2014/2016 Toyota Corolla Headlights Too Bright

[Raf99]

I think I just need to vent more than anything. I've brought this up before but I am now worries that other manufactures are going to follow suite and I'm starting to see it happen. About a year ago I complained that the 2014/2016 Corolla LED headlights were simply too bright! Not only that they were too bright but that the cut-off shield in them was improperly set and the lights blind you (headlights adjustment needed). I even started an online petition (change.org) for this but it seemed that no-one else cared. There were reports on the toyota corolla forums and other sites about this issue. There are the complains on carcomplains.com too. There were some legit news articles about it too. But overall not much fuss about it.

Well I still flash my high beams at these Corollas and my fear is that the new "fad" is catching on. Vehicles recently released seem to show the same improper cutoff / LED lights:

- 2016 Chevy Trucks
- 2016 Ford Expedition trucks
- 2016 Subaru SUVs (not sure of the name)

But still Toyota Corollas are the worst!
Let's keep in mind that many auto manufactures use HID / LED lighting and got it right. Audi, Merc, Honda, Acura, etc. The lights are bright from a distant and then "lower" below the cut-off shield as you get close. I find with the Corollas you are always below the cutoff which is the same as HID high beams. I have even wrote Toyota about it and they claim they are within legal law. Heck, I was even going to start making bumper stickers saying "I flash Corollas" :P

As noted in a corolla forum some have noted others high beaming them all the time and took the car to the dealership to have them adjusted. Problem solved. But this also implies that the lights are not adjusted properly from the dealership!

I just think is starting to become out of hand. I'm only talking about the OEM legal headlights in this discussion. My goal was to make the petition world known and have Toyota do something about this as it drives me nuts on the road!!!


Thoughts?

[sonikaccord]

Escalades are the f'ing worst! When you are in a lowered vehicle, all you see is blinding light because the cutoff is so high up.

As far as Corollas, they are too bright...I won't say to bright as I do enjoy a nice low beam, but an improperly aimed and adjusted low beam from the factory is unacceptable. I can point out every Corolla on the road just by the headlight brightness. That's pretty bad.

[Grumpys93]

A headlight adjuster like the one in my tundra would also solve this. Whenever I'm behind someone and I see my headlights are blinding them, I always low my headlights.

[Raf99]

Escalades are the f'ing worst! When you are in a lowered vehicle, all you see is blinding light because the cutoff is so high up.

As far as Corollas, they are too bright...I won't say to bright as I do enjoy a nice low beam, but an improperly aimed and adjusted low beam from the factory is unacceptable. I can point out every Corolla on the road just by the headlight brightness. That's pretty bad.

Yep, same here. I can spot a corolla from a far ways away. I just can't believe I'm the only one losing their mind over this. It is very annoying and a safety concern.

[Raf99]

My point is, how far is too far?

How long until we have super bright OEM lights with light bars, and aftermarket ebay 10K fog lights. I'm surprised that no-one has tried to put a stop to this yet. Lots of talk but no action....

[toycar]

My point is, how far is too far?

How long until we have super bright OEM lights with light bars, and aftermarket ebay 10K fog lights. I'm surprised that no-one has tried to put a stop to this yet. Lots of talk but no action....

I am with you, the lighting game needs to be curtailed.

Every asshat these days has obnoxious, blinding shit bird lights doing NOTHING to make the roads safer or a more communal area.


Being considerate of others should be a requirement of having a license to drive.

My .02

[F22Chris]

They have "technology" that is supposed to dim the lights when there's on coming cars right?

The bullshit part is that the lights don't dim till their car is 5 feet from you making it pointless to begin with. The cutoff lines are way too high, and those of us who are lowered suffer more.

I hate driving at night.

Our 2016 RAV4 did the same shit, and I felt terrible until I adjusted them. The car is high up too so there's no getting away from it.

I'd buy a sticker, Raf.

[oni_cb7]

You are not the only one. MANY people are complaining about these headlights. Not only on car forums, but neighborhood/city forums as well. The real issue isn't with the manufacturer, the issue is with DOT. These should have been flagged by DOT for review and sent back to Toyota for them to redesign.

