CX-9 Headlight Adjustment

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2016 Mazda CX-9
Hey Everyone!

I noticed a lot of 2016-2022 CX-9 owners in this chat complained about the headlights being pointed too low; I also have this issue. After you guys adjusted the headlights a little higher, how do they look at night? If you guys could post a couple of night pictures showing how far the lights go down the road, I'd greatly appreciate it!

- Shawnee

Edit: So I did some research, and Mazda changed the headlights in the CX-9 beginning in February 2019. I'm not sure what they tweaked, but CX-9's built before July 2019 (my year is a 2016 CX-9) got a poor rating, while CX-9's made after June 2019 got a good rating (the highest rating given by IIHS).

 
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My only issue is the sharp cutoff. While it looks good, it’s hard to see past that cutoff. Most projectors have a softer cutoff so some light can spill up above it and light up the road more than 200 feet from the car. I hope that’s what they fixed

Edit: checked part numbers and the newer headlights replace the older ones. Wiring must have stayed the same and the lenses are what changed. IIHS seems to confirm given that more light went further down the road on the 2019 test. Dang it. Now I feel like I need the newer headlights
 
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There was a previous thread about the headlights change, but no one really figured out the exact change. Adjusting higher helps a lot.
 
My only issue is the sharp cutoff. While it looks good, it’s hard to see past that cutoff. Most projectors have a softer cutoff so some light can spill up above it and light up the road more than 200 feet from the car. I hope that’s what they fixed

Edit: checked part numbers and the newer headlights replace the older ones. Wiring must have stayed the same and the lenses are what changed. IIHS seems to confirm given that more light went further down the road on the 2019 test. Dang it. Now I feel like I need the newer headlights
Haha, I feel you @MGMGT16. If the 2019+ lights are plug and play, I might order them from MazdaUSA and install them on my 2016 CX-9. I’m going to adjust the headlights a little higher before making the purchase to see how significant the difference is.
 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) defines headlights among many other things for U.S. vehicles, and many other countries follow the U.S. lead. And, the U.S. bureaucracy is behind much of the rest of the world. There will be a major upgrade in the Standard 108, motor vehicle lighting, sometime in 2022.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/us-headlights-standard-108-update-infrastructure-law/

For 2019, perhaps Mazda tweaked their headlights within the old Standard 108 to put light on the road better.
 
So I adjusted my headlights a little higher using the method other CX-9 owners have used; and WOW, it makes a MASSIVE difference. My windshield is tinted and I feel much more confident driving at night with my CX-9. Before I would not drive my CX-9 at night because of how low the headlights would point, and with a tinted windshield, it made matters worse. But now, the lights go much further down the road. Let me give you an example of the difference. Before I adjusted my headlights, if I was about 20 feet behind a vehicle, my headlights would shine their tires; but after adjusting my headlights, it shines a little below their side-mirrors.

I just came back from a trip to Lake George and not a single person flashed their high beams at me. If you own a CX-9 that has gotten the Poor rating from the IIHS, I’d highly recommend adjusting your headlights a little higher.

- Shawnee
 
The first video (in Manhattan) shows how my headlights were before I had adjusted them. The second video (on the Grand Central Pkwy) shows they are after the adjustment. As you can see, it is higher. I was unable to get a video showing how far down the road they go after the adjustment, but I will upload that later.

 
So I adjusted my headlights a little higher using the method other CX-9 owners have used; and WOW, it makes a MASSIVE difference. My windshield is tinted and I feel much more confident driving at night with my CX-9. Before I would not drive my CX-9 at night because of how low the headlights would point, and with a tinted windshield, it made matters worse. But now, the lights go much further down the road. Let me give you an example of the difference. Before I adjusted my headlights, if I was about 20 feet behind a vehicle, my headlights would shine their tires; but after adjusting my headlights, it shines a little below their side-mirrors.

I just came back from a trip to Lake George and not a single person flashed their high beams at me. If you own a CX-9 that has gotten the Poor rating from the IIHS, I’d highly recommend adjusting your headlights a little higher.

- Shawnee
I have a 2013 CX-9 and my passenger side light is lighting the sidewalk and not the road. Is there a horizontal adj like the vertical adj? I havent found anything on the horizontal adj. Thanks if you can help.
 
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