BRZ Headlights Issue?

[billysangi]

Does any BRZ owner notice an issue with their low beam headlights only lighting up approx 20 feet in front of the car making it impossible to clearly see the road ahead?

Please let me know if you think this is a widespread issue or only with my vehicle.

Thanks for your help

[GMU-BRZ]

Originally Posted by billysangi

Does any BRZ owner notice an issue with their low beam headlights only lighting up approx 20 feet in front of the car making it impossible to clearly see the road ahead?

Please let me know if you think this is a widespread issue or only with my vehicle.

Thanks for your help

Read your manual- you can adjust the headlight level very easily by turning the little wheel thing to the left of the steering wheel.

[mattles]

you'll want to play with that headlamp leveling adjustment dial to the left of your steering wheel. that will aim your headlamps up to the proper level to more evenly and completely light up the road ahead.

[#87]

Adjusted to their highest setting I see they don't go as high as other vehicles but I don't drive on any pitch black roads so can't really say if it is an issue.

[Sony]

Yep, what they said! Mine came from the factory set to #5 which is the lowest setting, but the recommended setting when only one person is in the car is #0 the highest setting. Most likely your headlights are set to the wrong number! Adjust the dial to the lower left of your steering wheel.

[billysangi]

Thanks everyone....appreciate the responses. I guess it pays to read the manual.
I will give it a try.

[#87]

By highest, I mean height on the road, which is actually the number 0 setting.

[Draco-REX]

The lights in my BRZ on 0 are at level I like so I haven't tried this yet, but there was a trick I did with my STI which has HIDs.

Pull up to a brick wall, or other wall with horizontal marks.
Move the headlights to the highest setting and mark on the wall where the cutoff is.
Then aim the lights down one click.
Under the hood, use the vertical adjuster to adjust the headlight back up to the position it was at the highest setting.
You now have one more click of height.

The tough part is finding the vertical adjustment. On the 07 STI you need to use a #2 Philips to engage the motor gear like a pinion. I'm not sure what the adjustment is like in the BRZ. So that will have to be figured out first before the above can be done.

[groucho]

My '08 STI's headlights were set from the factory to be notably lower than my '05's. My folk's '10 Legacy is also surprisingly low. Our '10 Outback is OK but that may be because it rides higher.

On the '08 STI, there are adjusters under the hood, behind the headlights, that you can use to control the adjustment. I marked the original spot with a Sharpie then moved them up slightly; enough so that #1 was the preferred aiming, rather than #0. I assume you could do the same with the BRZ. I haven't driven mine at night yet so I don't have a first-hand opinion.

[Mavrik]

When I took delivery of mine, the headlights were also aimed to the lowest setting. I quickly raised them back all the way up.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Adjust using the wheel in-cabin, then adjust from the back of the headlight under the hood.

[Longhorn248]

The whole headlight adjustment seems like a pretty silly feature to me. Why not just let them be adjusted manually under the hood without all the electronic motors and gizmos. It's not the type of thing you're going to be changing regularly once they're aligned to where you like them.

[robotvoice]

Originally Posted by Longhorn248

The whole headlight adjustment seems like a pretty silly feature to me. Why not just let them be adjusted manually under the hood without all the electronic motors and gizmos. It's not the type of thing you're going to be changing regularly once they're aligned to where you like them.

Actually....because HID bulbs give off about 2-3 times the amount of light as a halogen bulb, it's very import to have your lights adjusted properly as to not blind other drivers and having a leveling device is essential for this. With a couple people in the back of the car/full tank of gas/cargo in the trunk (or any combination of these) the beam patter will raise up quite a bit and you will need the ability to adjust your headlights on the fly instead of having to pop the hood every time you need to make an adjustment.

Some cars have auto-levelers for their HID headlights which gets rid of the manual adjuster wheel but this also increases the cost of the lights as well.

[Jeff Lange]

Headlights get adjusted manually even on cars that have auto-leveling. You need to be able to set where "base" level is before it starts to adjust it.

