I had to have the passenger side headlight changed out as it had failed. Now the headlights do not line up properly. I bought it back once and still it is no better. Does anyone know where the adjustments are? I would prefer to fix this myself rather than take more time at what is supposed to be a 5 star service center.

 

my guess is...the bulb is not installed correctly.

the bulb needs to properly lock into its housing. i would bet the bulb is clipped in place but not flush against the housing as required for proper beam alignment.

 

thanks for the input. i will check it out over the weekend.

 

I had all 4 replaced, Silverstar's by the dealer, BIG MISTAKE! Back twice still bad, one was pointing to the ground and one up in the trees, the other 2 who knows? I ended up doing it myself. The passenger side outer was a pain, but can be done! Note: small hands and long fingers are a plus, also if you are a contortionist with a rubber neck it is a definite plus!
Good Luck!

 

Funny you should mention that. I just put SilverStars in my ride this evening and had an eye-opening experience. I installed the bulbs paying very careful attention to the alignment. When I got dark I went out for a ride and couldn't see sh*t! The headlights were illuminating only about 3 ft in front of the car. WTF?! So I re-installed the stock bulb on one side and everything looked as it should. I put the SilverStar back in and it was messed up again. I started fiddling around with it and it discovered that the SilverStars have kind of a "false seated" position. Once I thought I had it seated, I jiggled/rotated the bulb a bit and it seated again and Voila! Things were working perfectly! It took me two or three tries on each side before I got it right, but the effort was worth it. The SilverStars are working like they should and the color temperature/illumination they provide is awesome! I would highly recommend them. Just be careful and take your time when you install them.


Bob...

 

Absolutely Right! I just went thought the exact same problem... In fact I have to call my dealer tomorrow and tell him not to order the "headlamp assembly". The bulbs have to seat correctly otherwise the alignment is way off.

Carl

 

3 trips to the dealer now as the drivers side headlight has now gone bad as well. What’s worse is they have pinched a wire or done something else because now the fuse that controls the passenger side taillight side lamps and parking light blows every time I turn on the lights. I can't believe this is a 5 star dealer.

 

The bulbs are a pain in the finger tips to change! The adjustment **** for the vertical adjustment is pretty obvious. I haven't had such luck locating the horizontal ****...anyone made that adjustment?

 

There are two adjustment screws shown in the manual on the lower corners of the headlight unit.

 

I will finish adjusting them myself as they still are not right. They are better than they were but at this point I do not want to ever take my car back to this dealership again. I have now passed 36,000 miles so bumper to bumper is over.

 

After going through a similar situation over replacing my driver's side bulb, I'd say don't let the dealership touch it...do it yourself.

It may take a few tries to get it seated correctly, but basically there's a little tab at the bottom of the bulb that fits into a slot at the bottom of the housing, allowing it to snap flush into place.


If your headlight beam against a wall doesn't look like this then try again:

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You really shouldn't need to adjust the (vertical) alignment much if the bulb is installed correctly. It's more for adjusting the aim height under heavy loads.

 

So my left light burned out yesterday. I was going to take it to the dealer. They said an hour and half to replace one light bulb. Is it that complicated? Or can I do it myself?

 

They're trying to rip you off! You can get a pair of H7 lamps for about $20 and just about any auto parts store and you can replace the bulb in about 5 minutes.

 

This place is always helpful. After installing my sylvania bulbs, I was having excellent luck finding quarters three feet in front of the car. Unfortunately, the lights weren't very useful for actual driving. Thanks...they work great after reseating. I'll get to the high beams later. Right now they are excellent for looking into second floor windows!

 

Thanks so much for all the information on this Topic. I had just purchased a 2004 and the headlights were so bad.....

With all of your help I reset the lights and adjusted them and OH MY GOD I CAN SEE!!!!

 

Thanks to all for your help. I guess the previous owner didn't seat the bulbs correctly.

 

how far out should the low beams illuminate. my drivers side low beam ends 16ft out, the other goes out a little farther. If I use the top adjustment, it moves all of the bulbs, how do you adjust the low beam only? High beams seem ok. I plan on a full hid setup, does it sound like the bulb isn't seated correctly? also one of my fog lights, has the silver cap, the other is just a regular bulb(no cap), from what I have read it would seem that the passenger side(no cap) has had a new assembly installed. would that seem correct? thanks chris.
any heads up on changing out all of the bulbs.

 

im glad everyone is having this problem mine r horrible right now

 

I had the passenger side low beam go out on me last week. Took it to my local dealer and bought a bulb and they were very nice and installed it for free. Unfortunately, when it got dark I found out that the light on that side was going about 3 feet in front of the car. I did look at the manual and found the instructions for adjusting the beams. Based on what I have seen in this thread, it sounds as though the main problem is that the bulb is not seated properly. Thank you all for the instructions and advice.
Dave Berry

 

Its really not that hard to put in just doesnt make sense how they go in. If you look at the hole it makes sense but the little clip thing that comes down doesnt. It took me for ever to get it on because my clip got stuck half way right inbetween the i guess positive and negative part. That and cause i was using a flashlight in the dark because otherwise I couldn't see the light to see if they were in right.