'24 Limited Headlight Beam Coverage

[westwind77]

I had a '10 SR5 with the standard halogen bulbs for years and I was satisfied with not only the light output but also how 'far' I could see. A few years back I swapped the OEM bulbs for LED's and adjusted them down not to blind other drivers for even better 'down the road' distance.

I recently picked up a '24 Limited and although I am happy with the brightness of the lights I can say I hate the 'cut off' line/design of these lights.

When a level road they are fine, but I live in a rural area with a lot of small up/down hills and turns. Heading down small hills the lights barely shine far enough ahead (onto the uphill) to be able to stop should something be in the road, and that is at 40mph! The cut off just makes night time driving in this area miserable.

I find myself having to use the auto high beams a lot to comfortably be able to see far enough ahead.....is this something others face as well?

For the past few years I always would comment negatively to my wife with all these people running the auto high beams....but now I think I understand why!

Curious if others feel the same way going from 'old school' light to this style? Have others raised the adjustments just a bit to help?

 

[fkheath]

I had a '10 SR5 with the standard halogen bulbs for years and I was satisfied with not only the light output but also how 'far' I could see. A few years back I swapped the OEM bulbs for LED's and adjusted them down not to blind other drivers for even better 'down the road' distance.

I recently picked up a '24 Limited and although I am happy with the brightness of the lights I can say I hate the 'cut off' line/design of these lights.

When a level road they are fine, but I live in a rural area with a lot of small up/down hills and turns. Heading down small hills the lights barely shine far enough ahead (onto the uphill) to be able to stop should something be in the road, and that is at 40mph! The cut off just makes night time driving in this area miserable.

I find myself having to use the auto high beams a lot to comfortably be able to see far enough ahead.....is this something others face as well?

For the past few years I always would comment negatively to my wife with all these people running the auto high beams....but now I think I understand why!

Curious if others feel the same way going from 'old school' light to this style? Have others raised the adjustments just a bit to help?

European cars have had this sharp cut off pattern since the 1970s. I'm used to it. But European cars with that pattern also have a rise on the right side so you can see road signs.

I would not recommend raising the lights for then they would be too high on a level road and blind people in front of you (if they don't have auto dimming rear view mirror -- there is also no such thing as an auto dimming outside mirror).

Thus, you will need to stay with what you have. There is nothing wrong with using the high beams as long as there is no one coming ahead of you.

 

[///AIRDAM]

my new 4R with the LED headlights were adjusted a bit low to begin with, i turned them up a few rounds. I have a long stretch of road across a lake dam at the house, i typically park on one end and adjust the headlights where i can see the cut-off about 150-200ft out. Once i get the cut-off where i can clearly see the road ahead i then pull up against a white metal building we have and adjust the cut-off lines so they match each other perfectly. I wanna say i may have went up a few turns to get them adjusted a little higher than stock like i like them to be.

 

[westwind77]

there is also no such thing as an auto dimming outside mirror).

Thus, you will need to stay with what you have. There is nothing wrong with using the high beams as long as there is no one coming ahead of you.

They actually do make vehicles with Auto Dimming side view mirrors, typically just the drivers side though.

my new 4R with the LED headlights were adjusted a bit low to begin with, i turned them up a few rounds. I have a long stretch of road across a lake dam at the house, i typically park on one end and adjust the headlights where i can see the cut-off about 150-200ft out. Once i get the cut-off where i can clearly see the road ahead i then pull up against a white metal building we have and adjust the cut-off lines so they match each other perfectly. I wanna say i may have went up a few turns to get them adjusted a little higher than stock like i like them to be.

I pulled my last 4R into the shop and marked the wall where the OEM lights sat and adjusted the LED's down to that position. I'll pull the new one in and see how that lines up, marks are still on the wall. If there is room I will happily move them up!

Given the amount of drivers who replace their lights and do NOT adjust their fixtures I don't feel bad going up a hair to keep myself and my family safe. We have inspections in our state and so many of these vehicles would fail if they actually tested the height of their lights. Technically they do test them, I just have not seen an inspection shop give a damn. They will fail you for tint instantly but you can blind others all day, ha.

 

[osugsxr]

I had a '10 SR5 with the standard halogen bulbs for years and I was satisfied with not only the light output but also how 'far' I could see. A few years back I swapped the OEM bulbs for LED's and adjusted them down not to blind other drivers for even better 'down the road' distance.

I recently picked up a '24 Limited and although I am happy with the brightness of the lights I can say I hate the 'cut off' line/design of these lights.

When a level road they are fine, but I live in a rural area with a lot of small up/down hills and turns. Heading down small hills the lights barely shine far enough ahead (onto the uphill) to be able to stop should something be in the road, and that is at 40mph! The cut off just makes night time driving in this area miserable.

I find myself having to use the auto high beams a lot to comfortably be able to see far enough ahead.....is this something others face as well?

For the past few years I always would comment negatively to my wife with all these people running the auto high beams....but now I think I understand why!

Curious if others feel the same way going from 'old school' light to this style? Have others raised the adjustments just a bit to help?

