BRZ Headlights Issue? - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

billysangi · 06-14-2012, 12:26 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 12:29 PM

Quote:

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 · 06-14-2012, 12:33 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 12:38 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 12:39 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 12:40 PM

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

#87 · 06-14-2012, 12:56 PM

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

Draco-REX · 06-14-2012, 01:10 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 01:12 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 03:14 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 03:39 PM

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

Longhorn248 · 06-14-2012, 04:04 PM

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 · 06-14-2012, 05:24 PM

Quote:

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 · 06-14-2012, 05:34 PM

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

06-14-2012, 12:33 PM	#3
mattles Proud of FR Layout Join Date: Jan 2012 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S 6MT Location: Puget Sound, WA Posts: 984 Thanks: 101 Thanked 381 Times in 228 Posts Mentioned: 8 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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. __________________ --Matt // Flickr \\ Instagram

06-14-2012, 01:12 PM	#9
groucho Member Join Date: May 2012 Drives: '65 Lotus Elan, '05 Elise, '22 BRZ Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 48 Thanks: 4 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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. __________________ '65 Lotus Elan S2, '05 Lotus Elise, '22 WRBlue BRZ 6MT Limited Formerly '13 DGM 6MT BRZ Limited

06-14-2012, 03:14 PM	#10
Mavrik Member Join Date: May 2012 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Location: Alaska Posts: 60 Thanks: 1 Thanked 14 Times in 10 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	When I took delivery of mine, the headlights were also aimed to the lowest setting. I quickly raised them back all the way up. __________________ 2013 SWP Subaru BRZ. First in Alaska

06-14-2012, 05:34 PM	#14
Jeff Lange Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Drives: 1986 AE86 GT-S, 2011 Lexus IS250 6M Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 661 Thanks: 136 Thanked 362 Times in 161 Posts Mentioned: 5 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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 __________________ 2011 Lexus IS350 F-Sport 6MT with LSD 1986 Toyota Corolla GT-S Supercharged

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06-14-2012, 12:26 PM	#1
billysangi Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: BRZ Location: NJ Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	BRZ Headlights Issue? 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

06-14-2012, 12:38 PM	#4
#87 I usually post drunk Join Date: Oct 2009 Drives: BRZ Location: NY Posts: 1,487 Thanks: 15 Thanked 490 Times in 231 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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.

06-14-2012, 12:39 PM	#5
Sony Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ MT Limited Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 805 Thanks: 20 Thanked 463 Times in 200 Posts Mentioned: 25 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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. __________________ Dark Blue 2020 Subaru Forester Sport, Name: Apollo - God of Music WRB 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited MT, Name: Zeus - Father of all God's and God of Sky and Thunder Perrin Cat-Back, ECUTek Tune by Kaizen Tuning, Perrin Silicone Radiator Hoses, Perrin Master Cylinder Brace, Perrin True Cold Air Intake

06-14-2012, 12:40 PM	#6
billysangi Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: BRZ Location: NJ Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Thanks everyone....appreciate the responses. I guess it pays to read the manual. I will give it a try.

06-14-2012, 12:56 PM	#7
#87 I usually post drunk Join Date: Oct 2009 Drives: BRZ Location: NY Posts: 1,487 Thanks: 15 Thanked 490 Times in 231 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	By highest, I mean height on the road, which is actually the number 0 setting.

06-14-2012, 01:10 PM	#8
Draco-REX Corner Junkie Join Date: Feb 2012 Drives: 13 BRZ, 11 STI, 99 RS Location: Ohio Posts: 2,908 Thanks: 129 Thanked 1,521 Times in 702 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	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.

06-14-2012, 03:39 PM	#11
OrbitalEllipses Banned Join Date: Jan 2012 Drives: Attitude Location: MD Posts: 10,046 Thanks: 884 Thanked 4,890 Times in 2,903 Posts Mentioned: 123 Post(s) Tagged: 4 Thread(s)	Adjust using the wheel in-cabin, then adjust from the back of the headlight under the hood.

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