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PROBLEM: HID Headlight aim is getting too low

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TheForce, Jul 24, 2008.

  1. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    So for the last month or so I have noticed my HID headlight cutoff has gotten very low. I would guess it cuts out about 20 feet in front of the car. I tested the auto levelers tonight by standing on the rear bumper for a few seconds and getting off. The lights moved up and down like normal.

    I did some searching on priuschat.com and found this post by Bill Merchant
    http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...g/49339-headlight-level-alert.html#post647520 that included a PDF with a fix for a similar problem. I however have not received an error on the MFD.

    My question to everyone is, Do I have the symptoms of this issue and should I go to the dealer and get it fixed or try to fix it myself by adjusting the cutoff height myself since the auto leveler seems to work?

    Does anyone that had or have this problem care to comment?

    Galaxy do you care to comment?
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    If your car is still under the 3 yr/36K mile warranty you definitely should have the problem fixed. If not under warranty, it might still be a good idea to pay for the service of properly adjusting the beam pattern.
     
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    force, HIDs are tough to adjust properly and DH doesn't recommend DIYing on that one. the danger of blinding oncoming traffic is too great with the beam intensity. definitely get that fixed up for your own visibility and safety.

    according to your GH records, you're still under warranty so i'd just take it in and get it done for free if i were you.
     
  4. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well I got an appointment for Aug 4th. guess I will have to deal with the headlights for about 3 more days. I'm also going to get two TSBs done while I'm there. I'm trying to get the ground loop isolator installed for the AUX port and the coolant pump squeak fixed.
     
  5. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well after driving home from a cruise in my lights seem to be back to normal if not a little higher this time. I just hope they still point down when I take my car in to have it looked at.
     
  6. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Just got back from the dealer. They are replacing my coolant pump and installing the ground loop isolator for the AUX port. They are not fixing my headlights because my Prius was being good today. Bad Prius bad bad Prius. :tsk: I guess I will have to bring it in or record it next time the headlights are pointing down. At least now I have it on record that I had a problem with my headlights before my warranty expires.
     
  7. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    My headlights are doing it again. It sucks to being that this is a holiday weekend and I wont be able to get to the dealer until Tuesday. I guess I will have to demand a fix this time because its a safety issue. I cant be driving around at night with the headlights pointed to the ground.
     
  8. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    the problem with "could not replicate" is that they can't verify they fixed it, if they never saw it in the first place. let's hope it shows up for them this time.
     
  9. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well I got back from the dealer today and they said they would replace the part. They said they don't know if this will fix the issue but since I gave them the printout of that PDF they said they would give it a try. Now I'm just waiting on the part to come in.

    I really hope replacing that part fixes the issue.
     
  10. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I got my auto leveling sensor replaced yesterday and they said the lights are now at the proper height. This morning on my way to work I had to use them and they are in fact back to their normal height.

    If anyone else has this issue you may want to print out the PDF in the link in my first post and hand it to your Prius technician. You may also want to print out and hand in this post to also convince them that the auto leveling sensor may need to be replaced.