11-25-2014, 08:57 PM | #1 |
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Headlights aimed too low?
does anyone else seem to have this problem? My headlights seem to be way too low. They only illuminate the ground in front of me and not even that far? Signs are out of the question until I'm right up on them. Are they designed like this for a reason?
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11-25-2014, 09:06 PM | #2 |
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Same here and theres no way to adjust like the E9x
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11-25-2014, 10:00 PM | #3 |
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They're definitely aimed a bit on the low side. I have gotten used to it but nowhere near ideal at night.
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11-26-2014, 08:04 AM | #4 |
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Maybe coding can adjust the aim???
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11-26-2014, 08:17 AM | #5 |
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I've wondered the same thing recently. I don't get the road illuminated especially well unless I'm cresting a hill. It's sort of a bummer, but it's not all that bad I guess.
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11-26-2014, 08:33 AM | #6 |
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According to @BluF22 you can adjust. See this post. There are plastic screws under the hood near the lights/heatsinks. I haven't had a chance to change my aim yet but plan to do it over the holidays.
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11-26-2014, 09:21 AM | #7 | |
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11-26-2014, 11:28 AM | #8 | ||
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11-26-2014, 09:30 PM | #9 |
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Not sure if it's the same as the F30, but here is a thread with steps (with pictures) on how to adjust them:
http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...php?p=12647423
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11-29-2014, 10:35 PM | #10 |
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Did the adjustment screw work? I looked at my m235i and could not find the screw as shown in the picture. could that be a pic of a 228i or non xenon headlight?
EDIT: Never mind I found it.
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11-30-2014, 04:33 PM | #12 |
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Its not the same as the F30.
Check the pic. You'll won't miss it. Remember, clockwise aims down, counter-clockwise turns it up. For me, two full turns is perfect. |
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05-18-2016, 12:32 AM | #13 |
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The up/down headlight adjustment for my Xenons is inside the big circle shown in this photo directly to the left of the "36" imprint. There's a white plastic screw inside the hole. As previously mentioned, counter-clockwise aims the lights up, and clockwise aims the lights down. Compared to the factory setting, I raised mine around 2 full turns counter-clockwise and I still think they're aimed down sufficiently to be safe and legal.
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05-18-2016, 08:26 AM | #15 |
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I should check mine but seriously right now after going from a 2007 328xi with halogens (I did raise the level of those and they still weren't great) here was such drastic difference I didn't even think about it until I saw this thread.
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05-18-2016, 08:32 AM | #16 |
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I think the problem is that for those of use who have the anti dazzle lights disabled ( ie North America ) the cars get stuck in the urban driving setting or some generic lighting setting.
With the euro coding the highway beam lengths are enabled which throws the light much further but because our cars cant use those settings they just get aimed to short. Just a matter of we can't use the lights the way they were designed to work which is why they appear to be poor. Blame the US DOT. I saw an article on this somewhere that explains it pretty well. Last edited by Killramos; 05-18-2016 at 08:40 AM.. |
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05-19-2016, 01:50 PM | #17 |
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I also see this issue. All mountainous here, so it's always "Auto High Beam" setting at night, for me. Without the high beams, I'm only getting 20% of the illumination I should, from past Xenon experiences. Makes me think they really want us to use the high beams?
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01-26-2017, 08:05 AM | #18 |
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I did this last night. It was a noticeable improvement. My MINI Cooper S had the HID lights and I absolutely loved them. They projected higher and further on the horizon than my M235i did when I took delivery of it. This adjustment made made the brightness and distance the similar to the MINI so all is good.
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01-26-2017, 10:29 AM | #19 | |
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01-26-2017, 10:37 AM | #20 |
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I didn't make any measurements but rather followed the path of others who posted earlier in the thread and turned the adjustment screw two turns counter-clockwise. It seemed to work well as I had noticeably better vision at night and no one flashing their light's at me to indicate they thought I had my brights on. I am sure there are more scientific ways of adjusting the lights, but this adjustment took all or 2 minutes. If I start to get any indication they may be aimed too high, I can always go and adjust the screw clockwise.
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01-26-2017, 10:37 AM | #21 |
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I think I recall seeing that you should have the car running at the time, to be sure auto leveler is working. Haven't tried this, but would check to see if putting it into gear, or rolling slowly, makes it change height. I noticed that in the BMW video of assembly line adjusting, the wheels are slowly turning on a dyno-type fitting while she is adjusting them.
I asked at the dealership to get this looked at, and they told me 'they were set right, needed nothing' but to me I notice an improvement afterwards, so perhaps they are quietly resetting these w/o admitting they were off? Was going to DIY, but now don't feel the need. |
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01-26-2017, 12:08 PM | #22 | |
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