llnc

I have owned multiple Acura cars over the past 20 years, and recently traded my 2005 TL for a 2013 TL. My old TL had the Bi-Xenon headlamps and I have been mortified with the changes in the 2013 headlamps! I don't recall the 2005 TL having such a sharp horizontal cutoff on the low beams, but my 2013 has a severe cutoff and the forward illumination doesn't seem to have nearly the reach my old car did, either.

I've read many threads on this forum about the headlamps, and based on suggestions I've seen here, I did swap out the high beam halogen headlights with the SilverStar Ultra bulbs and think that was a good improvement. Is there ANYTHING that can be done to improve the forward illumination on the low beam HID lights? I've taken my TL in twice to my Acura dealership and asked them to check it, but they state everything is okay.

I live in a rural, deer infested area and am concerned that since my low beam headlights only seem to shine less than two car lengths in front of my car that I am going to have an accident. It also doesn't seem very safe when I go into town and I'm driving on the outer belt at 70 mph, since there are no street lights and I can't even see what is right in front of me.

Does this sound like the normal amount of forward illumination for the low beam headlamps? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd be extremely grateful and appreciative for any advice that could be shared! Thank you!

wreak

Something is definitely wrong because I can see much further than 3 car lenghs with my 2012.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

the third gen TL's Bi-xenon headlights were/are one of the best.
people are still using them to retrofit into other cars.

there are a few ways to improve your current headlights.

-upgrading the HID bulb to a better bulb like the Osrams CBI's or the phillips 85122+

-more watts = brighter.
by upgrading to an aftermarket 55 watt ballast, your current bulbs will be brighter.

-switching out the frosted lens for an aftermarket or a clear lens from another car.
this involves baking the head light and physically taking the headlight apart to replace the lens.
as the name implies, the headlights lens is frosted and doesnt give a cutoff like a clear lens does.

012TL-GLM

Sounds to me like you've got a problem. I understand the horizontal cut off you're talking about, but the distance is amazing, I can see further away than any car I've had before. Most definitely further than 2 car lengths, I would estimate closer to 8-10

Mr Marco

You might try to convert the foglights to HiD's.

In the TL they are not shielded, thus you'd have a second set of lights at 4K without a cut-off line They would not be legal, but you could turn them on and off at will (Of course they would not work with your brights as they are disabled when you flip the bright lever).

llnc

I'm REALLY glad to hear that maybe there is just a problem with my car, because that means it can be fixed and I won't have to go find a new car! Just to be clear, are you all saying you have good forward illumination when using only your low beams?

When I'm driving at night, numerous times I have using the centerline of a highway as a point of reference when my headlamps are on low beam only, and I can only see about two "dashes" in front of my car. (Obviously, once the high beams are on that distance improves!) Anything further than two dashes in front of my car is completely dark, which is very disturbing.

Mr Marco

Yep, ^that's not right.

Edward'TLS

IInc, there is definitely something wrong with your low beam headlight.

You may have to drag out a dealership tech during the night time, and show him the unacceptable illumination distance.

atruedsgb

You may want to adjust your beam upward by turning the screw that's located behind the headlight assembly.

llnc

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my concern. I went out this evening and took some pictures (which I apparently can't post here) that will prove to the Acura service folks that something is wrong. If you wonderful folks here on this forum hadn't responded to let me know that you have better illumination, I would have had no real basis to continue to complain to the Acura service people and would have continued to think that the new car was functioning "properly."

I verified that nothing is illuminated beyond 50 feet in front of my car. I actually measured the distance! After doing some more research, I did see a few references that NHTSA requires 100 feet of illumination on low beams, so I think my problem is so severe my headlights aren't even legal right now!

Again, many thanks to you wonderful people here!

Edward'TLS

The OP has a spanking new 2013 car. Headlight adjustment is covered by factory warranty. Plus they have the proper headlight aiming equipment/tool to properly align the headlights back to factory specs.

llnc

I wanted to say "THANK YOU" again to the wonderful people on this forum that responded to my previous thread about the problems I was experiencing with the forward illumination being practically nil on my HID low beam headlamps. A number of you said that it sounded like there was a problem with my car, and you were correct!

