2016~2023 Headlight adjustment - Is a recalibration necessary after adjustment?

[sm1ke]

2018 Signature. I looked under the hood and I can see the headlight adjustment mechanism, but I'm a little worried about messing with it in case it messes with things like the auto-leveling system or the initial start up sequence that the lights go through. I'm also not sure if there is a recalibration that needs to be done after adjusting the headlights to make sure that they don't revert back to the original height.

I'm basically just looking for confirmation that a recalibration isn't required, and that I can safely adjust the height of the headlights without running into any problems. Has anyone adjusted the adaptive headlights yet?


I've contacted my dealer about this a few times. Instead of giving me a straight answer over email, they always suggest that I come in. I'd rather not go out of my way just for this, so I'm hoping someone here has some answers.

 

[jefferson88]

I know this is not directly applicable, but in my experience I have never needed to recalibrate a headlight after adjustment. I've adjusted the height of adaptive xenons on my previous Audi Q7, adaptive LEDs on a new Outback, and non-adaptive LEDs of my CX-5 without issue.
The adjustment screw is not connected to the computer or headlight motor at all, so the car has no way of knowing anything has changed.
It's best to make small changes, like 1/4 or 1/2 turn at a time, because the changes are significant far away from the vehicle.

 

[sm1ke]

Thanks, that makes sense. I have also adjusted the adaptive headlights on my previous vehicle (2008 IS250). I just want to be sure.

I did come across some older posts that state that the headlights can be adjusted with no issue. The only thing to worry about is adjusting them too high, because the motors may then automatically realign them and you have to start from the beginning again.

I'll update this thread when I do this on my own car.

 

[youri]

The workshop manual doesn't mention any calibration to be done after performing the headlight adjustment.

It does require the shop to run the headlight auto levelling system initialization before doing the adjustment. But that is because the workshop procedure is meant to be done after a suspension change or something like that that might have changed the height of the vehicle. So assuming your auto levelling system is still in good working order, then you probably don't need to run it to perform the adjustment.

 

[Trip CX90]

If it’s similar to the adaptive LEDs in my 2016 and 2018 6s, it can be done. BUT ... I can’t remember the sequence. I think I had to turn the ignition fully on (so instrument cluster lights are on), engine off, and then adjust. If they are adjusted while the car is off, the auto level will adjust them back to the previous level when the car is switched on.

It was easy to do. Everything worked fine after I adjusted. No recalibration of any sort needed.

Just remember that small increments make huge adjustments to the headlight cutoffs. Do it slightly. Drive it to check it out. Readjust if necessary. If too high, it will blind oncoming drivers and makes the high beams useless ... they‘ll shine too high and most of their light won’t be focused down the road.

 

[sm1ke]

If it’s similar to the adaptive LEDs in my 2016 and 2018 6s, it can be done. BUT ... I can’t remember the sequence. I think I had to turn the ignition fully on (so instrument cluster lights are on), engine off, and then adjust. If they are adjusted while the car is off, the auto level will adjust them back to the previous level when the car is switched on.

It was easy to do. Everything worked fine after I adjusted. No recalibration of any sort needed.

Just remember that small increments make huge adjustments to the headlight cutoffs. Do it slightly. Drive it to check it out. Readjust if necessary. If too high, it will blind oncoming drivers and makes the high beams useless ... they‘ll shine too high and most of their light won’t be focused down the road.

Thanks, makes sense. Essentially the headlights are powered on, then they do their little initialization dance, then you adjust. Got it. And yes I'm familiar with headlight re-aiming and how important it is to ensure they are aimed correctly. There's an industrial building on flat, level ground that I use to follow one of the methods outlined here.

 

[crikey]

I actually did this about a month after getting our 2019 Signature because I was so irritated that the headlamps were aimed too low. I searched in this forum on how to raise the aim and found those adjustment screws. I performed the adjustments inside my garage and used the garage door to mark the initial height of the headlight beam, I took the highest point of the beam as the point of reference. I initially raised it too high, like I think I raised it 2” from the highest point and it translated to several inches higher than the initial height making it unusable. This was confirmed by a test drive. I quickly made adjustments by going back to the original height and raising it about a quarter inch higher. To me, that setting was perfect and I have never touched it since. I also do not get any headlamp flashing signals from oncoming traffic, so I’m happy with it.
To answer your question, I’ve never noticed any difference in behavior with the initialization of the headlamps, nor the adaptive headlight feature. I would just echo what someone else mentioned that a slight rise in height translates to a lot. Take from stupid me who did it.

 

[sm1ke]

Thank you @crikey, appreciate the feedback!