Poor headlight performance

[CaliforniaZ]

Mine were aimed down pretty badly. I was able to adjust them up very easily. The adjustment screw is accessible behind the front of the fender to hood seal, 10mm ratcheting wrench works best.

Hi. I'm trying to adjust mine too. I can't find where the screw is located. Can someone post more pictures to show its location to help me find it. Thanks ?

 

[ZillaZ]

Hi. I'm trying to adjust mine too. I can't find where the screw is located. Can someone post more pictures to show its location to help me find it. Thanks ?

Not the easiest thing to adjust with big hands and kind of tucked under the body behind the headlights. On the other side its kind of behind where you fill the washer fluid - but accessible.

I used a soild wrench, could not get my ratchet-wrench to move enough. Can adjust a little at a time and a little is all it takes. Just dont drop your wrench or it may fall into oblivion. Keep a long magnet nearby .

 

[CaliforniaZ]

Not the easiest thing to adjust with big hands and kind of tucked under the body behind the headlights. On the other side its kind of behind where you fill the washer fluid - but accessible.

I used a soild wrench, could not get my ratchet-wrench to move enough. Can adjust a little at a time and a little is all it takes. Just dont drop your wrench or it may fall into oblivion. Keep a long magnet nearby .

Thank you very much for the response! I'm going to adjust it after work this evening. I have big hands too so I should pick up a long wrench. Thanks for the heads up ?

 

[The Chin]

Mine were aimed down pretty badly. I was able to adjust them up very easily. The adjustment screw is accessible behind the front of the fender to hood seal, 10mm ratcheting wrench works best.

You can also use a P2 phillips head screwdriver in the top section in the grooves

 

[Crownleyian]

I'm super stoked and grateful to get into a Nissan Z Nismo it's for me a dream come true, but this is the first car I have ever had that doesn't have lights that go up or down with a swich. Is this a common thing on pure sports cars or just Nissan cutting costs?

 

[qellman32]

I'm super stoked and grateful to get into a Nissan Z Nismo it's for me a dream come true, but this is the first car I have ever had that doesn't have lights that go up or down with a swich. Is this a common thing on pure sports cars or just Nissan cutting costs?

Are you talking about High Beams that move up and down? Or Automatic Leveling headlights? I don't think I've ever seen a car with a switch to adjust the height of the headlights.

 

[Crownleyian]

Are you talking about High Beams that move up and down? Or Automatic Levelling headlights? I don't think I've ever seen a car with a switch to adjust the height of the headlights.

My Renault Clio RS200, Renault Megane RS265, GR Yaris all had a Headlight levelling dial, maybe it's illegal in the states? Majority of the cars here in Australia and Europe have them.

 

[thesilverbullet]

Thanks for the pictures showing the location. same old screwdriver adjustment screw - some things never change. And yes the stock setting is way to low…

also thanks for the headlight leveling dial comment - i have never had a car with this. i noticed the cars that you listed also has the old fashion adjusting screw.

https://www.google.com/search?q=GR+...dial&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

 

[FSUZ33]

Thanks for this! Just now seeing this thread.
I think mine may be a little low as well. I’ve noticed my headlights on the security cameras as work, night vision before the sun comes up, and the bright spots on the pavement stop about 10-15 feet in front of the car. The fact that I can’t even see those spots from the driver’s seat alone make me think they’re off. I may tilt mine up a little. If people start flashing me in low I’ll know I went too far.

 

[FSUZ33]

The early Dodge Vipers had bubble levels in the headlights. They were there to set the headlights at the factory, and were made to be removed after fitment, but Dodge determined it was cheaper to leave them in. Some claim it was the first vehicle with “blinker fluid.”

 

[Leroy819]

Canadian spec here. Haven't noticed an issue, I actually see them light up just below the rear windows of every car in front of me. I also leave my headlights in the ON position instead of Auto. They shut off automatically about 10 seconds after you shut the car off so you don't have to worry about the battery dying. I was actually impressed with the light coverage because when you look at the headlights from the front they are definitely underwhelming.

For anybody adjusting their headlights. Can you show a before and after pic? Just be careful about aiming them too high.

Now if only my fellow Canadians would stop telling me my left reverse light is out >: ( I've had to explain the "Canada Spec Fog Light" to about 6 people in the last 6 months lol.

 

[Apex_Z]

Why not use your warranty and have the dealership inspect their adjustment of the headlights?

Typically headlight adjustment wouldn't be a warranty issue, it would just be a complimentary adjustment.

 

[dohanhoney]

Thank you all for the information! My headlights were also aimed quite low. I’ve always wondered why they were so low and dim. I re-aimed them tonight. I measured 25 feet away from the wall using the tapes and all. Now, I can see the road better at night and see a nice, even cut-off line on the wall.

 

[Niks_Mowing]

Thanks to this thread, I was able to adjust my headlights higher. Mine were way too low and atrocious on dirt road areas and unlit residential streets. I suspect that either Japan doesn't require the headlights to be as high as America, or the factory has different standards and the dealership was supposed to adjust them, or something.

Either way, they felt dangerous. I'm glad the adjustment is easy to get to. I have examples of the low and adjusted lights, the best I could do while driving lol.

Man, I've had mine for a year, and just went on a short night drive on a country road, and immediately noticed how terrible they were off high beam. Felt like I had to slow to a crawl whenever there was oncoming traffic, mine are WAY worse than this.
Found this thread looking up how to adjust them, so I'll be doing that today!
How many turns to get the adjustment above?

 

[thesilverbullet]

With the lights on at ~10-15’ from a wall, I put tape on the wall to mark the stock settings and bumped them up ~3-4” inches and kept both lights at the same height with me in the driver seat. Then i checked where my lights were on the back of cars at 4-5 car lengths back - had to tweak them to so they were not above the average car’s rear deck.

if you want a reference point per DOT standards, measure to center of headlight and mark the wall at that height. check height with car ~25‘ from wall. at 25’ the lights should be 2-3” below mark per DOT standards. Then you can bump them up to your preference….