How To Easily Adjust Your Headlights & Fog Lights - DIY Guide

Driving down the road and you can't see anything? You likely need to make a quick adjustment to your headlights. This guide shows you exactly how to go about the process without paying a local shop. Do not assume that because you purchased the car new off the dealer's lot that the lights are aimed correctly. We see many new cars come into the shop with lights that require further tweaking to maximize performance and safety. This process should be performed anytime there is a doubt that your lights are within the proper specs. If you lift or lower your vehicle, one of the first things you need to do is readjust the headlights. If you install new headlight assemblies you absolutely must follow the procedure. Carrying some extra weight on the vehicle with that new bike rack? Constantly getting high beamed? When in doubt, check the alignment of your lights using this guide.

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Place vehicle headlight center point exactly 25' from wall.

U.N. (ECE, European, "E-Code") lamps & U.S. ("DOT", "SAE") lamps marked VOL

Lamp height:                         Downward measure:
Up to 34.5" (80 cm)               2.1" (53 mm)
35" to 39" (89-99 cm)            2.5" (64 mm)
39.5" or higher (100 cm)        3" (76 mm)

U.S. ("DOT", "SAE") lamps marked VOR older U.S. lamps without a "VOL", "VOR", or "VO" mark

Lamp height:                          Downward measure:
Up to 34.5" (80 cm)                N/A, do not measure downward
35" to 39" (89-99 cm)             2" (50 mm)
39.5" or higher (100 cm)         3" (76 mm)

Fog lamps

Lamp height:                       Downward measure:
Up to 18" (46 cm)               1.5" (38 mm)
18.5" to 28" (47-71 cm)      3" (76 mm)
28.5" or higher (72 cm)       4" (102 mm)