What is the standard for headlight height adjustment?
2 Answers
Here are the standards for adjusting the height of car headlights: Parallel: Drive the car onto a flat road, adjust the low beam point to coincide at a 30-meter distance, align the high beam point parallel to the ground, and ensure the wall is parallel to the two high beam points. Vertical: Park the car 7.6 meters away from the wall, ensuring the ground is level and the car is perpendicular to the wall. Headlight distance: Measure the height from the ground to the center of the headlight and the distance between the two headlights. Tape: Place a horizontal masking tape on the wall 0.1 meters below the headlight height, ensuring the tape is centered directly in front of the car.
I've been teaching at a driving school for about twenty years, and I often get asked by students how to adjust the headlight height correctly. The key rule is to ensure the lights don't dazzle oncoming drivers. The specific method is to find a flat area, park the car straight, and then check the light spot center on a wall or measure it 10 meters away—generally, it should be below the midpoint of the headlight installation height. For example, when the car is unloaded, the light on the wall shouldn’t exceed about two-thirds of the front bumper height. Why is this important? Setting them too high can cause accidents, while too low reduces visibility. With older cars, I’m used to manually adjusting the screws—just turn them gently a few times. Some newer cars have automatic features, but the lights may still sit too high when loaded, so I recommend checking every six months, using the vehicle manual as a reference. The standard is actually simple: keep the beams parallel to the ground without disturbing others—it’s crucial for safe driving. During routine maintenance, don’t forget to ask the mechanic to adjust them properly—it saves a lot of hassle.