Illegally modifying your car's suspension to be lower is no reason to complain about headlights being too bright. Shit, it's basically a given that when lowering your car, you will HAVE to deal with headlights that seem too bright. The lights aren't aimed too high, you are just too low (HID bulbs in a suv will glare into the back window of ANY lowered car) . Obviously, this doesn't apply to the Corolla and other certain vehicles, due to the issue with the lights themselves.

Bright headlights coming towards you? Don't look at the headlights. Focus on the lane divider on the passenger side of your car. This will help reduce the affects of the glare on your eyes and is much safer than letting the glare blind you.

Bright headlights behind you/approaching you from behind? If someone is gaining on you from behind, then you should get out of the way. If they are unable to pass you on the right, then technically you are blocking traffic (illegal, no matter if they are speeding or not). The plus side, you can simply switch lanes to not have the lights blinding you from behind.

I know what you are thinking... why should I change my driving habits because other people have illegal headlights or tailgate me and their lights are too bright? Defensive driving: "driving to save lives, time, and money, in spite of the conditions around you and the actions of others." It doesn't matter what other people do, you should do what will be the safest thing for you to do. Not driving in front of someone with bright headlights is one of them. Avoiding looking at bright headlights that are approaching.

Lastly, I do not think that these lights are aimed correctly and should be recalled by the manufacturer to adjust the height of the beam. However, there are many things that you can do to avoid this issue from affecting you as much.

Good luck

[F22Chris]

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...alerie-mellema

I don't live in California, so I can be dragging frame and not be pulled over. My suspension is 100% legal. There's a lot of trucks here, so the only suspension law is on lifted cars.

Regardless, I think raf is saying they're too bright. It doesn't matter how they're aimed. The fact is that the shit is too bright. The aim just makes it worse. They don't seem to be anything, they're too dang bright period.

You're 100% right man, the DOT fudged the bucket on this one. Hopefully something will happen.

[Raf99]

They have "technology" that is supposed to dim the lights when there's on coming cars right?

The bullshit part is that the lights don't dim till their car is 5 feet from you making it pointless to begin with. The cutoff lines are way too high, and those of us who are lowered suffer more.

I hate driving at night.

Our 2016 RAV4 did the same shit, and I felt terrible until I adjusted them. The car is high up too so there's no getting away from it.

I'd buy a sticker, Raf.

There are vehicles with self leveling lights. Some trucks have them so when you have a trailer on your lights are aiming at the moon. While the Corollas have a cut-off shield aiming issue, you're right about the RAV4, and the new Chevy trucks.

You are not the only one. MANY people are complaining about these headlights. Not only on car forums, but neighborhood/city forums as well. The real issue isn't with the manufacturer, the issue is with DOT. These should have been flagged by DOT for review and sent back to Toyota for them to redesign.

Illegally modifying your car's suspension to be lower is no reason to complain about headlights being too bright. Shit, it's basically a given that when lowering your car, you will HAVE to deal with headlights that seem too bright. The lights aren't aimed too high, you are just too low (HID bulbs in a suv will glare into the back window of ANY lowered car) . Obviously, this doesn't apply to the Corolla and other certain vehicles, due to the issue with the lights themselves.

Bright headlights coming towards you? Don't look at the headlights. Focus on the lane divider on the passenger side of your car. This will help reduce the affects of the glare on your eyes and is much safer than letting the glare blind you.

Bright headlights behind you/approaching you from behind? If someone is gaining on you from behind, then you should get out of the way. If they are unable to pass you on the right, then technically you are blocking traffic (illegal, no matter if they are speeding or not). The plus side, you can simply switch lanes to not have the lights blinding you from behind.

I know what you are thinking... why should I change my driving habits because other people have illegal headlights or tailgate me and their lights are too bright? Defensive driving: "driving to save lives, time, and money, in spite of the conditions around you and the actions of others." It doesn't matter what other people do, you should do what will be the safest thing for you to do. Not driving in front of someone with bright headlights is one of them. Avoiding looking at bright headlights that are approaching.

Lastly, I do not think that these lights are aimed correctly and should be recalled by the manufacturer to adjust the height of the beam. However, there are many things that you can do to avoid this issue from affecting you as much.

Good luck

My car is OEM height, 2004 Acura TSX. But i hear ya. & You are correct, I heavily disagree with most of your thoughts. Like the Chronicle Herald Wheels article posted about the topic, where a Mercedes-Benz prinicpal instructor advised people to simply look away from the oncoming vehicle.

