Headlights too bright???

Hey, do you guys have problems with oncoming traffic constantly flashing their high beams at you, as if your headlights are too bright or glare?

 

And that is when you are running with just the low beams on.

 

I basically get flashed by every 3rd car at night [emoji849].

 

Just checked and they are within spec as per "the retrofit source" and the Subaru one, although that was the one from the Outback forum but they are still way lower than the Outback 34" at 10ft.

 

My build date is 10/19 wonder if the Legacy had the same glare issues as some Outback of that date.

 

Thanks

 

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Checked again and I guess I could lower them, they are about 2" too high, but of course I don't have a screwdriver long enough now lol.

 

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Check the rear coils. I had that problem with the back of the car sets to low and the head lights are pointing up. Do you notice the Angle gauge in the car not accurate. Open up the truck and put your weight in it. Does the car drop about 2 to 3 inch. I also notice when making fast turns the car felt like the back of the car wanted to go around on me.

 

My fix was to have a Custom Subaru shop here in town put the coils from the 2020 Outback on the car. This change the ride, handling, and the back of the car being staple. With all that the head lights are pointing where they should be and the Angle gauge in the car is correct now.

 

I hope this help it did in my car. I picked it up 10/2019

Just curious, does it happen when you're just cruising along on a flat road? I used to get flashed from time to time when I was accelerating in my 4th gen, because the car "squats" so to speak and the headlights point up when I accelerate, like rockier said above.

Just curious, does it happen when you're just cruising along on a flat road? I used to get flashed from time to time when I was accelerating in my 4th gen, because the car "squats" so to speak and the headlights point up when I accelerate, like rockier said above.

 

Yes, this is what mine did and if you look at the Angle Gauge on the dash it looks like you are going up hill and be on flat ground.

 

The coils spring change all that and the car does ride like it is suppose to.

 

I think when they done the test on the new base (frame), they used the Outback as the platform and then wanted to give the Legacy a better ride and soften the coils in the back. This change the way the car rides and handles.

 

If you think about your ride when you go over a dip in the road the front of the car goes in and back and stops, but the back of the car is out of time with the front of the car. This makes for a bad ride and a unstable car.

My angle gauge is accurate and I also sat in the trunk and it didn't make much difference in terms of "squat" so all that seems good.

 

I re measured and the little dimple on the headlight in the center is 29" and at 25 ft the beam should be 2" lower but mine is still at 29" so that is what's causing the glare as the beam never dips down and just goes straight into infinity.

 

Couldn't find a long enough #2 Phillips head screwdriver in my little town today so I'll have to check next time I get to a bigger city.

 

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That pic shows that they definitely are too high. But I think that it's something the dealer should look at to ensure that it's no problem with the auto-leveling system. This should be a warranty issue, even if it's just an adjustment.

There is no auto leveling, only steering response. Baffles me that cars in North America don't come standard with auto leveling or at least a dial to do it yourself, when those systems have been included in nearly all cars in Europe since the 90s.

 

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I was flashed often for the first month or so, not much any more though.

I used to get flashed in my 2019 legacy, but since getting the 2020 xt, I have yet to be flashed, it's going to be a bad night when I flash them back

 

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There is no auto leveling, only steering response. Baffles me that cars in North America don't come standard with auto leveling or at least a dial to do it yourself, when those systems have been included in nearly all cars in Europe since the 90s.

 

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Surprises me that there's no auto-leveling considering that here in Sweden it's legally required for HID and LEDs.

 

 

But this should still be an issue for the dealer to fix considering the age of the car.

Dealer is 1.5h away, adjusted them myself, let's see if I get flashed less.

 

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After driving late last night I felt I had to chime in on the headlights. I feel that they are extremely dangerous. I had to drive on a curvy mountain road and where the headlights shine is either on or off, there is no dithering or feathering off their coverage area. There is a definitive line between the bright and dark area and going around curves you cannot see areas around the oncoming road beyond where the lights immediately shine, they make you look directly in front of you and not see beyond what's not directly in front or beside you. There is no light for your peripheral vision to anticipate anything beyond the boxed area created by the lights. I hope I have been able to explain this well enough and I hope folks will see for themselves how potentially dangerous they can be.

After driving late last night I felt I had to chime in on the headlights. I feel that they are extremely dangerous. I had to drive on a curvy mountain road and where the headlights shine is either on or off, there is no dithering or feathering off their coverage area. There is a definitive line between the bright and dark area and going around curves you cannot see areas around the oncoming road beyond where the lights immediately shine, they make you look directly in front of you and not see beyond what's not directly in front or beside you. There is no light for your peripheral vision to anticipate anything beyond the boxed area created by the lights. I hope I have been able to explain this well enough and I hope folks will see for themselves how potentially dangerous they can be.

