Just picked up my new FIT on saturdaY CBP 5mt and think that the low beams do not project the way they should. I pull up infront of my house and it is 135 ft betwn telephone poles and the beam barely makes it.

Is that typical? The high beams are great but i can't run them all the time.

I am going to contact my dealer but was wondering what everyone elses opinions were on theirs.

Thanks

Christian

 

It's not uncommon for the headlights to be aimed too low. There's a 10mm adjustment "bolt" on the back of each headlight that adjust the up and down aim (marked U and D).

 

I see many users post that they adjust them on this site. Just be aware that aiming them higher can shine the bright light at oncoming traffic or into rearview mirrors. It's not good to have people temporarily blinded around you. If they really need adjustment, please get it done by a professional.

 

I understand that aiming too high is bad, I hate being flashed/blinded by oncomming traffic or have my dash illuminated by the driver behind me.

I just feel that low beams should project out far enough so that I can safely see the road at posted speeds, and I don't.

I came from a protege 5 and it had great lights.

One more question, can anybody else hear their engine running inside the car?

I can, and when I lift the hood it sounds like valve chatter. Is that normal for your Fit(s)?


Thanks,

Christian

 

its normal.. any higher than that will blind the oncoming traffic.

dont adjust it. and if you really want to get a brighter light get an HID. for a non HID housing. ...

 

You could do a temporary adjustment and throw your mother-in-law in the storage area in the back!

sorry... I just hadda...

 

Bad advice on both counts... and completely contradictory.

Depending on the current adjustment, you often CAN raise the headlights and not blind oncoming traffic. You shouldn't just make some random adjustment, but if you make measurements on a wall or park behind a parked vehicle at night and adjust the lights individually (preferably while covering the other light in turn), you can improve the road illumination while ensuring the lights aren't shining too high.

HID capsules in non-HID housings are worse than properly adjusting your halogen lights. Even IF the halogen reflector/lens combination maintained the same illumination pattern with the HID source (nearly impossible since the HID arc and the halogen filament emit light differently), the HID by virtue of emitting more lumens will definitely emit more light above the cutoff.

 

i agree with you but adjusting that a little higher wouldnt make that much of a difference since the 09 fit light is pretty dark anyways and if you do adjust it higher you will end up blinding the oncoming traffic. i suggested the HID on non HID housing because if you get the HID kit for the HID housing it usually melts the housing on the NON hid Housing. (just on my experience And also it depends on the WATTS)...

 

I came from a mazda as well(RX-8) and this has to be my biggest complaint up to this point, the low beams simply don't provide a large viewing area especially around small roads around town that has too much traffic to turn on the brights...

 

I don't want to go the HID route so I amgoing to try a little adjustment up.

I really have no light past about 135 feet which at even 35mph gives you next to no response time if there was something in your path.

 

In florida the lows are suppose to be around 200 to 250 feet and the highs for 500 feet. Mine was around the 180 foot. I gave it a good turn and so far no flashback and better night vision. I am going to give it another turn and that should be around the 240 mark. Your adjustment may vary...THUNDER

 

I changed out the bulbs to Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's.
I think it was worth it pretty good improvement for not too much $$$
I also adjusted them up some.

 

I also noticed hte low beam being low. If you don't drive fast it's ok. But at freeway speed (50mph) you can get into trouble w/ sharp turns, etc. I think for highway traffic you have to use high beam to be safe. I wish I can raise it a bit higher. Is the 09 light ajustment the same as the first gen's?

 

I had the dealer raise mine a bit, it helped! Next up..SilverStar Ultras!

 

Did the dealer doing it for you for free? Is it warranty work? I just bought mine a week ago.

 

Yes it was free. Honestly with you just buying a brand new car from them, I imagine they would be happy to do this for you! It's just a half turn of a 10mm socket after all!! I would have done it myself but my tools were at work, and I was right by the dealer.

 

Hmm I found up is down and down is up with the adjustment screws?

I ended up adjusting them nearer/lower at first. Now I have a 1/2 screw in the opposite direction and I'm guessing one can go a full turn without causing glare too.

I did overadjust the fogs though, have 1 screw in on those now. I went with 2 at first and it was a bit much.

 

I found that a 10mm and 12mm combination wrench is part of a toolkit one wants to have for any Honda... I have those and a small toolkit with some socket wrenches and screwdriver with interchangeable bits.

 

One more thing to think about is ... that the ride height is higher in the rear on the USDM 09 Fit... by almost 1 inch over the JDM GE8.... the front ride height on both are the same ( JDM RS model ).. ..?? food for thought..

 

I finally got around to adjusting mine this evening... much better: from borderline dangerous to acceptable. I draped a floor mat over one headlight while adjusting the other. It's easy to watch the cutoff move up and down during adjustment. Afterwards I drove around the neighborhood a bit. The lights are not lighting up anything above bumper level of parked cars on the left, and small road undulations on a level street can be seen as the cutoff moving on the road surface ahead (also indicating they aren't aimed too far upward).