LED headlight alignment for the birds (PDI? what PDI!)

Just completed aligning my 16.6 GT AWD's Tech Package LED headlights.

The driver's side was pointed up nearly into oncoming driver's eyes, and the hotspot was centered on the centerline of the road. The passenger side headlight made up for that, being the correct vertical adjustment, but with the hotspot completely off the right side of the road.

I like my hotspots centered on my lane, so I get the greatest warning of what I'm about to hit, with oncoming HL's blinding me.

And as with every car I've had, the fog lights were centered about 4 feet in front of the front bumper. I like these to be set up to assist the HL's (assuming they have a sharp cutoff, so they don't blind oncoming drivers). These are LED, and have a sharp cutoff. Surprisingly, they don't illuminate out to the sides much. That'd be nice to spot suicide bambi.

And a note for those who want to try this. As stated in other posts, you need your ignition in the ACC mode. You get there with two taps of the start button, with your foot OFF the brake. Remember to leave the key fob IN the car, or you'll be twisting your phillips a LONG time...

To adjust the fogs, you need to remove the side belly panels enough so you can bend it out of the way. You CANNOT adjust it by pulling off the trim piece on the front bumper, as used with other foglamp assemblies.

your "preference" for "center of hotspot" and just eyeballing your aim without specific measurements makes very unsafe headlights for you and oncoming drivers
you should be aiming your headlights to the DOT or UN aiming standards to get the safest performance out of them
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

It's a 2016.5. Under warranty take it in and have the tech/mechanic aim them correctly. Also remember your light move to auto adjust them self and tune 15 degrees in the direction your turning... plus the auto lev n each time to turn on the car..

ddtigger1 said:

It's a 2016.5. Under warranty take it in and have the tech/mechanic aim them correctly. Also remember your light move to auto adjust them self and tune 15 degrees in the direction your turning... plus the auto lev n each time to turn on the car..

Click to expand...

Some people like to do things for themselves rather than rely on someone else to do those things. IMO it's best to avoid taking your car into the dealer if at all possible. I've seen/heard of too many screw-ups by 'dealer mechanics' in the past.

I'm a firm believer in 'if you want something done right (and you have the capability of doing it right yourself) then do it yourself".

well that must of been what I was doing wrong (ACC Mode). I'll try again. After installing the HR springs the automatic headlight leveler adjusts the headlights a bit low.

Conrad 16.5 said:

Some people like to do things for themselves rather than rely on someone else to do those things. IMO it's best to avoid taking your car into the dealer if at all possible. I've seen/heard of too many screw-ups by 'dealer mechanics' in the past.

I'm a firm believer in 'if you want something done right (and you have the capability of doing it right yourself) then do it yourself".

Click to expand...

And then your realize most of the techs at a dealership are or started as general unskilled labour witth no necessary training in cars. I can do that for free myself lol

Just so you know, they don't check headlight alignment on the PDI. They just make sure everything is secured as it should be, it runs good, and everything works. They don't check coolant level, brake fluid, or stuff like that, including headlights alignment. That 'should' be taken care of at the factory...

buyingconstant7 said:

Just so you know, they don't check headlight alignment on the PDI. They just make sure everything is secured as it should be, it runs good, and everything works. They don't check coolant level, brake fluid, or stuff like that, including headlights alignment. That 'should' be taken care of at the factory...

Click to expand...

Exactly!

Since the engine oil and coolant levels were low after we picked up our special-ordered 2016 CX-5 fresh out of the truck with 3 miles on the odometer and the PDI, I checked several brand-new CX-5's in the dealer's lot out of my curiosity. Every new CX-5 I checked was the same - low on engine oil and coolant! (boom08)

yrwei52 said:

Exactly!

Since the engine oil and coolant levels were low after we picked up our special-ordered 2016 CX-5 fresh out of the truck with 3 miles on the odometer and the PDI, I checked several brand-new CX-5's in the dealer's lot out of my curiosity. Every new CX-5 I checked was the same - low on engine oil and coolant! (boom08)

Click to expand...

Maybe it's just a case of the fluids 'settling' during shipment? (wink)

Conrad 16.5 said:

Maybe it's just a case of the fluids 'settling' during shipment? (wink)

Click to expand...

Fluid "settling"? Or fluid "evaporating"? Sorry I simply don't buy that. I've been special-ordering new cars several times from different makers. This Mazda is the first time I've experienced with low fluid levels from factory! I was checking other new CX-5's at the time trying to verify whether or not this was a single incident to ours or happened to many others. Remember people are also finding out the rear differential gear lubricant is low from factory too!

TheMAN said:

your "preference" for "center of hotspot" and just eyeballing your aim without specific measurements makes very unsafe headlights for you and oncoming drivers
you should be aiming your headlights to the DOT or UN aiming standards to get the safest performance out of them
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

Click to expand...

Come again? Did you even read the OP's post? Based on what he said about the previous aiming, in no way did he make the headlights "very unsafe" for anyone, and in fact made them SAFER by not blinding other motorists.

For what it's worth, that Daniel Stern page about lack of horizontal aim on US car headlights is BS. Every car I've encountered has horizontal aiming adjustments, and every projector-based headlamp and many modern reflector headlamps have that "kink" that's referred to on that page, to use as a reference for horizontal aiming. That "kink" or step in the cutoff should converge at a distance as the beam pattern cutoff meets the road, on level ground, centered in the lane in front of the car, which is what it sounds like the OP did.