How To Adjust Headlight Beam Height

[D.J.]

Is it critical if almost all teeth are being broken?

Can you share a picture?


None of the teeth should be broken

 

[D.J.]

If you’re breaking the teeth off the gears you are obviously doing it wrong. Stop and pay the dealer to do it because you have no business doing it yourself.

Disagree strongly .


Should say.


Stop, and pay a good mechanic to adjust for you. Never go to the dealer for non warranty service


Also, to the OP, why are you adjusting them? Did you recently modify your ride height?
Collision damage?

 

[BC00]

It's hard to take a good photo of that tiny R/L adjustment hole. I will try in a sunny day...

The lights are being too low and dispersed too much in the left side from the factory, the check up confirmed that.

I am not doing anything myself, just inspecting. Adjustment hole definitely doesn't look like the dude make a photo in the 1st page.

 

[elbertc]

If you’re breaking the teeth off the gears you are obviously doing it wrong. Stop and pay the dealer to do it because you have no business doing it yourself.

I adjusted my headlights myself because the dealer's adjustment was still too low.

I was initially happy driving in the city with my adjustment, but last night I drove in dark, unlit country roads and found the beam too a bit too short. So I pulled over to the side of the road, popped the hood open. deployed my #2 Philips screwdriver. and pointed my headlights a bit higher.

It was so simple and easy. i was done in just a minute or so. I didn't even need a flashlight to see the little holes in the dual-funnel. It's almost as if this was meant to be user-adjustable.

Now, how anyone could break the teeth is beyond me. As with any screwdriver, a little pressure should be applied to ensure the screw head and the driver are constantly in contact while turning.

 

[ldusseau]

So, is it possible to move low headlight beam to right/left? Mine MY18 GT2 also has a blank L/R holes.

I would NOT recommend adjusting your headlamps L/R. There should be a factory installed lockout feature on the L/R adjuster. Optics engineers work years to get the headlamp pattern correct. Adjusting them U/D is ok, but if you over adjust that you can cause glare issues for oncoming traffic. I wouldn't think there is any reason to change the factory L/R setting, doing so can lead to a large dark spot in the foreground. If it was me I would leave L/R alone (you might not be able to adjust them anyway).

 

[D.J.]

I would NOT recommend adjusting your headlamps L/R. There should be a factory installed lockout feature on the L/R adjuster. Optics engineers work years to get the headlamp pattern correct. Adjusting them U/D is ok, but if you over adjust that you can cause glare issues for oncoming traffic. I wouldn't think there is any reason to change the factory L/R setting, doing so can lead to a large dark spot in the foreground. If it was me I would leave L/R alone (you might not be able to adjust them anyway).

What does this factory installed lockout look like? any pictures?

My 2018 does not have any factory installed lockouts.

 

[ldusseau]

I adjusted my headlights myself because the dealer's adjustment was still too low.

I was initially happy driving in the city with my adjustment, but last night I drove in dark, unlit country roads and found the beam too a bit too short. So I pulled over to the side of the road, popped the hood open. deployed my #2 Philips screwdriver. and pointed my headlights a bit higher.

It was so simple and easy. i was done in just a minute or so. I didn't even need a flashlight to see the little holes in the dual-funnel. It's almost as if this was meant to be user-adjustable.

Now, how anyone could break the teeth is beyond me. As with any screwdriver, a little pressure should be applied to ensure the screw head and the driver are constantly in contact while turning

Is yours not like this.

Kia Stinger - Headlamps - Lighting System

View attachment 82313

What does this factory installed lockout look like? any pictures?

My 2018 does not have any factory installed lockouts.

Perhaps South Korea didn't add them. Or they aren't present on the motor. For SAE markets, headlamps with manual horizontal adjusters, lockouts are mandatory. It's a little shield that's installed on the horizontal adjuster that prevents access to the phillips head. I've not worked on a headlamp program for a long time that's slated for CCC markets. Maybe the regulations have changed?

 

[ldusseau]

What does this factory installed lockout look like? any pictures?

My 2018 does not have any factory installed lockouts.

Lockouts or no lockouts, I still don't recommend changing the factory L/R setting

 

[ldusseau]

Perhaps South Korea didn't add them. Or they aren't present on the motor. For SAE markets, headlamps with manual horizontal adjusters, lockouts are mandatory. It's a little shield that's installed on the horizontal adjuster that prevents access to the phillips head. I've not worked on a headlamp program for a long time that's slated for CCC markets. Maybe the regulations have changed?

Last headlamp I was involved with that went to multiple overseas markets was the 2015 Ford Edge, a halogen projector headlamp.

Can anyone out here confirm the presence of a lockout for L/R?

 

[D.J.]

Perhaps South Korea didn't add them. Or they aren't present on the motor. For SAE markets, headlamps with manual horizontal adjusters, lockouts are mandatory. It's a little shield that's installed on the horizontal adjuster that prevents access to the phillips head. I've not worked on a headlamp program for a long time that's slated for CCC markets. Maybe the regulations have changed?

What is SAE markets?
What is CCC markets?

 

[ldusseau]

Those are acronyms for automotive regulatory bodies. SAE is "Society Of Automotive Engineers" and is generally North American markets. ECE is most of Europe. CCC is China, I don't know if there is a separate body for Korea. There's another one for the Middle East that I can't remember. IIHS is the "Insurance Institute for Highway Safety" based in Virginia. They are funded by the insurance industry. They implemented "the notch" because of glare complaints. However most NA automotive makers have done away with it as people hate it. NHTSA is of course another US government regulatory body. So there's a lot to be considered in lamp designs depending on which market a rear lighting, or especially front lighting system is being sold.

