Patent ID: 7625107

Claim:
A method for actuating headlights of a motor vehicle having a manual mode, in which manual actuation of a selector lever in a first actuating direction transfers the headlights into a first illuminating state, where the first illuminating state is one of a high beam on state and a low beam on state, and manual actuation in a second actuating direction transfers the headlights into a second illuminating state, where the second illuminating state is the other one of the high beam on state and the low beam on state, and an automatic mode, in which the headlights are automatically transferred into the first or the second illuminating state based on an evaluation of an external lighting situation, the method comprising the acts of: overriding the automatic mode and transferring the headlights into a respective illuminating state by a first manual actuation of the selector lever in the first or the second actuating direction independent of the evaluation of the external lighting situation; initiating a second manual actuation of the selector lever in the actuating direction opposite the first manual actuation in order to transfer the headlights back into the automatic mode; and initiating a third manual actuation of the selector lever in the automatic mode, wherein if the headlights are in the first illuminating state, an actuation of the selector lever in the first actuating direction causes a switch between the automatic mode and the override mode without changing the illuminating state.