You might need to adjust the headlights on your Toyota Highlander when approaching motorists give you the stink eye, honk at you, or flash their bright lights. Although Toyota advises using an approved service facility, anyone with a Phillips screwdriver can perform the required modifications.
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Step 1
Get ready to adjust the headlights on your Toyota Highlander. Place the SUV 20 to 25 feet from a wall or garage door on a level surface. Verify that the tires’ air pressure matches the setting you usually drive at for best performance. Any extra items you don’t carry every day should be empty.
Step 2
Locate the headlight adjustment wheel by opening the hood. Toyota installs these near the housing for the headlights. Since Toyota doesn’t supply a horizontal adjustment wheel, you must either fix any frame damage or shimm the headlight assembly to change the horizontal trajectory.
Step 3
Make a mark on the wall with the distance measured from the headlight’s center to the ground. To ensure that the adjustment is done correctly, you might want to mark a line on the wall that is the same width as the Toyota Highlander.
Step 4
The headlights must be on. Insert a Phillips screwdriver into the opening at the top of the vertical adjustment wheel to turn it. The teeth on the wheel in the headlight housing are engaged by the screwdriver head.
Watch the trajectory path and note how it differs from the measurement on the wall. The low beams can deviate from the center point by up to 2 inches, but the high beams should be centered.
- Given that the adjustment wheel is hidden behind the corner lamps on some models, you might need to remove the headlight cover.
- Measurement tape
- writing instrument or masking tape
- tool for Phillips screws
How should the screws be turned to change the headlights?
- Read the owner’s manual. Some automobiles don’t have a headlight adjusting feature. To find out whether your specific make and model allows for adjustment, examine the owner’s handbook. To find out where the adjusting screws are located, you need also consult the handbook. Similar to a carpenter’s level, certain automobiles contain leveling bubbles that aid in headlight adjustment. You may find the kind and placement of the adjustment screws in your owner’s handbook.
- Put the automobile on a level spot. Find a flat area where you may beam the headlights on a wall or a garage door. Make sure the car’s tires are properly inflated, that the petrol tank is at least halfway full, and try to simulate the weight that you would typically carry inside the automobile. Turn on the headlights while applying pressure to the car’s four corners to assist in balancing the shocks.
- Establish a central axis. It is better to complete this following stage at dawn or dusk. The distance between the car and the wall should be six feet. the low beam setting on your headlights. As the beam shines on the wall, use the masking tape to identify the horizontal and vertical axes of the beam. The tape should be placed such that it forms a cross.
- The difference between the two headlights should be measured. Check to determine if both headlights have the same measurement by using the measuring tape to measure the lines. The tallest centerline should be lowered to be the same height as the lowest centerline mark if the measurements don’t line up. Some cars have incorporated crosshairs in the headlight that make it simple to locate the beam’s center. This information can be found in your owner’s manual.
- Car is being backed away from the wall. Measure the area using the measuring tape at the approximate 25-foot distance suggested by your owner’s manual. Back the car up until the front wheels are at the 25-foot mark while maintaining a level surface. Turn on your headlights and observe where the marked area on the garage wall is struck by the brightest portion of the headlight’s beam.
- Get ready for the change.
- Remove the headlights’ ring or bezel to make way for the adjustment, keeping the pieces safely stored away. Make sure you have a screwdriver on available, along with some dark cardboard or fabric. Know where the vertical and horizontal adjuster screws are located. The actual adjustment operation is made easier with a helper inside the vehicle.
- Vertical field should be adjusted. Have the helper turn off the headlights while you are standing in front of the vehicle. Next, have the assistant switch on one headlight while you cover the other with the dark cloth or cardboard. Locate the adjusting screw and slowly move it in either the clockwise or counterclockwise direction to change the height of the lights. Ensure that the most intense portion of the headlight beam strikes at or just below the vertical centerline you marked with tape on the wall when you make your adjustment.
- the horizontal field, as necessary. To move the headlights inward or outward, turn the screws in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Just to the right of the middle tapeline, the headlight beam should land. After making the necessary vertical and horizontal adjustments to the other headlamp, block out the modified headlight.
- Adjustments should be refined. Once the center axis of the headlight beam coincides with the tape marks on the wall, continue fiddling with the vertical and horizontal adjustments. Take the car for a test drive when you’re satisfied with the modifications, and if one of the headlights isn’t quite up to pace, repeat the steps above.
Do Toyota Highlander’s headlights include adaptive technology?
Auxiliary High Beams The AHB system is made to automatically switch between high and low beams when it detects the headlights and taillights of other cars.
How far should your low beam headlights project?
Depending on the headlights you’re using, your headlights should shine a certain distance. High beams or brights should shine 350 to 400 feet in the distance, while low beams or dipped lights should shine roughly 150 to 200 feet away. For maximum effectiveness, fog lights must be positioned at a specific height; they do not need to illuminate the road in front of them.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about how far your headlights must shine, including how to examine each type, align them, and more!
How Far Should Your Headlights Shine While on High Beam (Brights)?
High beam headlights, sometimes referred to as brights, should illuminate the road in front of you for approximately 350400 feet (107122 meters).
High beams are advised for when you’re travelling quickly, thus this is roughly twice the distance needed for conventional headlights.
How can headlamp alignment be checked?
You must first determine whether the headlamp alignment is correct and whether it has to be adjusted. This can be done in a few simple steps.
Remove any extra weight first, such as objects in the boot, as these could cause your reading to be off. Additionally, make sure your tires are inflated to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer. Once parked, keep your vehicle around 60 cm from any walls or garage doors.
