Are my headlights okay?

[Data Ghost]

I have noticed when driving behind other cars that the reflecton of the drivers side headlamp looks bright but the passenger one does not. I assumed that this was because I was seated directly over the drivers side headlamp but today my girlfriend in the passenger seat commented that from her perspective too the drivers side looked brighter.

When I stand facing the car with the lights on they look roughly the same but its hard to really tell to be honest.

[ZephyR]

Its probably due to the way that the beams are angled towards the curb so as not to dazzle on coming drivers.

[Data Ghost]

Does anyone have anymore info on this? I've resorted to turning the lights from auto to sidelights so that the headlights are off during daytime driving. I'm finding it very distracting that every time I see the reflection of my car in another car the drivers sight headlight is really bright but the passenger side really dim or not visible. Maybe I'm being OCD but I'm still not sure if this is correct or if I have a headlight alignment problem or something.

So, all you other non xenon Roc drivers, do your headlights look like this too or is it just me??

[Kev]

I think they're fine.

A combination of you being sat in line with one light but not the other and the left light being set straighter than the right light (which is normal) means you see the reflections at different angles.

[tommej]

Noticed the same with mine after swapping the bulbs.

[matthewlancs]

Mine are exactly the same! Nothing to worry about

[Data Ghost]

Thats okay then, sometimes the passenger headlight is really dim or not visible in reflections, meanwhile the drivers side light is like the eye of Sauron!

Other times they both appear equal, depending on the shape of the back of the car its reflecting off I find.

[salsajoe]

Does anyone have anymore info on this? I've resorted to turning the lights from auto to sidelights so that the headlights are off during daytime driving. I'm finding it very distracting that every time I see the reflection of my car in another car the drivers sight headlight is really bright but the passenger side really dim or not visible. Maybe I'm being OCD but I'm still not sure if this is correct or if I have a headlight alignment problem or something.

So, all you other non xenon Roc drivers, do your headlights look like this too or is it just me??

Could be an alignment problem with the height adjustment.

My nearside (passenger) headlight seemed too low and did not light the curb very far ahead on dipped beam. Raised the angle very slightly by marking the garage door and noting how much it moved when adjusted. After adjustment found that the nearside light now reflects more brightly on bodywork of cars in front than the offside but not noticeable when standing in front of the car. Much better vision of hedges at night now without running into them! and no flashes from approaching cars.

You could try adjusting the headlight slightly using the adjustment screw on top of the headlight but note how much you turn the screw so you can put it back to the original setting if you need to. If still under warranty could get the alignment checked out although there is a lot of leeway on the beam machines.

[Jam17]

Hi guys!

Sorry to open up this discussion again, but mine are also as described by the OP. The drivers side headlight appears to point slightly higher than the passengers side, and this has been mentioned by friends in the car in front, and also passengers in my car looking at the reflection of the car in front. I also often get flashes from oncoming cars, and even had an angry camper van driver in front put his rear fogs on, hazards on, and slow me down to 20mph on a countryside road.

It recently had a service at VW, and they said the headlights needed to be realigned or it would fail it's MOT, so I came onto the forums to check out how to do this myself, but then reading this, it appears to be normal with other owners. However if VW said it would fail, I should really realign the drivers side to be lower to ensure it passes the MOT and doesn't dazzle other drivers. Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to do this? Believe I need a long torx?

Cheers in advance guys.

[ZephyR]

A simple rule is that if your headlights are shining in to the rear window of the car in front when you are a normal distance behind for a 30 mph road then its throwing the beam too high and needs adjusting. You should be able to see the top limit of your beam somewhere between the bumper and the window.
Alternatively try parking 3 or 4 metres away from a wall and see how the 2 beams line up. Also check the height of the suspect beam against the height you get from your main beam lights. There should be a significant difference - if not then again it needs adjusting.

[salsajoe]

Easy to adjust. There is a white hexagonal 'hole' actually a screw adjustment in the top of the headlight that moves the lights up and down. Do what ZephyR suggests and move the beam down slightly.

