How To Get Better Light Beam Focus On 04, Headlight

[kashbg]

Hi, I have recently bought the Philips X-Treme H7 and H1 bulbs to increase the light beam of my Avensis's headlights. Very disappointed as even with the new bulbs, I can hardly see any trace of light on the road. When I am on the motorway night time it is very difficult to see and if another car drives alongside then the road becomes well lit mainly from the other car. I have read that Avensis's headlight are notoriously bad designed and not producing good light beams.

Can you alter the positions the light bulb sits in the headlight, like move it forward or backwards, so that you can achieve better focus and more concentrated light beam ahead. Presently my lights are so defused, the only time I can see my lights are on is when I get close to another car behind on traffic lights and see the reflection.

I have checked my lights for misting, condensation and so on. They appear to be clean and shiny when off.

Anybody knows of any fix, will be greatly appreciated !!!

[bestseany]

It's a sore subject in the Avensis world :)

I fitted HID's to mine and whilst they improve it, they're still not amazingly bright.

I've heard that the reflectors can go dull too, so not all the light is reflected back through the projector.

[PhilGee]

Sure that the headlights have been modified. The old bulb holders were plastic and used to melt/crack causing the bulb to sit in the wrong position causing a poor beam pattern. the new ones had a metal bulb holder to prevent this from happening. Might be worth checking out.

[Fitter]

Hi, I have recently bought the Philips X-Treme H7 and H1 bulbs to increase the light beam of my Avensis's headlights. Very disappointed as even with the new bulbs, I can hardly see any trace of light on the road. When I am on the motorway night time it is very difficult to see and if another car drives alongside then the road becomes well lit mainly from the other car. I have read that Avensis's headlight are notoriously bad designed and not producing good light beams.

Can you alter the positions the light bulb sits in the headlight, like move it forward or backwards, so that you can achieve better focus and more concentrated light beam ahead. Presently my lights are so defused, the only time I can see my lights are on is when I get close to another car behind on traffic lights and see the reflection.

I have checked my lights for misting, condensation and so on. They appear to be clean and shiny when off.

Anybody knows of any fix, will be greatly appreciated !!!

Avensis headlights are set low. Firstly make sure that the beam adjuster on the dashboard is set to 0. You can lift up the beams by adjusting the screw on the headlights. Remove the plastic covers over the radiator etc. On the side of the headlamp assembly is a white plastic hexagon headed screw (some models have a screwdriver slot) Turn this anti-clockwise to lift the beams. I recommend trying half a turn at a time to make sure you are not blinding the driver in front. As this lifts both dipped and main beams the range should improve. I have attached file from the manual. I hope that this helps.

Fitter

[kashbg]

Hi, I have recently bought the Philips X-Treme H7 and H1 bulbs to increase the light beam of my Avensis's headlights. Very disappointed as even with the new bulbs, I can hardly see any trace of light on the road. When I am on the motorway night time it is very difficult to see and if another car drives alongside then the road becomes well lit mainly from the other car. I have read that Avensis's headlight are notoriously bad designed and not producing good light beams.

Can you alter the positions the light bulb sits in the headlight, like move it forward or backwards, so that you can achieve better focus and more concentrated light beam ahead. Presently my lights are so defused, the only time I can see my lights are on is when I get close to another car behind on traffic lights and see the reflection.

I have checked my lights for misting, condensation and so on. They appear to be clean and shiny when off.

Anybody knows of any fix, will be greatly appreciated !!!

Avensis headlights are set low. Firstly make sure that the beam adjuster on the dashboard is set to 0. You can lift up the beams by adjusting the screw on the headlights. Remove the plastic covers over the radiator etc. On the side of the headlamp assembly is a white plastic hexagon headed screw (some models have a screwdriver slot) Turn this anti-clockwise to lift the beams. I recommend trying half a turn at a time to make sure you are not blinding the driver in front. As this lifts both dipped and main beams the range should improve. I have attached file from the manual. I hope that this helps.

Fitter

Thank you fitter,

The problem is not with the level of the beam, it is more to do with the amount of concentrating the available light to make a sharp cone like beam, reaching further, rather than being defused and spread to the side, making the beam shorter. I do not know if the principle of a normal light torch is the same, but we know that if you turn the head of a torch to one side, causing the bulb to go forward, the torch produces very short directional beam, almost defused and spread out to the sides. If the torch head is turned the other way causing the bulb to sink down the reflector, then the beam width narrows and the light beam gets projected into a narrow spot reaching further. I just wander if someone has experimented with Avensis's headlight if they would react in the same way.

I might try to place a 5 mil washer directly on the bedding of the socket just before you put the light bulb. Ofcourse the retaining clip/wire would have to be undone and bend to accommodate the new spacer. In theory should work ...if the principle is the same as the normal light torch.

[Thermal]

Hi,

Projector headlights and their corresponding light source type are manufactured to strict standards.

In other words, if you fit the correct type of bulb into the headlight, both are designed such, that the focus and beam cutoff are always correct and according to regulations.

Changing the position of the bulb in the projector changes both, with unpredictable result.

As mentioned above, headlights in the pre-T27 Avensis are a well known and sensitive subject...

[kashbg]

Hi,

Projector headlights and their corresponding light source type are manufactured to strict standards.

In other words, if you fit the correct type of bulb into the headlight, both are designed such, that the focus and beam cutoff are always correct and according to regulations.

You are saying "are manufactured to strict standards", well in this case it seems to a lot of people here, that we are dealing here with sub standards, even bordering with endangering people on the road. If I go with the maximum legal strength bulbs and still no better, obviously we talking design problem or bad workmanship.