Now you can turn on the headlights, making sure they are not set to the beam or the fog light settings but rather the regular option. On the wall, the headlights will appear as a circle. Use two pieces of tape or a pencil to draw a plus symbol on the wall. Both lines should run horizontally from side to side and vertically from the top of the circular to the bottom. The center of your headlights is where the two lines converge in the middle.
Use a tape measure to make sure the plus signs’ centers are the same height. If they aren’t the same height, you might need to decrease one plus sign.
Reverse your automobile so that it is around eight meters from the wall once you are satisfied with your marks and they are both the same height. You don’t need to modify anything if the middle of your headlights still falls within your marks. You must readjust your headlights if they are dropping above, below, or to the side of the plus symbols.
What is the cost of changing the headlights?
Headlamp alignment adjustments typically cost between $41 and $52. Between $41 and $52 is the expected labor cost range. Taxes and other costs are not included in this range, nor are your particular vehicle or geographic area taken into account.
How far should your headlights project when they are on high beam?
When it is dark enough to not be able to see enough of the road ahead to drive safely, high beam headlights should be utilized.
Even the most seasoned drivers may find nighttime low visibility frightening. Why is nighttime driving riskier? A driver’s acute visionwhich includes depth perception, color identification, and peripheral visionis responsible for 90% of their reactions, all of which are significantly impaired at night. Headlights with high beams shine at an angle, illuminating the road 350400 feet in front of the vehicle, or nearly twice as far as low beams. (Remember that 100 feet per second is equal to 68 miles per hour. Low lights may only offer you a few seconds to react to a hazard when driving at highway speeds at night.)
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High lights can help keep you safe but, if used improperly, they can also put other drivers in risk. Whenever there is a chance that you might blind other drivers, you are required by law in every state to lower your high beam headlights. In general, high beam headlights cannot be utilized within 500 feet of an approaching vehicle or within 200 to 300 feet of a vehicle you are following. The exact distance varies from state to state.
What issues do Toyota Highlanders have?
Similar problems with the motorized tailgate and air conditioning system plagued the Toyota Highlander’s previous version from 2008 to 2013. A few owners have also complained of oil leaks from the engine and clunking sounds they hear when rotating the steering wheel.
Toyota adaptive headlights: what are they?
The National Highway Road Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been recording the data for 46 years, and the first half of 2021 revealed a dramatic increase in traffic fatalitiesthe greatest in that time. Over 6,000 pedestrian fatalities occur annually, an increase of 46% over the previous ten years. Also on the rise are bicycle fatalities.
The Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) of Toyota is a part of a network of safety experts and authorities investigating the causes of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists. In an effort to buck this alarming safety trend, the CSRC has recently started researching innovative methods of communication between automobiles and pedestrians utilizing adaptive headlights.
A cutting-edge innovation that combines several LEDs and computer chips is adaptive headlights. In addition to the broad beam that illuminates the road for the driver, this may allow vehicles to project a variety of locations and colors of light. Researchers from Toyota’s CSRC and its collaborators from the University of Iowa investigated how these adaptive headlight systems might potentially alert drivers to at-risk drivers and even converse with them to lessen collisions.
“According to Rini Sherony, senior principle engineer at CSRC in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a lot of the time the pedestrian or cyclist is unaware that a car is approaching from behind them. ” It can help to increase safety if both parties are aware of what is going specifically.
During the night, when more than 75 percent of pedestrian fatalities occur, the headlight technology is helpful. In general, pedestrians overestimate how visible they are to automobiles and underestimate how much more noticeable clothes could increase safety, according to previous study. Some automobiles have included lights that turn on when a pedestrian or cyclist is nearby in Europe and Japan.
The usage of adaptive headlights can help both the driver and other road users to avoid an accident. Adaptive headlights may be able to inform drivers and people on the road a few seconds earlier, just as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems can utilize notifications or nudging steering or braking to help avoid a crash. It’s possible that brief period of time will mean the difference between life and death.
The adaptive headlights Toyota investigated perform two things to warn bicyclists and pedestrians who are close to the road. To draw attention to the pedestrian or biker and alert the vehicle to their presence, a bright box is projected onto the ground around them. Additionally, a red or white symbol appears on the ground for pedestrians to observe. It appears to be an exclamation point inside of an upside-down triangle.
The most current studies analyzed which lighting arrangements prevented risky behavior the most effectively. The research team initially focused on flashing lights before adding the icon to the study. As the process went on, it became evident that working in a sequential manner wasn’t very helpful.
One of the top crash simulators in the world, the National Advanced Driver Simulator at the University of Iowa, was used for the research. Pedestrians and bicycles were used in some trials while drivers were used in others. One of only two pedestrian and bicycle simulators in the entire globe is located at the Iowa site. Volunteer subjects are positioned in front of traffic-simulating television screens in a dimly lit room. Researchers kept track of their responses to various traffic scenarios.
Bottom line: According to the simulator study, cars with these communicative adaptive headlights are promising and might significantly lower the number of pedestrian fatalities in the correct situations, according to Sherony.
The rise of pedestrian fatalities could be reversed with the use of mitigation technologies like adaptive headlights and automatic emergency braking.
Although there are now no vehicles in the United States with adaptive headlights, this may change in the upcoming years. Congress last year passed infrastructure legislation that requires the NHTSA to modify its rules by 2023 to allow high-tech headlights.
The headlight project contributes to other CSRC studies. Due to the possibility for safety, other road users have drawn attention. A 2020 research examined the communication between vehicles and pedestrians. On how electronic scooters fit into the landscape of the road, research has also started.
“Sherony added that crashes involving vulnerable road users are some of the most challenging. “Even at modest speeds, the risk of injury is very significant if you hit a person on the road who is not protected by metal. We are considering strategies to prevent more accidents on the road.