Wife has a 2017 Ford escape. The headlights were great when we first got the car a few years ago. Now, it seems the low beam lights seem like they are barely putting light out a few feet in front of the car. I am looking at the lights and it almost appears the driver’s low beam is too far out (left). I was looking at the adjustments on the vehicle, and it doesn’t appear with what I can find that there is a horizontal adjustment. Is it possible that the bulbs themselves are just aging and getting dimmer and the lights are fine (adjustment wise)?
Bulbs don’t sag, your headlight alignment is out.
Possibly the reflector IN the light housing has come loose or sagged.
Tester
Bulbs get dimmer with age and headlamp assemblies lose some of their transparency and ability to focus the light as well as they did when new. Less light and more scattered.
I have put new aftermarket headlights on both my vehicles and the nighttime visibility got better. And the cars looked almost like new, up front anyway.
Headlight bulbs dim over time. You can replace them and see how much it helps. The headlight lenses may also be clouding and need refurbishment. It’s probably a combination of both. If the high beams are also dim it’s likely lens degradation. You can see lens clouding, of course. The brightness test is to establish how bad it is.
1 Like
The bright lights work great. Not seeing much haze over the lenses. It just seems the low beams aren’t as bright as they once were or not aimed as far as they used to be.
From what I can tell , horizontal headlamp aim is built-in, not adjustable. Bulbs will dim w/age, or other causes could be
- dirt/grime on one of the transparent materials is blocking light
- transparent material is pitted from road grit, blocking light, polishing might help
- toomuch electrical resistance (likely where harness plugs into bulb connector). Measure temp of that connector, is it getting hot when headlamps are on?
I didn’t notice any exceptional heat. I just notice the light seems to be brighter to the immediate side of the car (driver) than in front of the car on low beams. Might just be my perception, but the area in front of the car definitely is not as illuminated as when we first got the car 3 years ago. I have not observed any discoloration in the lens or pitting/dirt on them either.
I rarely drive at night due to one bad eye and cataracts. Last few times for pick up of of fast food ok in wifes car. Yes I got stuck with the rav4. It was like driving into the black abyss. Checked and cleaned the headlights at the drive through. Looked pretty good except for some minor what appear like scratches inside the headlight lens in front of the path of the headlight only. Can post a pic if you care. I know the streets and it was difficult to navigate to a turn lane. Maybe salt buildup from a recent snow contributed, but giving up driving at night unless absolutely necessary.
Have you considered eye laser surgery I was the same way born with one bad eye got cataracts in my good eye had the surgery now 20/20 with good eye.
2 Likes
My eye doc says if surgery goes bad on the good eye 5 to 10% chance, I will be blind forever and wants to put it off as long as possible, as I only have one good eye. My buds tell me where my golf ball went, seeing eye doc in april and may go for it. Day driving is fine, Going to have the wife check out driving in the rav4 and see what she thinks.
[quote=“Barkydog, post:11, topic:188878”]
My eye doc says if surgery goes bad on the good eye 5 to 10% chance, I will be blind forever .
My eye doc told me the same thing
so I went for it it was definitely was a life changer for me.
1 Like
Post-cataract surgery, I’m not at 20/20, but at least I no longer need my glasses for watching TV in bed. I only need my corrective lenses for distance and for extremely close work.
1 Like
Just a follow up. New bulbs fixed the problem.
3 Likes
Barky- go for the gusto. Get your wife a new car with either LED or HID headlights. 
1 Like
You beat me to it. I use the silver star ultra. About $50 or so for the pair but nice and bright. Twice a year when I polish the cars I also polish the headlight covers to keep them clear.