I took my car to the Acura dealer today and showed them pictures of the dreadful low beam illumination, told them I was only getting 52 feet of light, and reminded them that isn't even legal. (This was my third time in the dealership in the past 6 months complaining about the headlights.) They checked the headlights with a machine and said everything checked out fine again. I asked them if they were sure their machine was calibrated properly, and they assured me it was okay. They said they would call the Acura Techline folks in California to discuss the problem with them, and they wanted me to leave my car there at the dealership. I told them to just bring my car to me so I could go car shopping. After 30 minutes passed, the service rep emerged and told me they had manually adjusted my headlights according to Acura's procedure. They then checked the readings with their machine again, and the machine claimed they had adjusted my headlamps about 30% too high. The bottom line is they realized their machine is goofed up! I worry for all the other Acura customers who have had their headlamps adjusted there recently.

I took my car out for a spin this evening, and I am simply amazed at the difference in illumination. I can probably see at least 5 times further down the road now, since the headlamps are properly adjusted. If you wonderful folks on this forum hadn't shared information about your experience with me and told me things didn't sound right, I'd probably not have had the tenacity to fight the service department and would have dumped the car for another brand.

I simply can't thank all of you enough!

012TL-GLM

Glad it worked out for you. If anything like that happens again go to the dealer at night, and line your car up with another and have them turn the lights on

Edward'TLS

It's good that you can finally enjoy driving your car at night times.

Mr Marco

Stealership

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

Glad you got your issue taken care of!

For future reference you can simply reply in your original thread to keep all updates in one place. The mods may end up merging the two in this case.

Wilson Duong

I had a similar issue after a body shop had put in new head light assemblies on my TL, at first the left and right head lights were showing different brightness and range. I brought it back in for them to "level" it out. After some 2 hours in the waiting room they said it was all done.

Later that night I took the car on an errand and I couldn't see more than 10 feet ahead of me on a darker road with no street lights. Both beams were aiming straight into the ground.

I quickly pulled aside and had to put the high beams on for the rest of the drive, very irritating. Later that night on my driveway, I popped the hood, saw a + - symbol on the engine cover, *face palmed* myself and grabbed a philips head screw driver. There was a small hole near the symbol to stick the tool in and adjust the level of both lights. Problems solved.

Wilson Duong

>>>What atruedsgb said<<<

I had a similar issue after a body shop had put in new head light assemblies on my TL, at first the left and right head lights were showing different brightness and range. I brought it back in for them to "level" it out. After some 2 hours in the waiting room they said it was all done.

Later that night I took the car on an errand and I couldn't see more than 10 feet ahead of me on a darker road with no street lights. Both beams were aiming straight into the ground.

I quickly pulled aside and had to put the high beams on for the rest of the drive, very irritating. Later that night on my driveway, I popped the hood, saw a + - symbol on the engine cover, *face palmed* myself and grabbed a philips head screw driver. There was a small hole near the symbol to stick the tool in and adjust the level of both lights. Problems solved.

Use the post by (porkipine) in this link https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/headlight-adjustment-627191/ to get the correct adjustment measurements. Its for the 3G guys, but should be about the same thing. Honestly I just adjusted mine to w.e felt comfortable while trying not to blind people.

llnc

In my case, the headlights were aimed too low from the very first moment I drove the car off the dealer's lot after buying it. I just figured since Acura had moved away from bi-Xenon headlights that the new headlights were pitiful, never thinking that the dealer would have sent me off the lot with something so incorrectly adjusted. Furthermore, I took the car back in twice before the episode this week complaining about the headlights, and they told me everything was fine. I had to believe them because I'm not mechanically inclined (understatement). I'm still pretty angry at the dealership's service department, and even more annoyed because I asked the service manager to call me following the revelations this week, and he has yet to get in touch with me. I'm just really disappointed in those guys, especially because I'm so dependent on them.

DaTeeEL

dang... i went to get a oil change from the dealership and they offered to rotate my tires. i agreed and once i got the car back it started shaking once i go 70+... feels like they wanted me to go back to the stealership.. O.O''