Another problem with Automatic Headlight Leveling System

The internet supplier probably is associated with a southern California retail dealer. Whether the G is a prefix or suffix, I suggest you call the supplier to discuss your concern.

Yes, if you can find the headlight aim adjustment then in principle you can try to adjust the headlights yourself.

 

Sorry! I DO have the HID's and think I have a bad leveling sensor too.

I wont reply again, I thought we were trailing the same issue here. Geesh.

 

PriusGuy32

You mentioned your 07 was hit in the front and required extensive repair. If the headlight beams are pointed upward and you have not seen the red triangle with the headlight leveling sensor warning symbol on the MFD, then it's more likely to be the body shop repair that's the issue.

Then again, it's not easy to know if it is the leveling sensor itself that is bad unless you swap in a known good sensor.

 

Essentially......yeah. But you can also raise the rear end by driving the rear wheels onto car ramps which is a little easier than using a jack. Once the rear end is raised the sensor is easy to access.

 

Yes, that's correct. The left rear wheel doesn't interfere with the removal whatsoever.

 

Hi again, boostm3,

The letter "G" was a suffix (after the part number printed on the label affixed to the plastic bag containing the new sensor). I already had knowledge of that fact from one of these Prius forums back in 2006, so I asked the parts people to show me the part before it was taken back to the tech for installation & I verified that the label did include the "G" right after the part number on the Toyota factory label. Since that is a "countermeasure" part, that means that all the old parts without the "G" were supposed to be removed from stock & returned to Toyota so that the older ones would no longer be able to be installed accidentally. So whatever you get now SHOULD be the proper one with the "G". Because of this fact I don't know why I even bothered to mention about the "G". It's just that I was aware of it & wanted to share the fact & it COULD have been an issue for me back at that time because the countermeasure part was just newly released at my time of need & I was afraid the dealer would try to pass off one of the older parts on me. The "G" won't appear on any parts inventory list, but it should appear on the packaging label (if a genuine Toyota part). It's just a way for the parts people & the techs to verify that they have the latest engineering change of the part they are selling or installing. Good luck.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

You could do this but you would need to make sure that the disconnected harness connector was protected from moisture and secured to the body while you worked on the sensor.

It will be relatively easy to tell if it's possible to repair the sensor and it won't take days to repair it even if you can. I don't see a good reason why you are considering this. Any repair you make to the existing one most likely won't last long and might not restore the aim to the proper level even if you do. All my repair did was prevent the red triangle and MFD warning from being displayed. That red triangle is impossible to ignore - particularly at night.

Caution: If you have not disconnected the sensor before you might experience the same problem I did. One of the three pins from my sensor was rusted solid in the harness connector and the pin snapped off from the sensor when I disconnected it. There was no way that I could have known. Just be aware this might happen and you will have a worse situation to deal with. I needed to crimp on a replacement harness connector when I obtained the replacement sensor - it was the only way I could do a complete repair. Maybe you won't need to but if your sensor has never been disconnected, then there's a chance that it will have rust in the connection as well. This sensor should have had a waterproof connector considering where it was located.

 

Folks, what we really need is a technically-minded customizer who can give us an alternative to the darn leveling sensor that we could use to manually aim the headlights--a little dial we'd wire in to replace the sensor so we would set and adjust the headlight levels manually as needed. High tech features like high intensity discharge lighting can offer some advantages, but I wish I could just pop in a $5 replacement halogen bulb instead and be done with it, with no need for leveling sensors! Ditto for my $250 LED brake light replacement, $1500 strut replacement, etc.

 

$1500 for struts? No way. You can buy a full set of OEM Toyota shocks and struts for about $300 and install them yourself quite easily. Unless you're all thumbs or you aren't a gentile.

My '05 Prius has over a light second of miles on it with the original suspension. It seems to be fine. The tires wear evenly. The alignment is straight. No discernable difference from my almost brand new 2o10 Nissan Versa that has only 14K miles on it. I know this to be true because I've taken each car over the same dips and bumps in the road and have not noticed any difference in the amount of bounce between the two.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Just my humble opinion. To each his own.

 

The manual gives no additional info. It just says "1. Disconnect the connector." Naught else.

Is it possible to remove the sensor with wire still attached, and get it into a better position to pull the plugs apart?

 

You need to press the tab down firmly to release the retainer and then you will be able to slide the harness connector off. The tab is on the same side as the left rear wheel.

Why on earth did you use only one ramp? Only had one? You would have had plenty of room to access the sensor with two. And.....I didn't use a creeper. Just a piece of cardboard. No wonder you had difficulty.