I would check the current height of them from X number of feet away on a wall think 10-15ft. See what is the recommend height is and if necessary make the adjustments might be 3.5 ft

 

[Too Stroked]

The "cutoff" feature of many new LED (and older HID) headlights can be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it allows engineers to concentrate light exactly where they want it and avoid blinding oncoming drivers. On the minus side, too harsh of a cutoff can be distracting as one drives - particularly in the conditions you mentioned.

 

[Humble Leader]

They actually do make vehicles with Auto Dimming side view mirrors, typically just the drivers side though.



I pulled my last 4R into the shop and marked the wall where the OEM lights sat and adjusted the LED's down to that position. I'll pull the new one in and see how that lines up, marks are still on the wall. If there is room I will happily move them up!

Given the amount of drivers who replace their lights and do NOT adjust their fixtures I don't feel bad going up a hair to keep myself and my family safe. We have inspections in our state and so many of these vehicles would fail if they actually tested the height of their lights. Technically they do test them, I just have not seen an inspection shop give a damn. They will fail you for tint instantly but you can blind others all day, ha.

last month I was driving on the highway in broad day light, no clouds, no rain, perfectly sunny day. a pickup truck was driving towards me with it's roof light bar on and I believe ditch lights on too. :lmao:

 

[westwind77]

The "cutoff" feature of many new LED (and older HID) headlights can be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it allows engineers to concentrate light exactly where they want it and avoid blinding oncoming drivers. On the minus side, too harsh of a cutoff can be distracting as one drives - particularly in the conditions you mentioned.

On long straight flats it works....but, for lack of better words, absolutely sucks in hilly twists and turns. I guess I will be 'that guy' momentarily blinding oncoming traffic until the auto high beams drop.

 

[honda250xtitan]

The "cutoff" feature of many new LED (and older HID) headlights can be a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it allows engineers to concentrate light exactly where they want it and avoid blinding oncoming drivers. On the minus side, too harsh of a cutoff can be distracting as one drives - particularly in the conditions you mentioned.

this x2. plus it messes with our night vision by having a harsh cutoff. but man a clean crispy cutoff is awesome when you get into projector retrofits.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Just put a 2” lift on that urban 4Runner and piss everyone off but you.

 

[westwind77]

Just put a 2” lift on that urban 4Runner and piss everyone off but you.

I have taken my last SR5 (that has the same body trim as my new limited) more places offroad than most of the other 'capable' 4R models I see on the road around me.

I ran into a person last week who bought a TRDP for the looks alone and has no plans to ever take it off-road or even on the beach. That will be an urban queen for life - calling a certain model urban is, IMO, ignorant as it really comes down to the person who owns and drives it, not the model itself.

I do intend to adjust the lights to the highest legal level in my state.

It's a joke and you can't even read license plates, should you need to, on the vehicles you are following with how low the cut off is. I've never had an issue with that with over 30 years of driving history.

Where I am so many people have replaced their OEM lights with LED's and never adjusted them so it is like everyone is driving around with high beams on anyway.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

I have taken my last SR5 (that has the same body trim as my new limited) more places offroad than most of the other 'capable' 4R models I see on the road around me.

I ran into a person last week who bought a TRDP for the looks alone and has no plans to ever take it off-road or even on the beach. That will be an urban queen for life - calling a certain model urban is, IMO, ignorant as it really comes down to the person who owns and drives it, not the model itself.

I do intend to adjust the lights to the highest legal level in my state.

It's a joke and you can't even read license plates, should you need to, on the vehicles you are following with how low the cut off is. I've never had an issue with that with over 30 years of driving history.

Where I am so many people have replaced their OEM lights with LED's and never adjusted them so it is like everyone is driving around with high beams on anyway.

Not a joke, but a statment about the Limited 4R, which litterally has urban features such as XREAS suspension, AWD, and 20” wheels. More of a comment about buying the right tool for the job and the Limited being intended more for urban and highway use.

We have 2014 SR5 and it’s been great and has 361.5K miles on it. I installed the Lasfit LEDs and frankly, they are better than the OEM LED headlights in the 2023 ORP. For some reason Toyota opted for LEDs in the yellow light spectrum like down at 3000, which makes them less brigther than the Lasfit.

We have a 2023 ORP and it too has been great. Some irony here in that the ORP has the locker, but the older SR5 gets the off road assignments. That is good because she dented the passenger side second door this week sliding in mud into a tree.

 

[fkheath]

I have taken my last SR5 (that has the same body trim as my new limited) more places offroad than most of the other 'capable' 4R models I see on the road around me.

I ran into a person last week who bought a TRDP for the looks alone and has no plans to ever take it off-road or even on the beach. That will be an urban queen for life - calling a certain model urban is, IMO, ignorant as it really comes down to the person who owns and drives it, not the model itself.

I do intend to adjust the lights to the highest legal level in my state.

It's a joke and you can't even read license plates, should you need to, on the vehicles you are following with how low the cut off is. I've never had an issue with that with over 30 years of driving history.

Where I am so many people have replaced their OEM lights with LED's and never adjusted them so it is like everyone is driving around with high beams on anyway.

I put the Lasfit LED kit for 4Runners into my 4Runner. The height was perfect, lighting up to the top of the trunk of cars ahead, but below the rear windows on those cars. No adjustment needed.