You are saying "both are designed, that the focus and beam cutoff are always correct and according to regulations". This statement would alone can be expected from a clueless and uninterested in the problem Toyota rep. We have been witness to so many inefficiencies and recalls from Toyota so far that people like you probably said the same about the notorious Toyota brakes on certain model until Toyota admitted it.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you comment but it is a bit useless.

[Thermal]

...it is a bit useless.

Of course it is.

I only tried to explain what the combination headlight/bulb should be, and that it is not wise to fiddle with the lamp mounting in an attempt to change the focus.

The result will probably blind upcoming traffic and nothing else.

I also mentioned the many posts about flawed Avensis headlights.

If you search the forum you'll find many occasions where owners had their headlights replaced, even after the warranty expired.

Go to your Toyota dealer and complain.

I'm sure they're not clueless when you mention "headlights" and will listen to your problem.

[Paul Gailey]

I've seen so many misdiagnosis of the lighting problem on the Avensis.

Nearly all the fault lies with the reflector that fails to withstand long term use and becomes dull.

It's a cheap job to DIY fix. : line the inside of each other xenon reflector with aluminium tape. It will take a few hours tops to remove the lights and oven bake them for 15mins at 70celsius to soften the seal and disassemble them.

I did it and saved silly amounts of money, it's al documented on the Spanish AvensisClub website with videos and tutorial steps with photos plus some before and after shots.

Do it. It's an excellent and long lasting hack that will save you a tonne.

http://mmkt.in/TqH728

http://mmkt.in/TqH728

[Heidfirst]

I don't know how relevant this is to the vast majority of Avensis users (at least in the UK) as there must be so few with Xenons.

It's certainly not true of my car where I replaced the bulbs within a month of buying it.

Imo it's almost certainly down to

a) the quality of the original oem bulbs - the light intensity within the beam pattern noticeably increased when I changed bulbs from oem to after market.

Interestingly my car was in the dealer's for something else the other day when I noticed that my ns dipped beam bulb had gone & I had them replace it whilst it was in & the new oem replacement imo is as bright or brighter than the previous aftermarket replacement. I suspect that they have changed supplier/spec.:

b ) the optical design - when upgrading bulbs whilst the light intensity in the beam pattern changed the size of the beam pattern barely changed.

This is probably excellent in terms of not blinding oncoming traffic but it can leave Avensis drivers wanting more.

[Druid Boy]

I fitted Osram Nightbreakers and whilst they did make a difference they haven't made a massive difference. You could try popping a brighter bulb in. I used to run 100W in my main beam and never had any issue with MOTs etc. As it was only drawing 8.5Amps the wiring was up to the job also.

now, I don't know if the headlamps will stand up to it but it is a very cheap way of boosting your lights.

[YGK]

Hi guys, writing from Netherlands.

I am an expat working in Netherlands, and I bought a 2nd hand 2005 made Avensis in 2011 with a 1 year Toyota warranty. I have been taking it to the official dealer garage since then. All that is just to avoid unpleasant surprises. However, for a year or so, I have noticed that my lighting is noticeably dim and poor. I also happen to be in lighting industry, so clearly, i can see that there is obviously something wrong with the beam-shaping therefore the intensity. Anyhow, last week I brought it up while leaving the car to the garage for annual maintenance, and at the end of the day they told me that it is just normal, and that in time the plastic headlight cover and the reflector inside wear out due to the UV in daylight and sometimes due to car shampoo. And they also added that next year or so, the lighting would fail to comply the local norms so would have to be changed at a cost of 1000 euros including labor. I actually thought the dealer was just giving me crap so i was still confident Toyota NL would somehow be able to help me out, but unfortunately for me, they also told me to "go fun myself" (so there is more to that motto than the new toyota aygo campaign apparently). Now I escalated the issue to TOyota Europe and if the reaction is negative will also try contacting toyota global but to be honest i have very little hope.

BTW, to my surprise, while also looking through dutch blogs and sites using google translator (i don't speak dutch), i came across an interesting blog by toyota NL, stating they would replace all the xenon headlights of avensis models produced between 2003 to May 2007 free of charge, accepting the design fault, yet since my headlights have halogen inside, it is out of warranty.

As I said i am working in lighting business, and we also happen to produce road lighting luminaires, and we do not give such pathetic excuse like UV and cleaning detergents messing lighting (although it is true that this might happen to a certain extend but for god's sake i am driving literally blind at night, come on!). I also responded to Toyota sarcastically saying i will recommend my colleagues in warranty department to consider it and asking why on earth they didn't think of that?

Lastly, they said that the warranty was 3 year, so it was already over when i bought it second hand. So, I also told them in response <<my compliments to you guys for guaranteeing a critical and functional element like headlight will work for 3 years so I will always consider Toyota for cars to be replaced every 3 years!>>

So, in summary, use sun protection and use baby shampoo if you do not want rubbish headlights. Toyota doesn't give me any chance but be sarcastic about it. So much for Toyota reliability and quality. BTW, we are talking about a class D sedan here, just to give some perspective on the discussion.

[Uncle Buck]

Have you tried the new Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulbs or similar ? If the issue is solely with the headlight lens, then you won't have any recourse on a 9 year old car. The plastic lenses on Toyota's Mk IV Supra were notoriously poor for degradation. The only option would be to source a replacement set of headlight units .......

[Exvec]

My advice is to go down the hids route..these guys will sort you out..

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/

I had hids in my old 1,9 cdti Vectra as they have the very same problem and it was a massive improvement as already said its to do with the projector type headlights used in the car and the degradation of the said lenses,