I have a 2016 kia optima. It was crushed by a tractor trailor when the driver backed up at a light and pushed the whole front end in. Anyway, 2 new headlight assemblies were installed by the collision repair place. I’m assuming they checked/adjusted the beams. Wife complaining (her car) that they point too low/not far (low beams) and don’t light up the road far enough. I compared her low beams to my Rav 4 but mine are about 1’ higher from the ground so it’s not a good comparison (but mine do shine farther). You can see the light cones shine and the drivers appears to shine mybe a tad more towards car center vs. passenger side light. I’m assuming the bulbs are OEM std quality and not halogen or better. Short of getting them tested for accuracy, they seem to project in front of the car and not in other lanes. I could either go back to the collision place and get them checked or at the dealer (will cost me there). Or I can upgrade the bulbs to something brighter. The thought I had was even with changing the bulbs, they might be brighter but not positioned perfectly??? has anyone had optima low beam intensity issues? should I get better bulbs and install them myself? I personally think they are “ok” but I know they use machines or specs/measurements to align lights. Now when the highs are on, you can see a mile in the dark but that will blind oncoming traffic. They have tutorials online to adjust lights but that seems a bit much and risky so I either get it done professionally (check them out) or new bulbs. Anyone with more thoughts??? (get a new wife???).
Just call the shop that did the work and see what they say first. You should have some kind of warranty period on the work . Also your paper work should list what was installed .
Take the car back to the body shop and have the lights adjusted properly. Don’t compound the problem by changing bulbs. It isn’t the bulb, it is the adjustment.
yes, says 2 new headlight assemblies. Doesn’t say adjustment time but that might be included in the cost/time as they were listed about 50 bucks more than I can get them online. I agree in that if you put better bulbs (I believe I have simple LED bulbs), it’s just brighter but not aligned. I took both bulbs out so I can do that myself if I want new ones. The whole thing is you can’t always trust mechanics to do the job. I got scammed by Mr. Transmission with a 1989 grand am. 3 buck electronic part they never put in and charged me 1500 to remove trans and just put it back. This shop had complaints galore after I did some BBB research. Anyway, I’ll call the collision center. They are really good so you’d think they did the beams.
I agree. am wondering how much more light I’d get with halogen bulbs so that was part of the question. Of all my cars since 1977, I don’t think I ever changed a headlight bulb due to malfunction.
You and thousands of others, unfortunately. The veterans of this forum always caution people to use only an independent trans shop that has been in business for several years. Mr. T, Cottman, Lee Myles–and especially AAMCO–are all notorious for telling people that they need a trans overhaul when only a much more minor repair is needed.
I’m not sure why so many people go to these scamming chain places for auto repair. If you asked them “Do McDonald’s & Burger King employ professional chefs?”, they would probably know the correct answer, but for some reason most of the same folks apparenty think that expert mechanics are working at these transmission repair chains.
Put back in the bulbs the lights came with (if you changed them) and have the shop align them.
You don’t have LED lights from what I can see on Rockauto, you have halogen bulbs.
There are brighter versions of halogen bulbs listed but if the lenses are not adjusted properly they won’t do you any good.
Based on my admittedly limited experience, that might be a bit of an assumption. When my 2000 Cavalier was hit on a parking lot (damage to right front), Farmers Insurance sent me to a local shop. When I picked up the car the headlights pointed in different directions. I adjusted the headlight myself but I was never able to get it perfect.
It sounds to me like you have a bit of an itch to replace the headlight bulbs with “better” bulbs.
Some other posters on this forum have realized, too late, that the more expensive “better” bulbs can cause all sorts of issues with the wiring, electronic “noise”, and other unexpected issues.
I’d recommend checking with the body shop first on aligning the headlights. Then, IF it’s determined you need new bulbs, stick with OEM bulbs. That’s what the car was designed to use.