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Help with Model 3 Headlights Adjustment Settings
- Thread starter steven415
- Start date
I did the same thing to one of my headlights (even though it tells you not to adjust it) and had no idea where it was supposed to be pointed. Since I only moved one side, I counted that the other side was something like 10-11 clicks of the thumb wheel from the bottom, so I adjusted the first side the same number of clicks upward. I don't know if factory reset will adjust the headlights to a default setting.
I had to take it for other service anyway and asked them to realign the headlights for me. I honestly don't know if there's some special guide they follow or if they just eyeball so they look even. In the mean time, I'd err on too low rather than two high.
I had to take it for other service anyway and asked them to realign the headlights for me. I honestly don't know if there's some special guide they follow or if they just eyeball so they look even. In the mean time, I'd err on too low rather than two high.
TT97
Active Member
If you do a search online, you can find several guides on how to adjust the headlights, however, I would recommend going to the service center to have them do it.
As a temporary fix, stop your car about 20-30' from a wall at night (make sure the car and wall are level) and from there you can see where the beams are pointing. Don't be overall concerned that they are adjusted precisly, just that they do not beam up to blind oncoming traffic.
As a temporary fix, stop your car about 20-30' from a wall at night (make sure the car and wall are level) and from there you can see where the beams are pointing. Don't be overall concerned that they are adjusted precisly, just that they do not beam up to blind oncoming traffic.
Keep in mind the driver side headlight is typically aimed lower than the passenger side, so as not to blind oncoming drivers (and provide better illumination off to the side of the road).
Why would they give a way to change the headlight orientation from the controls if you're not supposed to touch them? Seems like they should have a max up value that should not blind incoming cars... Or only provide a way to adjust the headlights if you're in some diagnostic mode that only Tesla techs can get into...
RayK
Active Member
AFAIK, every modern car ever made allowed the owner to adjust the headlights. There's many reasons why they have done so but it comes down to flexibility and choice. There's some alignment advice out there on the net but the best way I remember is to park about 30 feet from a garage door (or wall) and see where the 'hot spot' of the lights are. With the Model 3 it's fairly easy since there's a very visible cutoff point, based upon my memory from the rental I had a few months ago. Adjust them so that the left is slightly lower than the right. Drive around at night and see how well they illuminate the road (or don't). Rinse and repeat.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
Service centers usually use templates that allow them to re-adjust the headlights to factory specification, this requires the vehicle to be level and a specific distance from the target used to set them. It is difficult for owners to do this on their own, and, as indicated, the driver's headlight is supposed to be lower (in a stair-step pattern) than the passenger headlight in order to reduce glare for oncoming drivers. There are general rules of thumb you can find on the internet for meeting DOT spec, which will tell you how far the headlight cutoff should be from a wall that your car is a specific distance from.
Higher end German and Japanese cars sold in other markets use a camera and adjust the height and offset of the beam automatically with no input from the driver needed.... also auto-leveling is commonly available so that the headlight beam isn't negatively affected by towing.... which is one of the only times a US owner should need to adjust their headlight beams... usually the owner's manual will give some guidance here and it's a good idea to make a note of how many turns of the adjustment screw you do so you can easily reverse the procedure.
As to the "why did they give me adjustments if I wasn't supposed to adjust them".... that's just being silly. There are assembly tolerances that will require some adjustment of the headlights at the factory. Additionally, if the car is designed for left hand drive markets (which would be nearly every car designed today) then the headlight pattern has to be swapped when the car is built for the other market, requiring the right headlight to be low and the left one to be high.
Taking a brand new car with factory calibrated headlights and immediately screwing around with them is something my grandfather would have done on his cars that were built in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. I just don't see the reason for doing it these days unless they are mis-aligned out of the gate.
Yeah, but what I mean is a motorized mechanism. Typically, you adjust them with a screwdriver. Why add the motor and a signal pathway to the MCU so that it can be controlled by software? It just seems like a waste of parts and added complexity if no one is expected to use the mechanism, except for techs. I'd rather have a powered trunk than adjustable headlights.
TT97
Active Member
I was thinking the other way - if they are going to be adjustable, why not make them self-leveling. My current car has that.
Maybe it is a planned software update at some point and they wanted the hardware in place. Or maybe you won't care as you don't need headlights with FSD.
You do if you're using visual cameras instead of radar and lidar.I was thinking the other way - if they are going to be adjustable, why not make them self-leveling. My current car has that.
Maybe it is a planned software update at some point and they wanted the hardware in place. Or maybe you won't care as you don't need headlights with FSD.
Twincam23
Member
According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recent safety test of the Model 3 it doesn't have adaptive headlights. Tesla Model 3 Initial Crash Test Results Released By IIHS
S and X does so it seems rather strange the Model 3 is missing this feature. Maybe a future software update now the automatic high beam is handled in the latest update?
Please define what you mean by “directional headlights”.
If you mean “Three position dynamic LED turning lights” like the S/X have as standard, the answer is “No” according to the Tesla showroom personnel that I have spoken with. They say that is not standard or an option on the Model 3.
Note that the S/X headlights are not “self leveling”, though since the cars have SAS (air suspension) the entire car is self leveling, but that’s not effective for keeping the headlights level while driving because it’s too slow.
I don’t own a 3 and did not realize that one can easily adjust the headlights. Is that done through a control on the center display or is it done manually from inside the frunk?
Twincam23
Member
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
Just park in front of a wall with a flat surface next to it (like a level driveway) and adjust the headlights so that the top edge of the beam is no higher than the actual physical headlight on the car. A level upper edge should not be offensive, but you might want to point it down a bit from there, perhaps 1 cm at a few meters away. This has worked for me when my service center pointed them too high.