"Danny Kok, principal instructor for all Mercedes-Benz advanced-driving programs, said if you are being approached by lights you feel are too bright, look at the right shoulder of the road, and possibly reduce speed slightly and slowly."

Not sure about others, but keeping an eye on oncoming traffic is always required! Saved my life many times. Also when I drive a single road/2 lane highway on a 3 hour drive to my mom's place where cars pass each other feet from each other and sometimes you are stuck in a line of cars with these bright lights behind ya. Ya. Just not safe. The only option would be pulling off to the shoulder of the road.

But I prefer to make a stand, rather than stand out of the way.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...alerie-mellema

I don't live in California, so I can be dragging frame and not be pulled over. My suspension is 100% legal. There's a lot of trucks here, so the only suspension law is on lifted cars.

Regardless, I think raf is saying they're too bright. It doesn't matter how they're aimed. The fact is that the shit is too bright. The aim just makes it worse. They don't seem to be anything, they're too dang bright period.

You're 100% right man, the DOT fudged the bucket on this one. Hopefully something will happen.

You got it man! They are simply too bright!! But for the Corollas I truly believe they have a aiming issue. As for the rest of them.... it is not safe. Picture a highway full of all Corollas with these lights!!! This is where we are going!

So how do you think one man can make a stand for something like this?

[sonikaccord]

So how do you think one man can make a stand for something like this?

One man? Probably can't do anything...but an army can do some damage.

I did a quick google search and couldn't come up the legal luminous flux that headlights can have. I'll do some more digging on this subject. TRS has actually been told their headlights are above that limit. Maybe I'll give them a ring.

[F22Chris]

I mean... I have a bat..

[Losiracer2]

i kinda have to agree. I was driving home on the I8 last night from San Diego to Arizona and a brand new 2017 Prius rolled up behind me with those stupid bright LED headlights. Almost everyone on the opposite side of the road flashed their highs at the guy even though his low beams were those bright LEDs and the highs were a halogen of some sort.

I must've followed this guy for 30 miles before I got tired of all the opposing traffic flashing and slowed 5mph below him to let him go on.

Apparently its also a problem for the drivers of 14+ corollas

http://www.corollaforum.com/threads/...o-bright.3580/

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/37...g-traffic.html

They should make them like the Nissan Leaf's LED headlights. The LEDs are adjustable for height by a dial on the dashboard, kinda like the brightness of the instrument panel lights. They can move up and down in 3 different positions, kinda cool.

[Raf99]

One man? Probably can't do anything...but an army can do some damage.

I did a quick google search and couldn't come up the legal luminous flux that headlights can have. I'll do some more digging on this subject. TRS has actually been told their headlights are above that limit. Maybe I'll give them a ring.

TRS?

I mean... I have a bat..

I was thinking spray paint

i kinda have to agree. I was driving home on the I8 last night from San Diego to Arizona and a brand new 2017 Prius rolled up behind me with those stupid bright LED headlights. Almost everyone on the opposite side of the road flashed their highs at the guy even though his low beams were those bright LEDs and the highs were a halogen of some sort.

I must've followed this guy for 30 miles before I got tired of all the opposing traffic flashing and slowed 5mph below him to let him go on.

Apparently its also a problem for the drivers of 14+ corollas

http://www.corollaforum.com/threads/...o-bright.3580/

They should make them like the Nissan Leaf's LED headlights. The LEDs are adjustable for height by a dial on the dashboard, kinda like the brightness of the instrument panel lights. They can move up and down in 3 different positions, kinda cool.

And reading stuff like this really frustrates me! How can a dealership deny that there is an issue here. The attitude they have towards this is sickening IMO.

"The problem was resolved when I had the dealership adjust the position of the headlights.

My dealership declined to adjust."


I started a petition on change.org, as it was the only thing I could think of to raise awareness. If we could get everyone flashing them I'd be happy! Or if the media ran with this like they did the Prius floor mat issue that would be great too! I'm sure if everyone signed and shared the change.org petition the ball may start rolling.

[sonikaccord]

www.theretrofitsource.com

They mentioned once that they would like to become an OEM projector supplier in the future, so of course there are certain rules that they have to play by like beam uniformity, intensity, etc.