Thanks sheldon!

 

The factory solution is to have a sensor on the rear suspension to sense the load carried in the back and to auto-adjust the LED headlights to prevent blinding oncoming cars.

 

that's true, but there they still can be adjusted for the "starting point". That is when the car is level. The car's auto adjustment will go from there.

 

@sas-XV makes a good point. Are these the factory LEDs that came with the car or something aftermarket that you installed?

 

His car came from the factory with LEDs, so highly doubtful he’s changed them.

I’ve noticed too that the factory LEDs on my ‘23 also seem to be aimed a little high. Haven’t done much night driving, but every little bump around town seems to light up the interior of the car in front.

 

Are you sure? Halogens are standard on the '23 Sport. Only the Limited has LEDs as standard.

 

The Sport trim in Canada has LED headlights.

 

Ah, OK. Compensation for the weather, grizzly bears, and having to eat poutine, I suppose.

 

You need to be really careful with poutine. Lots of places (even in Canada, outside Quebec) make it with mozzarella.

Real poutine is made with cheese curds. And good poutine is made with fresh cheese curds.

 

I lowered mine as well. The auto-leveling works well, but had the exact observation: stock throw is too horizontal. Will post pictures of where the vertical alignment screws are, the right one wasn't easy to find.

 

A good break from an oil thread....

"To understand why cheese curds squeak, we have to take a closer look at the building blocks of cheese: proteins! On a microscopic level, cheese curds are made up of proteins that are bound together with calcium. When you bite into a cheese curd, this protein and calcium structure rubs against the enamel on your teeth, making a squeaking sound.
If your cheese curds don’t squeak, don’t panic! Cheese curds only stay squeaky for a few days at peak freshness. After a few days, the calcium-protein bonds that cause the squeakiness begin to break, thus ending the squeak-fest. This doesn’t mean that your cheese curds have gone bad, though. The squeak factor of cheese curds does not have any bearing on the taste.
How do you make cheese curds squeak again?
If you’re missing out on those adorable squeaks from your cheese curds, good news: you can actually make them squeaky again! You can revive the squeakiness in your cheese curds by putting them in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. This re-bonds the calcium and protein structures, amping up the squeak factor. (Sometimes we call this highly scientific process “re-squeak-ification.”) Don’t microwave them for longer, though, unless you’re looking to melt your precious curds.
How long do cheese curds stay squeaky?
Cheese curds will generally stay squeaky for 3-5 days after they are made. Keep your cheese curds in the refrigerator and away from any moisture sources to keep them squeaky for as long as possible."

 

Can't unsee that...

 

I've never seen the headlights go up and down during the self-check, just left and right. Is there another motor inside the headlight that auto-levels them that I have not seen in action?

I've always assumed the auto levelling sensor is for the curve adaptive motor.

 

Deleted because I was wrong 🤦‍♂️

 

I found this TSB on the Outback forum but it's for the 2019+ Foresters. I decided to give it a try on my Crosstrek and it worked. However, the headlight doesn't move a lot up and down, maybe a few centimetres.

It's not like the VWs I see at work where the headlight actually has a higher range of motion going up and down during its self-check at startup.

If anyone wants to try it on their Crosstrek I recommend you do it on a level surface so you don't mess up the beam level.

Headlights set too high on GEN 6 Outback

Wondering if anyone else has had problems with their headlight low beams pointing too high on their new Outback. My low beams are clearly too high—this evidenced by every 3rd or 4th car flashing their high beams at me while out on the open road. I took it back to the dealer and was told they...

www.subaruoutback.org

 

I have had trouble with the headlight aiming on my 2021 Limited. I need to talk to the dealer to try to understand how the auto-leveling is supposed to work.

I don't drive at night very much , so I don't know if something changed or this is how they always were. I noticed several months ago that my headlights were pointing really low. So low that I measured the cutoff hitting the road about 25 feet in front of the car. I tried the reinitialization procedure shown in the TSB for the Forester, but it did seem to work as described. The leveler warning never flashed 3 times. When turning on the ignition with the delivery mode fuse in, it just immediately raised the beam to the highest level. After a week or so, the level settled back down to being too low again. I then resorted to manual aiming adjustment with a screwdriver. I adjusted them 10 turns up which measured about level. That was fine for a several months, but then I noticed that they were aimed way too high. I lowered them 10 turns down to factory adjustment. That was fine for a week and then they were too low again. This time I realized what the 1.2% marking on the headlight means and adjusted them to 1.2% down which was about 6 turns up. This is much easier to do with metric units (12cm lower at 10m away). Lately, I noticed that they are aimed too low again. I did the reinitialization procedure and again they pointed way too high. They settled down over the next few days and they are almost where they were before, judging from marks on my garage wall.

When I have visited my family and driven/rode in their Subarus (listed in my signature), I paid attention to the headlight aiming. Their headlights have not been touched from factory adjustment. I know the Ascent works because when we load it up for vacation, the headlights lower to the appropriate height (unlike our previous Pilot Elite). My brother's Crosstrek is equipped identically to mine (but 3 months newer) and it seemed to have appropriate headlight aim.