[Data Ghost]

Its me who started this thread and I am yet to manually adjust mine. The adjuster dial on the dash makes very little difference (I've adjusted it whilst sitting in traffic watching the reflection of the lights on the car in front).

My partner was in our other car a couple of weeks ago and I was driving behind. She commented that the drivers side light kept causing glare in her rear view mirror.

Once the weather gets better and I can tend to the car I will spend some time manually adjusting the light using a wall or a glass shopfront as a guide.

[Data Ghost]

Turns out I had time to look at mine last night as the weather was dry. I parked the car facing towards some garage doors which had vertical lines running across them. Straight away I could see that the spike at the top of the affected beam was quite a lot higher than the other side. I lifted the bonnet and manually adjusted the light until both were equal. Interestingly turning the manual adjuster isn't really the 'manual' process I thought it was going to be as I could hear the sound of the beam moving electrically.

Anyway, drove to work this morning while it was still dark and now the drivers side beam doesn't look massively brighter when reflecting off the backs of other cars like did before. Now both look equal. I also noticed a better, more even, pool of light on the road in front of the car, before it seemed as if my lights were casting no light on the road itself. Probably because my drivers side one was aimed at the sky!

I'm not sure how this happened. I'm beginning to think it may have occurred when I replaced my headlight bulbs shortly after buying the car. It was after changing them that I think I first noticed it. I struggled to get the bulb holders to click back into place and wonder if I actually physically pushed that light out of alignment?

Anyway its sorted now and it looks 'right' finally

[Jam17]

Thanks @Data Ghost.

Can you let us know where you got the tool to adjust the headlights, and an even cheekier request of putting some pictures up of where I should be looking?

I've heard the headlights are often knocked out of alignment through everyday use, through speedbumps, potholes, etc.

[Data Ghost]

No probs

I originally found the picture somewhere on these forums I think but its easy to find the adjuster. Open up the bonnet and have a look at the top of the affected light cluster unit for a white plastic circle with a hexagon type centre to it. Use a torx screwdriver/allen key to turn it, or a flat head screwdriver may work as it turns very easily so no force is required.

Cant provide any pics at the moment as I am in work, will try and put some up later if you still need them

[Paul_W]

Just want to share me experience with this. When my car went though it's MOT last year it came back with the drivers side headlight aimed noticeably higher than the passenger side. Like others have said here, the reflection on the car in front was far brighter than the passenger side. I made a small adjustment myself and it all seemed fine afterwards.

This week it went through its 2nd MOT (this time at a different test centre) and even before I got home I noticed that the driver headlight is now higher again. When I got to work this morning a workmate who I followed up the road commented that my drivers side headlight was dazzling her in her mirror.

Why is this such a common thing and why are MOT centres aiming the drivers headlight higher than the passengers side? Even when I park just a couple of feet from my garage door it's clearly aimed higher.

[skippy]

Strange this, last year my car actually failed its MOT initally as they said that the headlight (nearside I think) was not pitched at the correct angle. The dealer corrected it there and then so by the time I returned they has passed it anyway - so I was none the wiser.

Nothing had knocked the light at all (that I was aware of), so was a bit weird.

[Paul_W]

Just took this picture to show how they are at the moment. I've added a line across the picture using the coloured bricks on either side of the garage door as reference points. Even though the car is less than 2ft from the garage door you can clearly see the difference. Also the right hand side should technically be a little lower as there's a drain on the right hand side of our driveway.



I'm going to go back to the MOT place tomorrow and tell them they've been dazzling people since they put the car through the test. Will report back...

[Paul_W]

Well the MOT centre are saying that my lights are "Spot on". Clearly they're not

I'll just make my own adjustment. Can't be arsed with this

[uklee]

It sounds like their equipment isn't calibrated properly - I'm not surprised though ! , part of my job involves visiting dealerships and checking their kit for accuracy - you'd be amazed at some of the sights i've seen

lol