Any issues with headlight brightness or aiming on 2016+ models? (1 Viewer)

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I wanted to see if others with 2016+ LCs have had people think that your high beams are on at night. I did a long road trip late into the night (about 2am) a few days ago. It was my first long trip at night since I put a lift on and a TJM bumper. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I had probably 1 out of every 10 cars flash their lights at me thinking that my high beams were on. I would flash them right back to show them they weren't on, but the frequency of this got me wondering if I need to manually adjust the headlight aiming down some to compensate for the added height from the lift or if the lights are just too bright.

I leave my headlight switch on Auto, and I don't remember any issues pre-lift. The TJM bumper does have integrated parking lights, so maybe those are a bit brighter than stock? To be clear, I did not have the integrated fog lights turned on which would have obviously added to the brightness nor did I have Auto High Beam activated. I know the 2016+ models have the automatic headlight leveling system, so I can't think of much else that would be causing people to think that my brights are on other than maybe needing a level adjustment (or, again, maybe the stock LEDs + TJM parking lights are just that much brighter and are annoying for other drivers at night)? I know switching the headlight selection from Auto to the headlight symbol on top of the switch cuts off the DRLs, but I like the Auto function and not ever having to turn the lights on or off. I could also run DRL/Parking lights (2nd option on attachment), but those weren't quite bright enough at night.

Anyone have any similar issues or have any suggestions? I was getting annoyed by all the people flashing their lights at me, but the frequency makes it pretty apparent that drivers were annoyed at me.


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I’d guess that your headlights need adjusted. I had the same issue due to loading.
 
I’d guess that your headlights need adjusted. I had the same issue due to loading.

Thank you. So, did you go in and manually adjust the headlights lower? If so, what was your process? On an older vehicle I had before the LC, I added HID replacement headlights and those came with instructions on measuring agains a wall (height off ground, distance between headlights, etc.). I wouldn't know where to begin on this. Maybe adjust 2" down since I'm a little over 2" higher?
 
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the low beams have an extremely sharp cutoff. Below the cutoff, the lights are very bright, so if they are aimed into oncoming traffic, you’ll get flashed. I don’t know what adjustment is needed for your lift, but after you mess with it, you could go out on the street (even in daylight) and look at your lights (at the height of a sedan driver) and see if they are still too high.
 
I had about the same ratio (1 in 10) flashing lights at me stock brand new. I know LED lights are just bright and these are especially bright, so while yours may be actually hitting people with your lift, I know people flash even if they're not. I find myself mistaking brights for low beam LEDs, too.
 
Stock, i've never had anyone flash their brights at me so far.
 
Here's the adjustment directions from the manual. I recall some minor differences between the manual and the 2016, though... something like the hi and low beams being adjusted in conjunction on our model so there are only two adjustment screws on each headlight.
 

Attachments

  • HeadlightAdjustment.pdf
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I had the same thing happen when I did the 2" lift. Where no one was bothered with me driving around stock, after the lift I would get 1 out of every 5 or whatever. I did adjust them myself. It took me a while to understand the instructions in the owners manual. Here are some tips.
  • As @indycole pointed out, the low and high beams are part of the same component so they are adjusted together.
  • 2 "screws" on each side. 1 adjusts up/down. The other adjusts side to side.
  • There are holes on each side of the panel covering the radiator, etc that are "marked". Interpreting the markings as the biggest confusion for me.
  • The key was to realize that turning the "screws" was actually turning a rod with a gear that engages the plastic up/down or side-to-side thingy. You will see these on the back of the light module.
  • I made sure the truck was "level" in my garage. Then I marked the spot at the top of the low beams where it cuts off. I then lowered each side about a half a turn at a time until people stopped flashing me or at least it was 1 in 20. If no one was flashing me, I raised them a 1/4 turn. I wanted to make sure they were as high as possible without bothering more than the occasional oncoming driver. Now it happens but rarely.
As others have said, these lights are bright but cut off very quickly. If you go over a bump in the road or a little incline people may think you have your high beams on or are flashing them.
 
Thank you @indycole and @Dan Higgins. I will see if adjusting them will help.

I apologize, but after looking into this, I'm a little confused. The headlight tech doc @indycole provided seems to be for HID lights. Looking at the diagram on the cowling above the headlights (pics below), there seems to be different adjustments for the HID vs. LED lights. The tech doc says aim moves down with counterclockwise turning, but the diagram for our US spec 200 (LED low/high) on the vehicle cowling seems to show the opposite (moves up with counterclockwise turn). Also, I'm not sure if the LED lights would have different aligning distance and/or cutoff lines to measure vs. the HID tech doc.

