Headlight Adjustment Cost

Headlight Alignment Cost

Last Updated on December 27, 2023
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by Certified CFA CFA Alexander Popinker

If you’re seeing that your lights tend to light up every little thing but the roadway, it might be time to have your front lights adjusted to make sure you’re driving in the best conditions.

As correctly aligned headlights will not only aid to illuminate the roadway, enabling you to see in the evening, they can also aid you to see easily any type of road signs or animals when driving.

Failing to repair this issue is not only a safety and security concern and is a threat, you might be placing other individuals in danger also.

Standard Expenses of Headlight Alignment

The expenses of a basic headlight placement usually depend on the dealership/mechanic you work with as well as your geographical location. From our research, it looks like the expenses to adjust your headlights, when working with an expert, can vary anywhere from $25 to $60; nonetheless, in many of the circumstances, the headlights usually will not need to be adjusted and it will be an additional problem making your headlights to aim improperly. In many cases, as long as the headlight positioning is the only issue, it will just take an auto mechanic less than one hr, meaning you will be billed the local shop minimum.

You might also like our articles about the cost of a fog light installation, a laser fog light installation, or the cost to fix a tail light.

At Pep Boys, as an example, they note that a headlight adjustment can set you back $20 at any of their local shops.

According to one individual on the YellowBullet.com online forum, they paid $56 and asked other forum members if it was a reasonable cost for a headlight adjustment at his local auto mechanic. According to the replies the thread got, most of the people claimed it was reasonable, seeing it would be at the very least a 30-minute task for a knowledgeable auto mechanic.

The adjustment service process

First off, the technician will need to see if the headlight adjustment is the only repair service that will have to be done. Sometimes, as we stated above, it might be due to malfunctioning shocks and/or weight problems. If this were the case, then additional repairs will be recommended because readjusting the headlights will not address the issue.

If an adjustment will have to be made, the first action they will have to do is to find the adjustment screws to remove the light housing area. As all cars are different, in many cases, these screws will be clearly visible and marked, however, with some makes and models, the trim ring or battery might have to be taken down in order to access the lights behind the housing area.

As a next step, once the adjustment screws are taken out, the auto mechanic will then have easier access to the headlight light bulbs, where they can make the needed adjustments by modifying the “vertical field” that can be found on top. By turning the screw clockwise, it will raise the lights, while turning counterclockwise can lower the light. The screw will be turned until the adjustments match the measurements made on a close-by wall surface the lights are forecasted on. After the vertical field is adjusted, the horizontal field will be next to be adjusted, and this is done by adjusting the screw on the left side of the housing area.

Lastly, when all adjustments are completed, the auto mechanic will verify the exact measurements using your car’s standards and will check the results to make sure that everything is in place as it should.

The whole procedure will take around one hour or less to finish.

Reasons why the headlights might be misaligned

Headlights in the eveningFirst Reason: The weight – One typical reason your headlights will need to be realigned is because of the too much weight placed in the cargo area or trunk. This excess weight, as you can surely imagine, can push the back part of your car down, basically pushing the headlights upwards, making it look as if your front lights need to be adjusted. In this instance, your front lights will not need to be realigned; instead, you will have to either consider buying load-leveling air shocks if you often carry heavy loads or take into consideration lightening each load.

The Second Reason: Damaged shocks – Much like traveling with heavy loads, as your shocks get used out, it can lead your headlights to aim higher, far from the roadway. As this part wears, they will begin to sag, and when it comes to the back shocks, the front of the car will point higher than it should, again, making it seem as if your headlights will need to be adjusted. In this instance, readjusting the headlights might fix the trouble; nevertheless, your shocks will certainly need to be changed as this can create extra issues in the future.

Reason number three: In the event of an accident – An accident can lead to quite some damages, and even with the smallest tap, your headlights can end up being misaligned. In this instance, the front lights might have been knocked out of alignment and will have to be adjusted to work again.

Just how to check the placement of your headlights

To guarantee that your headlights have to be aligned, there’s a straightforward test you can do, according to YourMechanic. To do so, you will need a leveled surface area, a wall surface to project your lights on, such as a garage door, a measuring tape, a level, screwdriver, and also masking tape. Additionally, it’s a good idea to do it in the evening to aid to see the lights in an all-natural setup.

To check, park your vehicle about 15 to 20 feet away from the wall surface with your lights on, not your fog lights or high beams. Next off, while the lights are projected on the wall surface, you will need to mark the horizontal and the vertical centerlines of the beams. Once they are marked, you will then need to see the centerlines and make certain they are no more than 3.5 feet in the air, and to check it, you can make use of a level to see the centerline to make sure each headlight is even. Last but not least, after noting these centerlines, you will then want to precisely back up 25 feet and see to it that the lights still end up inside your markings on the wall surface.

Alec Pow
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *