Headlights on 2006 Sonata

Nope, mine were fine out of the box. I haven't looked at mine, but assuming they adjust with a screwdriver or hex wrench like most other cars, just adjust them yourself. Turn them down one revolution of the screw at a time until you get them where you want them. This isn't rocket science.

Matt

I know it's not rocket science. As far as adjusting them, been there, tried that. If I adjust them so they light the road for a reasonable distance - similar to my other vehicle, there's alot of light that projects well above the surface of the road that annoys oncoming traffic. It's almost like a second beam that's angled up. You can actually adjust them with your fingers on the adjustment screws. The dealer says they've had several complaints, but "these new headlights are just that way".

I noticed similar on ours. While driving in front of my wife I noticed that depending on what side of the lights your viewing bias is from, that side appears brighter than the other. Switching your viewing bias produces the same effect on the other side. I can only think that the beams are a more focused than lights I've previously seen on other vehicles...........Doc

Find a level place to park ~10'in front of a wall with horizontal lines on it, such as bricks, concrete blocks or siding. Adjust your headlights so they both project to the same line on the wall. Test drive it. If necessary, come back to the same place and re-adjust the lights. This method allows you to adjust your lights in small increments and keep them both at the same height.

BTW, there are DOT specifications for the adjustment of the headlights and Hyundai provides specs. The dealer SHOULD have the equipment to adjust the headlights properly.

Hi, Bob. Sorry to hear about your adjustment woes at the dealership. I live in neighboring Virginia and notice when I visit my small hometown that oncoming drivers sometimes flash their lights. This occurred in my 96 Dodge Avenger, 2002 Sonata, and 2006 Sonata. I think the connection is the driving/fog lights on all three vehicles. I suspect some drivers see four distinct lights and assume high beams are on. I do not experience this in the city (but lanes are often futher separated.)

GeoUSA, moderator

"GeoUSA" wrote in news:1137766872.650735.49820 @g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Why would you be driving around with your fog lights on? That IS distracting to most drivers. If it's not foggy out they provide no benefit except to illuminate about 6 feet in front of your car and annoy oncoming drivers.

You *do* know there is a switch to turn them off, right?

Eric

The specified distance is 118.1 inches. I can adjust them on a dark straight road, but there appears to be a second beam that juts up, and blinds the oncoming drivers. The dealer uses marks on the wall that they use for ALL vehicles. I've adjusted them DOWN from where the dealer has set them, and they still blind oncoming traffic. I have seen this for myself driving at the car on a two lane road. There is something very different about the lights on this car from those that I have owned previously.

I'm getting flashed with only the low beams - no driving lights - on. I'm going to submit it to NHTSA. I suggest all others that have the same problem do the same.

Do you see this second beam if you pull up to within 10' or so of a wall? I know that many of the new cars with the reflector headlights have a very sharp cut-off compared to the old sealed beam headlights. This causes the lights to appear to be flashing when an oncoming car is on a undulating road as the intensity changes very quickly with just a little vertical distance. I personally don't like this either as a driver of such a vehicle or as someone approaching such a vehicle. The flashing affect is annoying when coming at you and the sharp cut-off is a real pain when driving in the hilly terrain around my house. When driving down into a valley, you can't see up the other side at all as the beam cuts off so sharply. The old sealed beams had such a diffuse beam that you got enough light going sideways and upwards that you still have some sight distance even when approaching the bottom of a valley or large dip.

Matt

The point of having the sharp cutoff on the left side of the beam is to NOT blind drivers in the opposite lane. The right side of the beam is not cut off, so it can illuminate road signs. Overall, this scheme works pretty well. It's nothing new, as I had Hella headlights with a similar pattern 25 years ago. Back then, they weren't street legal, since they weren't sealed beams, which were still required by the DOT at the time.

What problem? That's the way headlights are now.

The problem with them is that they bother oncoming traffic to the point that they turn their high beams on, subsequently negatively affecting my ability to see. Not all new car headlights are that way. The very worst ones are the HID headlights on the high end cars. The problem is that there is a significant amount of light being projected above the road surface from the lights in my car.

