Automatic leveling headlights

[lucky400]

We have a 2006 Prius. We were reading through the manual and the manual states that the headlights will level themselves automatically. Do the cars sold in the USA have this feature or is this one of those things that the USA cars do not have? We have not noticed any sign of that yet in the month we have had the car.

Thank you.

[wb9tyj]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lucky400 @ Aug 12 2006, 09:19 AM) [snapback]302077[/snapback]</div>

We have a 2006 Prius. We were reading through the manual and the manual states that the headlights will level themselves automatically. Do the cars sold in the USA have this feature or is this one of those things that the USA cars do not have? We have not noticed any sign of that yet in the month we have had the car.

Thank you.
[/b]

HID (high intensity discharge) headlights will self level, with a sensor in the back of the car...the prius is made to do that..(regular headlights on the prius arent auto adjust, either.).i believe a few lexus do that, as well. As far as the rest of the car population goes, there are very few self adjusting headlights...except when the owner/drivers/and self proclaimed mechanics get in there and adjust them in all directions...as you can tell with the high alignments, one up, one down scenerio...

[MarinJohn]

For your entertainment pleasure, get a friend to sit in the car. you stand in front and watch the headlights as your friend turns them on. You will see the light mechanism sweep up and settle into it's sweet spot depending on how the car is loaded up. The leveling mechanism is in the back of the car.

[Alnilam]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lucky400 @ Aug 12 2006, 06:19 AM) [snapback]302077[/snapback]</div>

We have a 2006 Prius. We were reading through the manual and the manual states that the headlights will level themselves automatically. Do the cars sold in the USA have this feature or is this one of those things that the USA cars do not have? We have not noticed any sign of that yet in the month we have had the car.

Thank you.
[/b]

Most of the Prius info I have comes from this site. We have the auto-leveling headlights but I believe I read in a post a couple of months ago that they operate slowly. They don't immediately level themselves like a glass of water, with each jerky up and down motion of the nose, but rather adjust slowly to a more permanent nose attitude, such as putting a heavy load in the trunk.

I hope I'm right. If not, ignore the above.

[Autosmiler]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarinJohn @ Aug 12 2006, 09:52 AM) [snapback]302109[/snapback]</div>

For your entertainment pleasure, get a friend to sit in the car. you stand in front and watch the headlights as your friend turns them on. You will see the light mechanism sweep up and settle into it's sweet spot depending on how the car is loaded up. The leveling mechanism is in the back of the car.
[/b]

Cool! i'm gonna try that sometime. Except I might do it myself by facing a blank wall and then turn it on.

[jbarnhart]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wb9tyj @ Aug 12 2006, 06:51 AM) [snapback]302091[/snapback]</div>

HID (high intensity discharge) headlights will self level, with a sensor in the back of the car...the prius is made to do that..(regular headlights on the prius arent auto adjust, either.).i believe a few lexus do that, as well. As far as the rest of the car population goes, there are very few self adjusting headlights.
[/b]

Actually, all factory-supplied HID lights in all cars sold in the U.S. are self-adjusting. It is a requirement of the D.O.T. that they be made this way. Instead of auto-adjusting lights, the Europeans get a manual inside-the-car adjustment for their HIDs. Obviously, the HID lights sold on Ebay are not self-adjusting (and they are illegal to use in the U.S. for this and other reasons).

[Jack Straw]

xxx

[jbarnhart]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jack Straw @ Aug 12 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]302204[/snapback]</div>

My Mazda3 I just traded in for the Prius had HID's and they were not self-adjusting but had the manual adjusting wheel on the dash.
[/b]

Then I would suggest it was not a U.S.-spec car but was imported somehow from a European country. Or maybe Canada? I have no idea what their laws are. But in the U.S. the HID lights have always been mandated to have automatic leveling controls.

[Jack Straw]

xxx

[cwerdna]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Aug 12 2006, 11:12 AM) [snapback]302176[/snapback]</div>

Actually, all factory-supplied HID lights in all cars sold in the U.S. are self-adjusting. It is a requirement of the D.O.T. that they be made this way.
[/b]

This is NOT true. You and I think a couple other posters on here keep perpetuating this myth. My former 02 Maxima came w/HIDs and my 04 350Z comes w/HIDs. ALL 02-03 Maxima came w/HIDs from the factory and all 04 Zs except the Base trim came w/factory HIDs. NEITHER have any self leveling mechanism at all. I even doubly confirmed on the Z by looking in the service manual.

See my responses in these threads:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?s=&showtopi...ndpost&p=201117
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...12&#entry235112

If it were required in the US, why would people be calling on NHTSA to require them?

The updated Consumer Reports URL (they re-organized stuff on their site) is http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/ma...rview/index.htm. It says things like "In January 2003, Perel told a conference of researchers that new rules may reduce the maximum height for all headlights. NHTSA may also require self-leveling, which adjusts HID beams based on load so they don’t point upward when the vehicle is full. Self-leveling is required in Europe, where HID headlights are currently on 25 percent of all vehicles.
...
We think NHTSA should take the following steps:
...
Adopt the European standard requiring HID headlights to be self-leveling."