How to turn on BMW Cornering Lights​?

BMW Cornering Lights are an intelligent lighting feature designed to enhance visibility when turning, maneuvering in tight spaces, or driving through poorly lit areas. When the steering wheel is turned or the turn signal is activated, the cornering light—typically integrated into the fog light or auxiliary lamp—illuminates the direction of travel, giving the driver a clearer and wider view of the road.

On many BMW models, the hardware for cornering lights is already installed, but the function may be disabled depending on the vehicle’s market configuration. In this guide, AutoExplain will show you how to activate BMW Cornering Lights through coding, including the required tools, preparation steps, and detailed activation procedures. This upgrade is safe, practical, and significantly improves nighttime visibility without requiring any hardware replacement.

What Are Cornering Lights in a BMW?

Cornering lights—often integrated into the fog lights or part of the headlight assembly—are designed to illuminate the area toward the side of the vehicle when navigating tight or low-visibility situations. They typically activate at low speeds (under 40 km/h) when the steering wheel is turned sharply or when the turn signal is engaged.

These lights provide a wider field of vision by automatically lighting up the side of the road you are turning toward, making driving safer and more comfortable.

Benefits of BMW Cornering Lights

• Improved visibility when turning: The light illuminates the direction of your turn, making it easier to see curbs, pedestrians, or obstacles.
• Safer low-speed maneuvering: Particularly useful in dark parking lots, driveways, U-turns, and narrow streets.
• Automatic activation: No manual operation needed—BMW’s lighting system handles it for you.
• Enhanced confidence in poor lighting conditions: Helps drivers react earlier and navigate bends more safely.

How Do Cornering Lights Work in a BMW?

BMW’s cornering light system is fully automatic and uses steering angle, vehicle speed, turn signals, and gear selection to determine when extra side illumination is needed.

Here’s how it operates:

• When turning or signaling: Only the inner cornering light illuminates to brighten the direction of travel.
• When reversing: If the headlights are on, both cornering lights activate to maximize visibility behind and around the vehicle.
• When steering sharply at low speeds: The corresponding fog light or integrated side lamp switches on automatically.
• When the turn is completed or speed increases: The system deactivates the cornering light and returns to normal headlight operation.

This intelligent function ensures optimal lighting coverage exactly when and where you need it.

What You Need Before Activating BMW Cornering Lights?

Hardware Requirements

• Factory fog lights or Adaptive LED headlights that support cornering light functionality.
• KAFAS2 camera (required if your vehicle uses adaptive light distribution or automatic beam adjustment).
• ENET or ICOM cable to connect your vehicle to the coding software.
• A Windows laptop for coding.

Software Requirements

• E-Sys 3.36 or newer with a valid EST token.
• Full PsdzData version that matches your vehicle’s production year.

These components ensure that the vehicle’s lighting modules (FEM/BDC, KAFAS, or headlight control units) can be properly accessed and coded, allowing the Cornering Lights feature to function safely and reliably.

If you need advice on choosing the right diagnostic tools or software for your vehicle, AutoExplain has a team of experienced technicians ready to guide and support you. Whether you need help selecting the proper equipment or require remote coding and programming assistance, we’re always here to help.

How to Activate BMW Cornering Lights (Coding Guide)

Below is a step-by-step guide to enable the Cornering Lights function using E-Sys. Make sure all prerequisites are prepared before coding.

Step 1: Modify FEM_BODY Parameters

Open E-Sys → Connect to the vehicle → Read FA.

• Navigate to: FEM_BODY → CAFD → FDL Coding.
• Locate and adjust the following parameters:

3073 LaMaster1

• ABBIEGEL_LI_1 → aktiv (Left cornering light ON)
• ABBIEGEL_RE_1 → aktiv (Right cornering light ON)
• PWM_ABBIEGEL_LI_1 → 64 (Set brightness to 100% HEX)
• PWM_ABBIEGEL_RE_1 → 64

These parameters activate the left/right fog lights (or corner LEDs) and set their brightness level.

Step 2: Adjust Activation Speed Thresholds

Set when the cornering lights will turn on during low-speed maneuvers.

• C_ABBIEGEL_LI_ENA_V → 28 (≈ 40 km/h activation threshold)
• C_ABBIEGEL_RE_ENA_V → 28

This ensures cornering lights work only below ~40 km/h, similar to factory behavior.

Step 3: Adjust Steering Angle Sensitivity

Control how much steering angle is required to trigger the lights.

• C_ABBIEGEL_LWS_ENA → 5A (≈ 90° steering input)

This parameter enables the cornering light when the steering angle exceeds the threshold.

You may be interested: How to turn on BMW Cornering Lights​?

How the Feature Behaves After Activation

Once coding is completed, the Cornering Lights will automatically turn on when:

• The turn signal is activated.
• Steering angle exceeds ~90° while driving under 40 km/h.
• Parking in tight or poorly lit areas.

This improves visibility around the front corners of the vehicle, making low-speed maneuvers safer and more comfortable.

Activating BMW Cornering Lights is a simple yet highly practical coding upgrade that significantly enhances safety and driving comfort—especially when turning at low speeds or maneuvering in poorly lit areas. If you have the required hardware and follow the steps carefully, this feature can be activated within minutes. And if you need assistance with coding, troubleshooting, or verification, feel free to reach out to AutoExplain anytime via WhatsApp: +1 (936) 289 6695.

Read more BMW hidden function tips:

• How to Activate BMW Speed Limit Information (SLI) on the F-Series
• BMW angel eyes brightness coding​: How to Adjust