They won't if they are adjusted properly. I've had my Sonata exactly one month now and I've had only two drivers flash their highs at me in

I still think your problem is 80% improper adjustment and at most 20% the brightness or design of the headlight beam.

I find that lots of new cars make me think they have their high beams on, especially those blue light specials.

Matt

I know the purpose of it, however, the assumptions aren't right for where I live. This sharp cutoff is only useful if you always drive on smooth, flat roads. Here in northern PA and upstate NY, either assumption is good on virtually any road I drive other than the interstates. And even then only on certain stretches.

In the real world, a sharp cutoff is dumb and is very annoying as you now see a rapidly varying intensity from oncoming car headlights rather than the fairly steady intensity with the old sealed beams. Maybe the intensity was higher on average in the old days, but I much prefer that to the "flashing" affect of the newer light designs.

Also, the right side of my Hyundai's pattern is cut-off pretty far to the right. It doesn't illuminate signs well on low beam, not as well as my 94 Chevy truck, and it makes the white background signs so bright on high beam that they nearly blind me! The cutoff portion of the pattern extends clear across the road well onto the berm as I can't see the road ahead worth beans when going down into a dip.

I haven't pulled up to a wall yet to look at the pattern in more detail, but will try that some night to see if I can tell where the cutoff ends.

Matt

I've tried my best to adjust them with no success. I've taken it to the dealer three times, and they adjust them so that they either light the trees, or light the road in a nice spot 30 feet in front of the car. The dealer insists that the precision aligned concrete block wall is the way they adjust all headlights. I've tried the reasonable approach of lighting the road for a decent distance, which is lower than the dealer adjusted them twice. Maybe someone at Hyundai reads the NHTSA submittals, and will realize they've got an issue. Calling Hyundai and asking them what to do about the fact that the dealer can't align the headlights, and asking for suggestions resulted in me being told that I need to talk to the dealer because they handle all issues related to the vehicle. As far as continuing to mess with it myself.... It's under warranty. I need to drive it, put gas and windshield washer fluid in it, and do PM's to it. Anything else is Hyundai's problem to resolve.

Is there a different Hyundai dealer within a reasonable driving range? Might be worth giving someone else a shot. Maybe even an independent dealer. Unless the lights on my Sonata are different than yours, mine are proof that they can be adjusted reasonably well. On low beam, mine illuminate as much of the road on the level as does my pickup and illuminates much better than does my Dodge minivan. The only complaint is the cut-off when I'm driving into and out of a dip. My van has a similar cut-off problem, but my pickup lights up a good part of the hill ahead even before I start coming up out of the dip.

On high beam, the Sonata is one of the better vehicles I've ever had. It is as good as or better than my truck, and nearly as good as my Kawasaki Voyager motorcycle was. Yes, you heard that right, my Kawasaki Voyager, with only one headlight, lit the road better than any other vehicle I've ever owned ... on high beam. On low beam, it has the same cut-off problem as the Hyundai. It as a real pain when you rolled into a corner and saw the inside of the corner get really dark really quickly.

I wouldn't give up yet, but I can certainly understand your frustration with your dealer. I think it is a long shot, but it certainly is possible that you got a defective headlight reflector or two. If something got distorted during manufacturing, maybe that is the problem. Might ask the dealer to let you drive another Sonata or two at night to see if they are any different than your car.

Matt

I'm not giving anything up yet. I will be calling Hyundai again in addition to the complaint I've filed with NHTSA. I've become rapidly disappointed with the technical expertise at the dealer I bought it from. From the headlights, to stealing tires from another vehicle on their lot to fix a tire problem, to me standing there asking the service writer why the tech used an impact gun to tighten the lug nuts on my alloy wheels with no torque stick. His response to the service writer at that point was that they never told him to use torque sticks. There's no other Hyundai dealer within 70 miles of here - Wilmington NC.

Wilmington, NC, eh. I haven't been there in some time, but just about lived there for 2.5 years back in the early 80s. I work for Corning Incorporated and we were expanding our plant there pretty rapidly through that time.

I'd still ask the dealer to let you drive one to two other Sonata's just to see if you have a defective light possibly.

Matt

P.S. Is the Trails End restaurant still around? Always loved that place even though it was never quite the same after it was rebuilt.