Automatic high beam indicator
A light that shows automatic high beams are switched on: the car turns the high beams on and off by itself.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The symbol is the high beam headlamp with the letter A inside it, as in Toyota’s Automatic High Beam and Volkswagen’s Light Assist. Toyota says its system uses a front camera to judge the brightness of streetlights and the lights of vehicles ahead, and turns the high beams on or off as needed. UN Regulation No. 121 lists a tell-tale for automatic main beam functions and gives it no fixed colour.
Also searched as: AHB indicator, auto high beam light, High Beam Assist indicator, IntelliBeam light, Light Assist.
Dashboard symbols vary by manufacturer. The vehicle's owner's manual or a qualified mechanic can say what a light means for a particular vehicle.
One light, several names
Toyota calls it Automatic High Beam, Honda Auto High-Beam, Hyundai and Nissan High Beam Assist, Chevrolet IntelliBeam, Ford Automatic High Beam Control and Volkswagen Light Assist.
White or green
Hyundai’s 2024 Tucson shows it white when High Beam Assist is ready to operate and green when it is operating. Volkswagen lists Light Assist among its white lights. Chevrolet’s IntelliBeam light comes on when the system is enabled; Honda’s comes on when all the system’s operating conditions are met, and Ford’s to confirm the system is ready to assist.
What US rules require
FMVSS No. 108 allows semiautomatic beam switching, and requires a way of telling the driver when the device is controlling the headlamps automatically. For an Adaptive Driving Beam system in automatic mode, the high beam indicator doesn’t have to light.
Look-alikes
The high beam indicator is the same lamp without the A, and it is blue. In Toyota’s RAV4, pushing the lever forward turns the Automatic High Beam indicator off and the high beam indicator on.
Read next
- Next in Dashboard warning lightsAUTO headlight settingThe AUTO position on the light switch: the headlights and other outside lights turn on and off by themselves as it gets dark or light.
- The same shape in Asian flagsFlag of IranIran’s flag has three equal stripes of green, white and red, with the national emblem in red in the centre and the words “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) written 22 times in white along the edges of the green and the red. Iran’s constitution names the colours, the emblem and the motto but gives them no meaning; the art historian Kimia Maleki writes that the 22 marks the day the revolution of 1979 won, the 22nd day of the 11th month of the Iranian calendar.
More dashboard warning lights
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves, letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- Regulation No. 121: Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to the location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators, UN Regulation No. 121, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (text published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Table 1, items 3a and 3b
- Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment, 49 CFR 571.108 (FMVSS 108), U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations), S9.4.1, S9.4.1.4, S9.5
- 2024 Toyota RAV4 Owner’s Manual, OM0R147U, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., 4-3. AHB (Automatic High Beam), pp. 222 to 225
- 2024 Hyundai Tucson Owner’s Manual, Hyundai Motor America (MyHyundai), Instrument Cluster: High Beam Assist indicator light, p. 4-19
- 2024 Honda Civic Sedan Owner’s Manual, American Honda Motor Co. (copy hosted by Dealer eProcess), Indicators
- 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV Owner’s Manual, Chevrolet (General Motors), Instruments and Controls: IntelliBeam Light
- Volkswagen: Dashboard Warning and Indicator Lights, Volkswagen of America, White warning lights
- 2020 Nissan LEAF Owner's Manual, Nissan North America, Instruments and controls: warning and indicator lights, pp. 2-21 to 2-22
- 2020 F-150 Owner's Manual, Ford Motor Company, Automatic High Beam Control Indicators
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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