2023 Prius (prime SE) headlight aimed low. Adjust?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by tmorrowus, Oct 1, 2023.

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  1. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    It's page 451 for the headlight adjustments. Pretty short and pretty vague. That's going to require some trial and error.
     
    #21 CooCooCaChoo, Oct 2, 2023
  2. tmorrowus

    tmorrowus Member

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    Yes, it was p. 542 in my prime manual. The instructions were pretty hard to understand, but I think I figured it out with daylight. There are two screws on each side, one reached by plunging a screwdriver downward through the hole, and another hole right next to it which requires plunging a screwdriver on a steep diagonal toward the front of the car. The diagram is confusing because it shows the A and B adjustment screws far apart, which they are, but the access holes (not on diagram) are right next to each other. I had to get my extra long screwdriver for the latter because a standard 6" Klein PH2 wouldn't reach.

    I have never had any success adjusting headlights against walls; I always find it comes down to adjust, drive, repeat.
     
    #22 tmorrowus, Oct 2, 2023
  3. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Ah, LE manual is different then.
     
    #23 CooCooCaChoo, Oct 2, 2023
  4. HacksawMark

    HacksawMark Active Member

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    I adjust against my garage wall. Prior to adjusting, I put some tape at the top line of the low beam and then adjust incrementally from there. It doesn't take much to make a noticeable difference on the road.
     
    #24 HacksawMark, Oct 3, 2023
  5. KMO

    KMO Senior Member

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    Interesting the difference in DIY maintenance detail between manuals, looking at Japan v Europe v USA.

    The Japanese don't get an "engine compartment" section - the section is replaced with only "refilling the washer fluid". They're not trusted to do anything else in there.

    The Europeans aren't told how to aim headlights, but are otherwise authorised to do all the same as the Americans. Could be regulatory, or it could be that that aim is specific to the non-AHS lights, or that the AHS lights would fight back if you tried adjusting there. (You certainly see them do an up-and-down seek operation at every start-up, as if hunting for calibration).
     
    #25 KMO, Oct 3, 2023
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  6. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    The last time I adjusted the HID's on my GMC, I used my neighbor's Corolla. She parks on the street, so I aimed it just below her trunk deck. That way, I know I'm not blinding anyone - I've got high beams for that....:D:LOL::ROFLMAO:
     
    #26 BiomedO1, Oct 3, 2023
  7. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    @tmorrowus, here is the million-dollar question: Does Prius Prime SE have a lighting taillight bar?
     
    #27 Gokhan, Oct 13, 2023
  8. tmorrowus

    tmorrowus Member

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    Afraid not. The part in the middle does not illuminate.
     
    #28 tmorrowus, Oct 13, 2023
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  9. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    Thanks, that is unfortunate.
     
    #29 Gokhan, Oct 13, 2023
  10. patmine23

    patmine23 New Member

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    I'm a bit late to this party but I also am not a fan of the headlights on this car. Coming from a 2015 Corolla which had amazing headlights, I had assumed that these on this 2023 would be that much better. Sadly they weren't even close. I'm not sure if they are aimed too low or there isn't enough overall lighting. Meaning the beam is very sharp and doesn't have very much "light bleed" (not sure the correct term) that highlights a bigger field of view. Has re-aiming them helped with this issue?
     
    #30 patmine23, Mar 8, 2024
  11. HacksawMark

    HacksawMark Active Member

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    It helps. You just need to make sure that you don't raise to the point that ongoing drivers start flashing you.
     
    #31 HacksawMark, Mar 9, 2024
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