Headlight alignment info needed - 2002 Camry

With the car on level ground, preferably with the headlights pointing to a "target" like a garage door or wall, turn the headlight vertical adjusting screw on whichever side you're trying to adjust. The vertical adjustment screw is usually oriented vertically and the horizontal adjustment screw is usually oriented horizontally, sticking out from the back of the headlight assy

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Ray O
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supposed to be that way so you dont blind oncoming drivers.

I just had a look and do not see any screws that govern the horizontal/vertical movement

can someone send me a diagram that will show me what to look for please? my email is snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

I seem to remember it goes like this, which I liked better than the $80 headlight adjustment I paid for at the dealer:

Park twenty five feet from a vertical wall, on a level surface. My local elementary school parking lot had a concrete block wall with mortar lines about one foot apart, so I didn't have to make any marks on the wall. Made the marks on a small sheet of plywood in my garage, and could easily see the correct height by the mortar joints in the wall. You're not going to have accuracy down to the last sixteenth of an inch, but can align the upper portion of the beam cutoff pretty closely. If it is under the horizontal centerline of the headlamp height, you're not going to be creating glare for other motorists. Measure the distance from the ground to the center of each headlight. Duplicate this measurement on the wall and draw a horizontal line two inches below it. Measure the centerline of the car, and the distance of each headlight from centerline, and put a vertical mark on the wall at the headlight centerline. Best to have the trunk empty, half tank of gas and no passengers. Use a ratchet wrench to turn the adjusting screws near the headlights under the hood. You have to turn them quite a number of times to effect any noticeable adjustment. Test drive on a dark night, making sure the headlight pattern is properly centered in your lane, and not shining into other car windshields.

Sorry, in my previous post, I made some assumptions even though I know that assuming is not a good thing.

I don't have access to any kind of diagram and I have not specifically looked for a headlight adjustment screw in a 2002 Camry but I have never come across a modern vehicle without some means to adjust the headlights so I assumed that the '02 Camry has adjustment screws. Can someone out there confirm or deny?

I assumed you were opening the hood to look for the adjustment screws but maybe that's an erroneous assumption. In most modern vehicles, you need to open the hood to find the headlight adjustment screws. They are not accessible from the front of the car next to the bulb like in the old round and rectangular headlights.

I'll try some hints with more specific instructions... In general, to find the adjusting screws for a vehicle with aerodynamic headlights,

1) If the vehicle is running, stop on a level surface about 3 or 4 feet away from a wall (a closed garage door works well). 2) Shut off engine, put automatic transmission in park or manual transmission in gear, set parking brake. 3) Turn on your headlights 4) Open the hood 5) Stand in front of the vehicle 6) Move in front of the headlight you're trying to adjust and look down at top of the headlight housing. 7) Still looking down at the top of the headlight housing, you should see the top of a screw. That screw is the vertical (up and down) adjustment screw. Turn the screw one way and the headlight will move up, turn it the other way, it will move down. 8) Once you have found the vertical adjustment screw, stand to the side of the headlight so that it shines on the wall you parked in front of. 9) As you turn the screw, keep track of how many turns you have made and whether you are turning clockwise or counter-clockwise and whether brightest spot on the wall (known as a hot spot) moves up or down. You want the hot spot for the left and right side to be no higher than straight ahead and definitely not pointing up so that you headlights don't shine in oncoming driver's eyes. 10) Still looking down at the top of the headlight housing, look behind the headlight housing and you will see another screw in a horizontal position (sideways) sticking out from the left or right side of the housing. That screw is the horizontal adjustment and controls whether the headlight shines left, right, or straight ahead. You want both headlights to be pointing straight ahead, and not towards the left if you're in an area that drives on the right side of the road or to the right if you're in an area that drives on the left side of the road. In either case, straight ahead is best. 11) Close the hood, make sure it latches securely, and sit in the driver's seat and see if the headlights look like they're pointed straight ahead. If they do, you're done. If they don't go back to Step 4 above and start over.

Good luck!

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Ray O
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Hi Ray,

I opened the hood and looked and did not see anything. I will have to look again. A picture of what to look for would be worth 1000 words at this point.

What I was taught was that the left light points 50 ft. in front of the the middle of the car, and that the right points 75ft straight ahead .