Are 5th gen headlights TOO bright?!?

S

sandwich

Banned
or maybe too HIGH? The lights don't bother me in the slightest, but has caused me some mayhem....

Rewind to X-mas eve.. actually it was Xmas day at like 1am, driving home from my uncles house. I get to my town and I'm sitting at a red light behind one other car (malibu).. light turns green and guy decides not to go through the green.. so I give a little honk. I see him give me the finger, and he goes a little bit and brake checks me, then goes again and brake checks me. Enraged, I speed up and pass him and pull over and open my window. He pulls up and I start cursing him out, and ask if he would like to get a beating on Xmas eve? He was old, and said something like my lights are too bright in his broken spanish-engrish. Poor guy would have got his ass kicked, over some lights, if it wasn't a holiday. Very unnecessary

Next was last week or so... I'm driving through town at night again behind a little Mazda3 wagon. This guy pulls over and lets me go by.. then gets back behind me and tailgates me with his high beams on. I laugh it off this time, because with my slightly tinted windows and mirrors..it was just comical.. cause even the high beams coming from such a small car, barely light up the bottom of my mirror. BUT this guy decides to follow me, so I couldn't go home but I had to drive around until he got tired of this.

Now I don't look for trouble, ever. I don't cruise around town, I go to work and come home... But it seems like my headlights are bringing me trouble...which kind of bothers me. My main concern is someone in town keying or vandalizing my 4R because of this.

Are the lights really that high and is anyone else having a similar issue?
 
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Mine are sorta high from the factory, and I need to look into lowering them. Luckily most people here have SUV's and people with small cars are used to obnoxious lights :p

Still a problem I would not have expected to have OEM.

Dennis.
 
Sounds like they weren't adjusted correctly from the factory. I would probably adjust them down a little.
 
jsmarine said:
Sounds like they weren't adjusted correctly from the factory. I would probably adjust them down a little.
Click to expand...

This would be my guess as well. I've had a couple of new car purchases that had this problem. I've always just had the dealer adjust them under warranty.
 
sandwich said:
Are the lights really that high and is anyone else having a similar issue?
Click to expand...

This issue has been mentioned here before. I have been flashed a couple times at night, they get the hint when I hit my real high's back at them. I have not had any issues with following anyone though, no brake checks. They do sit high, and they are bright, and I think they are borderline on height. Then again in the state of MA the car has to pass inspection, that includes having the light height tested so legally I am fine :)
 
:whipping2
headrush223 said:
The answer is HELL YES! The headlights of current vehicles are much too bright, too high, and many are essentially unfocused. To make matters worse, many vehicles essentially have two pair of headlights (driving lights + headlights).

As we age our eyes get more sensitive to light and our night vision gets significantly worse. This happens about age 50. So bright light essentially blinds us old people.

Furthermore, 10% of the population suffers from migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are triggered by bright light. Yes, by overly bright headlights or driving lights, even during the day. So if you happen to be a motorcyclist riding around with your brights on all the time, expect me to swerve into your lane and take your dumb a** out.

As for the rest of you, turn your stupid driving lights off during the day (and of course your headlights). And adjust your headlights!! Not everyone drives a big SUV, some people actually drive smaller, environmentally responsible vehicles.

What rocket scientist came up with the idea of driving around with lights on during the day?? Someone please give me his address.

I keep contacting the USDOT about this, but so far no response.

Now I need to figure out how to adjust my headlights in my new Forerunner. Because I don't want to be a **** like so many other people.
Click to expand...
Wow ! Welcome to the forum :bigok:
:worthless

Easy.....just read this and this.....http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/63007-headlight-aiming.html

and this......Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

Then ....Tell 10 people and then tell them 10 people to tell 10 more people where the info is and the headlight aiming revolution of 2012 will have been started.
I'm over 50 and I'm not blinded..................yet:pimp:
It's those bright purple HID ones that get me!Brings back acid flashbacks!
Time to go to the house,,:bat:
 
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I drive at night with my headlights and driving lights and DRL's and Hella roof rack lights and parking (breathe here) lights all OFF.