The manual (pics attached) is not super clear as to which screw is for vertical adjustment, but I assume the outside screws on each light (angled out) are vertical adjustment? The screws that are vertical and closer to the middle of the vehicle are horizontal adjustment? I apologize for my ignorance, but I fooled around with the screws a bit and the headlight did seem to move a little down with clockwise turns on the outside (angled) screws. Granted I didn't have the space to do the recommended 82 ft. adjustment, but I just wanted to get an idea how to adjust.

If someone that has done this on a 2016+ remembers the adjustments, please let me know. I think I have it figured out, but I'll need to find a flat space to get the exact measurements. Thanks.


Driver side diagram

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Passenger side diagram

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Now that you mention it I recall having to figure it out in the moment once I had the truck positioned for headlight alignment. It’s pretty easy to tell once you have a flat wall set up as per the FSM.
 
This is a highly unintuitive method and I just screwed up my headlight... because I overturned the screw and now the projector seems to have dropped and it’s not adjusting! Any clues on how to get it back?
 
This is a highly unintuitive method and I just screwed up my headlight... because I overturned the screw and now the projector seems to have dropped and it’s not adjusting! Any clues on how to get it back?

Thanks for the heads up on that possibility. I still plan to adjust mine, but I can't even find the adjusting bolts. So, I'm of no help to you :frown:
 
I'm chuckling because I was just about to head out to the garage to do this and stopped by my desk for a quick check of MUD. @Sandroad, to access the "bolts" you insert a Philips screwdriver down through a hole. You are not turning a screw or bolt. Rather, the "teeth" of the Philips screwdriver engage with the teeth of the mechanism that then moves either up/down or left/right. The "outermost" hole adjusts up/down. The "inside" one adjusts left/right. I just took the following pictures. If you shine a light down those holes you will see the plastic teeth that your screwdriver needs to engage.

Now, which we is up or down and which way is left of right takes some trial and error. At least it did for me and I still don't have it correct.

In the pictures below, the red arrow points to the hole to access the raise/lower mechanism. The yellow arrow points to the hole for the left/right mechanism.

This first picture is the left front of the engine compartment looking down.
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And this next picture shows the right front.
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So much for me trying to offer advice. I just spend an hour trying to adjust mine. I believe the holes point out in the pics above are correct. But I tried using the LO LED / HI LED directions above (the ones stamped on the plastic cover in the lower left of the 4) and I couldn't see any lights moving though I definitely was turning the side to side mechanism. Then I went out to a dark street and tried to see which lens was pointing where by covering one then the other. I think they are both pointing almost at the same spot. But I couldn't get them to move. I may just take it in to the dealership and have the service guys make it right then show me what they did. BTW, I was only using the low beams. I believe, though I may be wrong, that the movement effects both the low and high at the same time - that there are not separate adjustments for the low beams and the high beams.
 
My 2013 LC is probably different, but FWIW I adjust my headlamps using the adjustment highlighted by the green arrow:

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I'm not sure which it is, but when you try it is is immediately obvious - I think the one on the far left in the picture adjusts Hi/Lo beams Up/Down (the only one I've ever adjusted) and one of the others adjusts the Hi/Lo Left/Right.

I never had any luck going down from the top with a Philips screwdriver.

HTH
 
Thanks, @gaijin, but I believe the 2016+ are different.
 
Update on my situation...

The Dealer could not fix my headlamp and I had to buy a new one ($1700 retail) I found one for $900. The dealer installed it for $300

The saga did not end there! The dealer did not adjust them correctly, I brought it back and now they were worse, the left one pointed to the ground and the right one literally at the sky!! The service guy said over the phone they don’t match because the left one has to be lower because of incoming traffic. I called bull on that and challenged him to compare to the other LC in the lot...

Brought it in once again and got a call later on the day... The service guy broke the headlamp adjuster, much like I did and now they are going to pay up for a new one!!

I picked it up today and to my shock, still right one pointing at the sky and left one at the ground. Luckily this check was done by the service guy at the dealer, he agreed that didn’t make sense. I asked how they are calibrating them, he didn’t know. I showed him the following diagram and he had never seen it. I asked him to look at it one the service manual!
index.129.jpg

He said he had never seen it. I said either follow toyota’s Guidance to park it next to the other Cruiser and match it!

Oh boy, hard to believe this is a legit Dealership, I am really bummed... Hopefully they’ll get out right this time.
 
Yikes! I don’t know that I would trust that dealer for anything. Now, it is true with the new LED lights and their sharp cutoff that the left side is to be set a “bit” lower than the right. But not ground vs sky. I will say that though my dealer is pretty good, the last time I had them adjust the headlights (after I got my life) I felt they were too low. So I have been doing myself since then. Basically if I am not bothering people (they are not flashing me to complain) I have been tweaking them higher. No one yet seems bothered so I may give them another turn this weekend.
 

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