 

[ldusseau]

Then the IIHS ratings are broken down into "good", "acceptable" and "poor". Those are mostly based on beam pattern performance, balancing downroad punch to glare, or sometimes called "dazzle" for oncoming traffic. There are even standards for "sign lighting", so if you have a halogen reflector, certain facets of the reflector are aimed up and to the right to illuminate signs.

 

[D.J.]

Lockouts or no lockouts, I still don't recommend changing the factory L/R setting

I strongly recommend adjusting the left/right adjustment - if it is out of alignment.
You would not be changing the factory settings, you would be adjusting to the factory settings.

Details on correct alignment are here --> https://www.kstinger.com/headlamps-790.html

 

[ldusseau]

I strongly recommend adjusting the left/right adjustment - if it is out of alignment.
You would not be changing the factory settings, you would be adjusting to the factory settings.

Details on correct alignment are here --> https://www.kstinger.com/headlamps-790.html

I respectfully disagree, but how on earth would a headlamp's L/R factory settings become out of alignment other than a collision? Additionally, the factory settings are done in final assembly by computerized aiming systems, not something you can accurately recreate at home.

 

[D.J.]

I respectfully disagree, but how on earth would a headlamp's L/R factory settings become out of alignment other than a collision? Additionally, the factory settings are done in final assembly by computerized aiming systems, not something you can accurately recreate at home.

Yes, can become misaligned during a collision.

Same as a wheel alignment.


I had one of my headlights replaced under warranty - I then adjusted it myself to factory specs, cause kia dealerships generally suck.

 

[ldusseau]

Yes, can become misaligned during a collision.

Same as a wheel alignment.


I had one of my headlights replaced under warranty - I then adjusted it myself to factory specs, cause kia dealerships generally suck.

That's understandable now. However I still would not recommend people "play" with the L/R adjustment unless something like what you mentioned happens. Even with U/D, people need to be careful. ie doing it up against a wall with the vehicle on a level surface and no extra weight in the car other than the driver. IIHS and Consumer Reports (forgot to mention that rating system earlier) measurement happen on flat surfaces with poles located in precise locations for standardized, non-moving measurements. Then there's a night drive when engineers pile into a mule with lights mounted according the the new vehicle's dimensions and evaluate the beam pattern for down road visibility, the foreground illumination and for light/dark streaks in the pattern.

 

[ldusseau]

Then the IIHS ratings are broken down into "good", "acceptable" and "poor". Those are mostly based on beam pattern performance, balancing downroad punch to glare, or sometimes called "dazzle" for oncoming traffic. There are even standards for "sign lighting", so if you have a halogen reflector, certain facets of the reflector are aimed up and to the right to illuminate signs.

If you notice OEMs are starting to place truck headlamps lower on the vehicle, dividing up the LB/HB and DRL functions, this is a direct response to IIHS ratings. It's not that the LED lamps are that much brighter (there are limits) it's the color temperature of LED and their higher placement, resulting in glare for oncoming traffic. If you are sitting in your passenger vehicle and there's a truck across the intersection whose lights look extremely bright, then you've experienced this phenomena. Once they turn then you will likely see that the HB (always the inner lamp function) is not illuminated.

 

[Kiteflygolfdrive]

I just did the adjustment on my lights using the "horizon" method. It was super easy, using the "funnel" and the long-shank screwdriver referenced above). Took maybe 2 minutes each side. I'm anxious to see tonight how they do on the road.

For the record, my 2020 GT2 has headlight centers ~28" from the ground. I marked out the same height on the back wall of the garage, and parked the car at ~20'. Adjusted the lights up until the tops of the "hot spots" were at 28". The hardest part of the whole process was finding a screwdriver that would fit the darn hole!

Thank you. Your this post made it much easier - the second time. I wish I had found this post earlier.

I have aFe air boxes which are too big to allow for the screwdriver method so I had to remove them a couple times. Once removed I used a 12mm ratchet to adjust up. Tip for which direction to adjust...both lights using a ratchet adjust up by turning the black nut CCW. Left side pull up to move light UP. Right side push down (which is CCW) to move light UP.

I first adjusted the lights up to 27 inches at 6ft in my garage (furthest I could get). Then found the same post you referenced. I measured at 20ft when it got dark and I was at 26 inches. I went back inside, adjusted to up to 28.5 inches at 6ft. Back outside and the 20ft height is now just over 27 inches. I could probably go slightly higher but I don't feel like removing the boxes again. The benefit of raising the lights is certainly noticeable. Im glad I did it. I went for a short drive on the main road near me, no one flashed their lights at me to say I was blinding them.

Bottom line: based on my experience if you want 28inch height at 20ft and you don't have much space.....I would use 29.5in at 6ft to get 28in at 20ft. It only took me 45 min to remove boxes, adjust height, reinstall boxes.

I hope this helps folks. If you can use the screwdriver method then it's obviously a much quicker adjustment than mine. I had 6000miles since installing the aFe Pro Dry S filters I cleaned those. Definitely worth the effort for the amount of dirt and debris that was removed from the filters - brown to white.

 

[ldusseau]

This is a good procedure. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Thomby]

For anyone wondering, I did this recently and the Phillips screwdriver was very easy once I figured out how the mechanism works. I initially planned to use a wrench on the bolt in back, but even with the airboxes loosened that looked pretty questionable.

The plastic guide should fit snugly on a standard 8" #2 Phillips, and basically forces it to align with the screw. You should feel the screwdriver blades seat into the threads, and then turning the screwdriver (not pushing it) a few times will let you see movement in the bolt and your headlight cutoff line. After that it was maybe 30 seconds a side to adjust.