware to support the functionality.

CodyBigdog

Doubtful. At least if i can believe what my service manager tells me….who says I have all the required hardware. Further, if said US units actually lacked the hardware, then they damn well better NOT have charged the few K premium for active matrix. Wouldn’t that be fraud?

They were, or are active in Canada, and most of the rest of the world markets.

Cheaper to be able to turn things off/on by software, than having multiple manufacturing scenarious for options like arctic=ve matrix. Follow the money.