I'm sure the BRZ is probably the same.

Jeff

[Longhorn248]

Originally Posted by robotvoice

Actually....because HID bulbs give off about 2-3 times the amount of light as a halogen bulb, it's very import to have your lights adjusted properly as to not blind other drivers and having a leveling device is essential for this. With a couple people in the back of the car/full tank of gas/cargo in the trunk (or any combination of these) the beam patter will raise up quite a bit and you will need the ability to adjust your headlights on the fly instead of having to pop the hood every time you need to make an adjustment.

Some cars have auto-levelers for their HID headlights which gets rid of the manual adjuster wheel but this also increases the cost of the lights as well.

I guess I just don't haul enough stuff around in the back of my cars to make that an issue, but you make a good point.

[RRnold]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lange

Headlights get adjusted manually even on cars that have auto-leveling. You need to be able to set where "base" level is before it starts to adjust it.

I'm sure the BRZ is probably the same.

Jeff

+1

I was going to mention the same thing. Can you adjust the headlight alignment screws on the actual housing first then dial in the headlight aim on the dash.

[NYC BRZ]

Definitely adjust the headlight level. I picked mine up last night and drove 100 miles home. 75 of which were in complete darkness through PA and NJ. The level helps big time. I actually had mine on 1 or 2 most of the way.

[billysangi]

I adjusted the settings as suggested with the "wheel". All is fine now. I can actually see where I am going.
Thanks for the info

[Tbxgz]

IDK if this helps but I found this as well:

[#87]

Originally Posted by robotvoice

Actually....because HID bulbs give off about 2-3 times the amount of light as a halogen bulb, it's very import to have your lights adjusted properly as to not blind other drivers and having a leveling device is essential for this. With a couple people in the back of the car/full tank of gas/cargo in the trunk (or any combination of these) the beam patter will raise up quite a bit and you will need the ability to adjust your headlights on the fly instead of having to pop the hood every time you need to make an adjustment.

Some cars have auto-levelers for their HID headlights which gets rid of the manual adjuster wheel but this also increases the cost of the lights as well.

This is great in theory but every ***git has their HIDs aimed up or shitty HID in halogen housing blinding everyone anyway.

/rant

[robotvoice]

Originally Posted by #87

This is great in theory but every ***git has their HIDs aimed up or shitty HID in halogen housing blinding everyone anyway.

/rant

Your frustrations, while they are valid, should really be aimed at those who run cheap HID kits and not just every car on the road with HID headlights. The cheap HID kits people use in halogen headlights give off so much glare that no amount of aiming will keep them from blinding other drivers. Cars that are equipped with HID headlight from the factory won't blind you on the road unless the driver has either manually adjusted them too high or not lowered them down with the adjustment knob with cargo/passengers in the back of the car.

[Sony]

^^ +1

Don't blame the HID lamps for something that is really the fault of the driver/owner.

More light output is always better, but people who have poorly aimed headlamps or use poorly designed aftermarket kits are the true problem. More light on the road itself had saved my ass more than once. Especially here in New England where hitting a deer is something to be feared. I have upgraded halogens in my truck and there have been several instances where I have avoided deer because I saw them early enough to slow down. If I was running my stock headlamps I may not have seen them in time, and more than once I have seen deer on the side of the road only to slow down and have one dart in front of me. If I hadn't slowed down I surely would have hit them and I wouldn't have slowed down if I didn't have the extra light from extra bright lamps. That being said, I am not running HID's in Halogen housings and my halogens are aimed properly as to not blind other drivers.

Also, one of the other biggest things is DON'T RUN YOUR FOG LAMPS UNLESS IT'S FOGGY!!!!! Fog lamps are not aimed and easily blind oncoming drivers, they are basically like driving with your low beams and high beams on at the same time. There is a reason driving with your fog lamps on when it's not foggy is illegal in Australia and most European countries.