I've heard a rear ride height sensor mentioned in regards to auto-leveling but I have not been able to put eyes on one under my car. Looking at the parts diagram for my 2021 Limited, there is a Head Lamp Level Sensor in the schematic, but no actual part listed. There appear to be three versions of Auto Leveling Modules. Two are labeled "except vehicle height sensor" and one is labeled "for vehicle height sensor". I attached a picture of the module out of my Crosstrek. It is mounted under the dash near the steering column. The part number matches the diagram and the mounting point matches the "except vehicle height sensor" versions. This makes me conclude that my Crosstrek does not have a ride height sensor. So how does it know how to level the headlights? I assume it takes inputs from the yaw, acceleration, etc sensors in the car.

I can't seem to find much info online about how this system is supposed to work. I think it is different than the ride height sensor version that is in the larger Subarus considering the part diagram and that the reinitialization doesn't work the same. If anyone has information about how this system is supposed to function, please share.

 

If I were you I'd take it to the dealership because you're still under warranty and you should get them to take a look at it.

 

C'mon--all of LA is devoid of a real British pub with bitters, Guiness on tap, and appropriately cool, not cold, lagers and ales?

 

I haven't been there in over 20 years since I moved up to the Seattle area, but I thought there was a British family run pub in the West LA area.

 

Oddly, I think my headlights are aimed a touch too low, but since they're so bright I don't wanna mess with them.

SC

 

Here - you really need to look to find these little white plastic adjustment gears. Use a long Phillips screwdriver.

Left headlamp:

Right headlamp:

 

Here - you really need to look to find these little white plastic adjustment gears. Use a long Phillips screwdriver.

Thank you very much!!

The photos are 2D of course so distance isn't realistically represented. Those gears LOOK as though you could adjust them with a pen or something. How far down from the black plastic trim are they? [About]

 

Wow, how would you even know? Service manual, I guess...

 

Not even. Just a lot of time trying to find all 4 bloody adjustment gears (left-right horizontal ones are fairly visible), and shoving a screwdriver in random holes. Took a while though.

 

Even pictures make them rather difficult to find - but once you see them , it'll be obvious. A flashlight helps a lot. Below is a pic from another Subaru, it shows how they're made, and what you should look for (in the Crosstrek, they're made from white-ish plastic). See how a rotating screwdriver, perpendicular to the bolt's axis and inserted into the opening, rotates the screw?

I used a 3" long screwdriver tip and it was ~barely~ enough. A pen won't help, you really need a Phillips/cross tip so as to rotate the plastic gears, the larger the better.

They offer little resistance, so I just inserted the screwdriver, rotating it, and staring at the wall to see whether the beam would move down.

 

What about the LED foglights? Mine seem way too low, but I didn't see any obvious access flap in the black plastic underneath.

 

The halogen fog lights can be adjusted but you'll have to remove the small cover underneath where the fog light would be. It should be the same process on the Crosstreks with factory LED fog lights.

 

As @Arthur said. You have to lie down under the car, declip / bend the splash guards so as to see the light's bottom and there is a visible screw.

...or you can upgrade and install Diode Dynamics Elite ones. Worth every penny.

 

Decided to get to it.... finally. But no luck.

Here is a photo of the LEFT LED headlamp. I turned the thing in the blue square a few times aound but nothing happened. [So I turned it back] But I never saw anything else. Should I have kept turning it OR is the thing I should have turned [that I never did could find] in the red square? OR is it something else? When I first saw the wheel in the blue square I thought to myself, "It can't be that easy!" And it's wasn't. sigh

Thanks

 

The blue square is for horizontal (azimuth) adjustment. It's very fine - you need a massive amount of complete rotations so as to notice the pattern moving. It's purpose is to direct the V-like notch in the beam pattern at the right angle towards incoming traffic, so that it intersects with the same V-shape of the other headlight on the ground (preventing to illuminate incoming traffic).

The horizontal adjustment screw one is the identical white thingie to the LEFT of the blue square (arrow). Notice how there is a (diagonally to the right) groove in the plastic assembly, allowing the insertion of a screwdriver.

 

The blue square is for....

Thank you!

I'll have another look..
At least now it makes more sense!
I'll let you know if I'm successful.



UPDATE:

It worked! I was quite happy I have to say. It wasn't looking good for a few minutes and then all of sudden I could see IT. The little adjustment wheel. And once it did... it all made sense. Even the fact that I needed to use a Philips screwdriver!! I put two pieces of masking tape on the wall in front of the car. [I did this in the parking garage] And lowered the beam [on both headlights] by about 2". [The car was about 6' away from the wall] It's what I did with the Chrysler I own that has HID's. It worked out great on that. I didn't get a chance to drive the Crosstrek yet but should tonight. And if it's too low I'll adjust it again. I also 'installed' the cup holder rubber things. I think they look really nice!

So once again I say... thank you very much for your help!

 

I also found an auto level reinitialize procedure that might be different from what you’re trying and might work…

Subaru Crosstrek Service Manual - Procedure - Auto headlight beam leveler system

www.sucross.com