Feb 12, 2021
How to Adjust and Align Your Car Headlights for Perfect Aim

When you’re driving in the dark, having properly adjusted headlights on your car helps you see the road more clearly. If a headlight of your car is facing up to the sky and one is facing off in the bushes, you can’t get a good overall visual of the road and surroundings ahead of you. Fortunately, with a few tools and knowledge, car manufacturers make it fairly easy for you to adjust your own headlights. Follow these steps to learn how to do this important safety procedure.

How Do I Know If My Headlights Need Adjustment?

If you constantly have oncoming drivers flash their headlights from high to low at you, they’re trying to tell you that your headlights are shining into the driver’s eyes, temporarily blinding them. Either you have your high beams on, or your low beams aren’t adjusted properly. When you drive down the road and can’t see more than 20 or 30 feet in front of you, the headlights are too low. If all you see is the night sky or the tops of the trees, the headlights are too high.

How Do Headlights Go Out of Adjustment?

There are a number of factors that can cause your headlights to shine incorrectly and go out of correct alignment. If you have a frontal collision, the headlight can get unbalanced. Driving over potholes and hitting road hazards can also make your headlights go out of whack. If you notice any of the issues mentioned above, check your headlight adjustment.

Tools and Materials You’ll Need to Adjust Your Headlights

  • Your owner’s manual.
  • A screwdriver.
  • A measuring tape.
  • Painters or masking tape.
  • Dark fabric or cardboard to block light.
  • A garage door or wall with 25 feet of space to back up.

Steps to Adjust Your Headlights

  1. Consult your owner’s manual. Some vehicles don’t allow for headlight adjustments. You’ll need to consult the owner’s manual to see if your particular make and model allows for adjustment. You’ll also want to check the manual to show you the location of the adjusting screws. Some vehicles have leveling bubbles to help with headlight adjustment, similar to a carpenter’s level. Your owner’s manual will show you the type and location of the adjustment screws.
  2. Park the car on level ground. Find level ground where you can shine the headlights on the garage door or a flat wall. Make sure the car’s tires have the proper inflation, the gas tank is at least half-full, and try to mimic the normal amount of weight you normally carry in the vehicle. Push on all four corners of the car to help level out the shocks, and turn the headlights on.
  3. Create a center axis. This next step is best done at dusk or dawn. Park the car about six feet away from the wall. Turn your headlights on low beam. Use the masking tape to mark the horizontal and vertical lines of the beam’s center axis as it shines on the wall. The position of the tape should create a cross.
  4. Measure the difference between the two headlights. Take the measuring tape and measure the lines to see if both headlights have the same measurement. If the measurements don’t match, note the difference and lower the highest centerline to the same height as the lowest centerline mark. Some vehicles have integrated crosshairs within the headlight that help you find the center axis of the beam easily. Your owner’s manual will have this information.
  5. Back the car away from the wall. Using the measuring tape, measure the distance recommended in your owner’s manual, roughly 25 feet. Keeping the surface level, back the car so that the front wheels hit the 25-foot mark. Turn your headlights on and note where the brightest part of the headlight’s beam hits the taped spot on the garage wall.
  6. Prepare for the adjustment.Prepare for the adjustment by taking off the ring or bezel of the headlights, keeping the parts in a secure location. Make sure you have your screwdriver and a piece of dark cloth or cardboard handy. Be familiar with the location of both the vertical and horizontal adjuster screws. Having an assistant inside of the car helps with the actual adjusting process.
  7. Adjust the vertical field. As you stand in the front of the car, have the assistant turn the headlights off. Next, put the dark cloth or cardboard over one headlight, and have the assistant turn the headlights on. Find the adjusting screw and turn the screws slowly clockwise to raise the height of the lights or counterclockwise to lower them. As you make your adjustment, make sure the most intense part of the headlight beam hits at or just below the vertical centerline you taped on the wall.
  8. Adjust the horizontal field. Turn the screws clockwise to adjust the headlight inwards and counterclockwise to adjust them outwards. The headlight beam should fall just to the right of the center tapeline. Next, block out the adjusted headlight and do the same vertical and horizontal adjustment on the other headlight.
  9. Fine-tune the adjustments. Keep tweaking the vertical and horizontal adjustment until the headlight beam’s center axis lines up with the tape marks on the wall. Once you’re satisfied with the adjustments, take the car for a road test, and if one of the headlights isn’t quite up to par, repeat the above instructions.

Check Local and the Manufacturers Specifications

Some states and counties have different specifications for headlight beam adjustments, so check with them to make sure you’re in compliance with the laws. Also, manufacturers have guidelines for the recommended distance between the center of the beam and the horizontal centerline of the headlight. You can find this information in the owner’s manual or online.

We hope this information will help you adjust your headlights to help keep you and other drivers safe. Do you have any other tips on adjusting headlights? If so, we’d love to hear from you, so feel free to drop us a line. If you would like our professional service technicians to adjust your headlights for you, contact us here at Wendle Ford.

Featured Image via Flickr by Tony Webster