 

 

I think I have some idea at least, and it's when the road has very tight corners that it's a problem. So what you'd like is actually "cornering lights" as I understand it.

 

 

Either like this:

 

 

 

or like this:

 

 

It's something that appears today on many newer vehicles, in one of the following alternatives:

 

• A crappy version using the fog lamps
  
• A better version with a dedicated cornering lamps.
  
• A motor/mechanics that actually turns the headlights the way the steering wheel points.
  

But Citroën had cornering lights already on the DS introduced in '67.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjWxF4_G-pM]Citroen DS Lights.MOV - YouTube[/ame]

After driving late last night I felt I had to chime in on the headlights. I feel that they are extremely dangerous. I had to drive on a curvy mountain road and where the headlights shine is either on or off, there is no dithering or feathering off their coverage area. There is a definitive line between the bright and dark area and going around curves you cannot see areas around the oncoming road beyond where the lights immediately shine, they make you look directly in front of you and not see beyond what's not directly in front or beside you. There is no light for your peripheral vision to anticipate anything beyond the boxed area created by the lights. I hope I have been able to explain this well enough and I hope folks will see for themselves how potentially dangerous they can be.

Which trim level do you have in your Legacy? The steering response headlights in the limited and touring (premier) make all the difference on a curvy road.

 

On another note, after adjusting my headlights I didn't get flashed anymore and it's a definite down slope now, much better. Also the high beams actually illuminate the road now and not just the vegetation. [emoji6]

 

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Every time I drive at night I get flashed by oncoming traffic.

 

Its odd because I live in an area where you literally never can use high beams anyways. There is ALWAYS oncoming traffic.

Check that the adjustment of the headlights are correct.

 

 

See the following page for information.

 

https://www.hella.com/techworld/ae/Technical/Automotive-lighting/Headlight-adjustment-835/

 

 

For most cases you can just use a parking lot and a wall and see where the cutoff is positioned. Also make sure that the cutoff gives a pattern where it's higher to the right than to the left as in the picture of the cutoff image here:

 

https://bestheadlightbulbs.com/projector-vs-reflector-headlights/

 

If it's the other way around then you have headlights for a left hand traffic vehicle, like for UK or Japan. (but that would be a weird thing to happen in the US unless someone royally screwed up at manufacturing)

 

 

 

Some vehicles uses the main beam as DRLs as well, not sure if you are driving with the DRL mode active.

I know this topic is a few years old, but I have the same problem with people flashing their hi-beams when I am approaching.  I do a lot of night driving and see this all the time.  Years ago I had this issue with another car and making the adjustment with a screwdriver was very easy.  I do not see where or how to do it on my Legacy.

Is there something right in front of my face that I am missing?

 

Steve

You need a long (12"+) Phillips-head screwdriver.  If you look really close there are marks molded into the top of the plastic headlight housing that show where the top of the screwdriver goes.

 

From the service manual:

Edited February 8 by Stuff

Thanks for the response.   I just took a quick look and didn't see it, but I will take a better look later.  if you say it's there, I'll find it.

The newest Subaru headlights are waaay too bright, it’s absurd, Outback’s and Legacy’s..

I noticed this when I was an express tech at the dealer when the '20's started rolling out.  many of them from the factory had the headlights pointed way too high.  It was enough of them I thought it should be some sort of TSB or recall, but I was ignored.

I like to think of myself as a courteous driver, and I hate to see the oncoming drivers signaling me with their hi-beams.  I know it's either too bright, or shining right into their faces.  I don't know why I waited so long to deal with this.  Thanks everybody for your posts.

If you want to get into the science of headlight aim, this article is a good read. https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

 

too long didn't read; find a level space with a flat wall that you have 25 feet (~2 maybe 2.5 car lengths) you can back straight away from.  Practically put the front bumper against the wall and mark the brightest point of each headlight beam with a piece of tape, now backup that 25 feet and adjust your headlights to their respective tape marks you put on the wall.

On 2/8/2024 at 9:50 AM, BoozeRS05 said:

The newest Subaru headlights are waaay too bright, it’s absurd, Outback’s and Legacy’s..

I don't know that they are too bright - I really like them.  The cutoff is nice and sharp for them too, which is good - if they are misadjusted, then I can see them causing issues though.