How to Adjust Car Headlights

Have you ever encountered a situation where the headlights did not shine directly on the road ahead or blinded someone coming from the opposite direction? If the headlights of the car shine on the foliage on the side of the road or the driver coming from the opposite direction is constantly flashing his lights or honking his horn towards you, it is likely that the headlights are skewed and blinding pedestrians. Luckily the headlights are easy to adjust, with just a few measurements and a screwdriver.

Table of Contents

Steps

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Vehicle balance. Start by removing the weight in the trunk to balance. In addition, you need to check that all tire pressures are within the manufacturer’s recommended range. If possible, have someone sit in the driver’s seat and fill the tank halfway with gas. In addition, the headlight aiming gear (if integrated) must be at 0. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Find parking. On level ground, park your vehicle 3 – 4.6 m away from a dark wall or garage door with the front end facing the wall. Cemented car parks or flat garage entrances are the best places. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Bend down the four corners of the car a few times to balance the fork.
Measure the distance from the ground to each side of the headlights to make sure the suspension is balanced.

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Turn on the headlights. Do not use cos lights or fog lights. Use tape to mark two T’s on the wall or garage door with vertical and horizontal lines across the center of the headlights. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Check to make sure the headlights are level. Place the carpenter’s ruler between the two lamp radials that you have marked to see if they are equal. If the sides are not level, use a tape measure to measure the distance from the lower marker to the ground, then lower the other side so they are the same height. These radial lines should not be more than 1.1 m above the ground. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Back up the car exactly 7.6 m from the wall or garage door. Do not estimate, but measure with a tape measure to ensure that the distance from the car to the wall is accurate. Then turn off the headlights. Proceed to remove the decorative ring around the headlight and adjust the screws. The adjustment screw is usually located near the headlight, however some manufacturers may place this screw in the engine compartment behind the light. The screws will be marked according to the horizontal and vertical adjustment function. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Always adjust according to the specifications in the user’s manual. Manufacturers recommend different headlight adjustment distances. For example, Toyota recommends 3 m, Pontiac GTO recommends 4.6 m, and Chrysler recommends 0.9 m for some models. For this reason, you should check the user manual and follow the instructions.
The screw located above the headlight is used for vertical adjustment, the other screw located on the side of the lamp is for horizontal adjustment. Sometimes some cars may design bolts instead of screws.

Adjust each headlight. Cover one light with a shirt or scarf to check the other side’s light flow. You need to do this because if the two streams of light mix, it will be very difficult to distinguish. Have someone sit in the driver’s seat to turn the lights on or off while you make adjustments. ^{[6] X Research Source}

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Turn the top screw or bolt to align vertically. A clockwise rotation will push the light up high, and a counterclockwise direction will lower the light. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Turn on the light after adjusting to check the light trail on the wall. The top of the brightest edge of light should be at or just below the center of the T you marked.

Turn the nut or bolt on the side to adjust horizontally. Now, you just need to do the same with the screws or bolts on the side to adjust the light direction horizontally. Most of the high intensity halo of the headlights should be to the right of the vertical tape (or to the left if your local traffic laws dictate that you should drive in the left lane).

Check the direction of the headlights on the road. Take a test drive to check that the headlights are properly adjusted. If necessary, you can re-adjust through the steps above.

Advice

After adjusting the headlights, shake the car vigorously and check the lights on the wall or garage door again. The instructions in some user manuals will require this step after you adjust the headlights. Follow along, then check and adjust if necessary.
Find the small leveling gauge mounted above the headlight. Some car manufacturers add this part to help with headlight adjustment. Acura and Honda are two brands that integrate a small scale into the car. This design is quite convenient because the user does not always have a carpenter’s gauge available.
In Vietnam, it is illegal to use headlights in urban areas and densely populated areas.
You should check the headlights once a year to ensure that the direction of the lights is not deflected.

Warning

Our eyes will temporarily be unable to see when exposed to high-intensity light directly, so misaligned headlights can affect both you and others.
When the headlights are skewed and you can’t adjust them yourself, quickly visit the service station for a technician to check and handle.

Things you need

Phillips wrench or screwdriver
Tape
Tape measure
Carpenter’s ruler (if necessary)

Steps

Advice

Warning

Things you need

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