This makes it much safer for older people who are sensitive to bright lights. Damn my family's safety at night!

Gotta look out for those 50+ yr olds, especially the ones that drive directly into your right front fender.

Ridiculous.
 
I noticed this last weekend that my brights are set way too low. But, those can't be adjusted separately can they?

If not, it is time for extra lights.
 
Wow, I almost got onto the OP about being a douche and putting himself in danger to be a "tough guy" until I realized his post was 2 years old.

Always have your lights aimed appropriately. But I've found that even with properly aimed lights, some people are don't understand that your little car 4" off the ground makes you more susceptible to getting other light shined into your car when in close proximity. Also going over large bumps tends to have the same effect as flashing your lights to oncoming vehicles. Finally, with HIDs, even OEM fitted into projectors, the light patterns are crisp, so when your car shifts so does the very sharp pattern and it can be hard on the eyes. I used to get flashed all the time in my Z with low beams on. If they did it more than once they got a quick flash of the high beams to let them know they are getting the lesser of two evils.

Anyway, regardless of the issue, it's silly to get enraged over something like in the OP's situation. The other driver could have been unstable, had a gun, or anything. It would have been a shame for someone to die over a misunderstanding. But, yet another good reason to have your CWP.
 
headrush223 said:
The answer is HELL YES! The headlights of current vehicles are much too bright, too high, and many are essentially unfocused. To make matters worse, many vehicles essentially have two pair of headlights (driving lights + headlights).

As we age our eyes get more sensitive to light and our night vision gets significantly worse. This happens about age 50. So bright light essentially blinds us old people.
Furthermore, 10% of the population suffers from migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are triggered by bright light. Yes, by overly bright headlights or driving lights, even during the day. So if you happen to be a motorcyclist riding around with your brights on all the time, expect me to swerve into your lane and take your dumb a** out.

As for the rest of you, turn your stupid driving lights off during the day (and of course your headlights). And adjust your headlights!! Not everyone drives a big SUV, some people actually drive smaller, environmentally responsible vehicles.

What rocket scientist came up with the idea of driving around with lights on during the day?? Someone please give me his address.

I keep contacting the USDOT about this, but so far no response.

Now I need to figure out how to adjust my headlights in my new Forerunner. Because I don't want to be a **** like so many other people.
Click to expand...

I sincerely hope this post was just tongue-in-cheek...
 
I drive with my high and low beams and my 40SR on. Usually on coming traffic has run off the road or pulled over. No problem here!
:lookout:
 
headrush223 said:
The answer is HELL YES! The headlights of current vehicles are much too bright, too high, and many are essentially unfocused. To make matters worse, many vehicles essentially have two pair of headlights (driving lights + headlights).

As we age our eyes get more sensitive to light and our night vision gets significantly worse. This happens about age 50. So bright light essentially blinds us old people.
Click to expand...

I agree with this part of your post for sure. So far I have had no problems with my 11 4Runner, but my wife drives a 10 Acura TL and when I drive her car at night, I notice a lot of people flick their high beams at me thinking that I have my high beams on when i don't. They are wicked bright. Great to see with at night,but blinding to other oncoming drives. No adjustments posible. it's just the way it is!
 
:infidel:
headrush223 said:
Furthermore, 10% of the population suffers from migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are triggered by bright light. Yes, by overly bright headlights or driving lights, even during the day. So if you happen to be a motorcyclist riding around with your brights on all the time, expect me to swerve into your lane and take your dumb a** out.
Click to expand...
:infidel:

:wtf:

Ok, ok, ok. I got it. Probably be blinded by these headlights as well...
:girl: :lookout:

:lmao:
 
One reason some may seem too bright is that they added a lift kit and in the process change the front-to-back rake of their truck (higher in front after the lift) and didn't align their lights to allow for the new angle.
 
watch-out-we-got-a-badass-over-here-meme.png
 
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