96 Camry Headlight Adjustment

Hi guys, I'm sorry if I'm bringing up something that has been discussed before...
I'm a total noob under the hood of a car, so I apologize...

Anyway, I recently bought some Sylvania Silverstar low beams for my 96 Camry and put them in.
I drove to work in the daytime and got off at night.
When I turned on my lights, the driver side headlight was aimed at the floor about 5-10 feet from the car, while the passenger side headlight was aimed much farther than that...
I'm not sure if the OEM light bulbs were adjusted at these angles also, because I never really paid attention to it before.

When I bought the car, the previous owner actually didn't know where the manual went, so that's not an option for me...
I searched through the forums on this website and many other places and have been unable to find anything idiot-proof (for me).
If possible, can someone please explain to me how to adjust the headlight angle correctly w/o having to go to the dealer and paying them to do it?
Anything would be greatly appreciated...
Also, if anybody can post some pics, I'd be very grateful...
Thanks in advance.

I will try and find a better description for you, but this is the best I can do with limited time.

The headlights are adjusted with two screws, the inboard adjusts the horizontal position and the outboard screw adjusts the vertical position of the beam. You access them from the top of the light with the hood open.

Take the car onto a flat empty parking lot at night (a driveway works if it is flat). Adjust the passenger low-beam horizontally, so that it illuminates the road directly ahead of the right side of the car (right edge of the roadway when driving) and vertically, about 100 ft ahead of the vehicle. Adjust the driver's side headlight low-beam vertically so that it illuminates about the same distance in front of the car as the passenger beam, but adjust the driver's beam horizontally on the road between the left side of the car and the centerline of the car.

Then check your high beams. If they hit the road alot futher away, then you are about right. If the high beams hit too far down the road to be useful, then adjust your low beams a little closer to your car, but in the same horizontal position as mentioned above.

Thanks a lot for the advice.
I located the screw for (i'm assuming) vertical alignment, because it had a two-way arrow next to it, labeled this way...

..............(screw)..............
DOWN <=========> UP

It was a screw facing upward, and was located next to the signal light.
I took out my handy philips screwdriver and turned the screw on the driver side toward the "up" position, which would be counter-clockwise.
After a few turns, I noticed no difference.
After maybe 30-50 turns, I came upon the conclusion that maybe I was doing something wrong.
So, I turned the screw on the passenger side about the same number of times and noticed no difference on that side either...
Then, I tried turning the screws on both sides the opposite way, still noticing no difference.

I'm wondering, how many times should I need to turn each screw to see a noticeable difference?
Also, is there some kind of locking mechanism that may be preventing the headlight from accidentally being adjusted?
Sorry, I'm a bit stumped on this one...

It seems that if all you did was replace the oem bulb with a new one then no adjustment should be required. It sounds like at least one of the bulbs is loose inside its locking ring and a second look would be in order. Maybe have a friend help you inspect them and see if they can detect a loose ring, etc. By the way, how do you like the new Silverstar bulbs? How does their light compare to the oem bulbs? Thanks. :smile:

The adjustment mechanism should show a significant change in two or three turns of the screws. It may be that your headlight is rusted in place and needs to be tapped and/or oiled to loosen it up. In many cases, it is only spring pressure that moves the bulb when you retract the adjusting screws away from the housing.

Thanks, guys.
Bossman, I love my new Silverstars.
There is a significant improvement in both the brightness and the color of the light.

I'll take both of your suggestions into consideration and have those issues checked ASAP...
I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, and by the way... I notice that the screw for vertical alignment goes down a few inches...
Is it okay if I just spray a little bit DW-40 on it to improve the possible rust problem?

It is the movement of the headlight assembly that is restricted by rust, not so much the adjustment screws. WD40 will help. The problem described by Bossman may be the true problem also. It is impossible to tell without seeing it.

I have the same car and when I replaced it with the Sylvania low beams, I really didn't need to do any adjustments at all.

By the way, the only real problem I had was that one of the bulbs would explode. I ended up buying three spares and it all exploded. It all exploded/burnt out right away as soon as I drove a few yards. It would always burnt out on only one side. I don't know why so I used the old OEM low beam bulbs again.

I have the same car and when I replaced it with the Sylvania low beams, I really didn't need to do any adjustments at all.

By the way, the only real problem I had was that one of the bulbs would explode. I ended up buying three spares and it all exploded. It all exploded/burnt out right away as soon as I drove a few yards. It would always burnt out on only one side. I don't know why so I used the old OEM low beam bulbs again.


Hmmm... seems a bit weird that your bulbs would be exploding so many times, and on the same side too.
I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but did you install the bulbs following the instructions? (This would include being careful NOT to touch the bulbs themselves at any time whatsoever.)
Also, are you using the correct size of bulbs (9006)?
Maybe you can try having your circuitry/wiring checked out?
I don't know too much about cars, but I do know that electrical surges can cause a little fragile light bulb to burst instantly...

Just my 2 cents.

P.S. I took out one of my headlights and had a look at it...
I'm about to sleep right now, so I'll try to post my findings tomorrow.

Yes I was really careful NOT to touch any of the bulb surface as it was one of the very precise warning on the instruction sheet.

I bought the right 9006 bulbs as I consulted/checked with the online Sylvania bulb specs before I went ahead and bought it.

Maybe the prolem was it was bought from a (totally unknown by me) seller off Ebay.

The bulbs that exploded was MEGA 2000 brand which was made in korea and are 9006, 12 Volts, 80 Watts.

Are these the same specs as your 9006?

The bulbs that exploded was MEGA 2000 brand which was made in korea and are 9006, 12 Volts, 80 Watts.

Are these the same specs as your 9006?

I think you got ripped off...
If those are the specifications of your bulbs, those aren't Sylvania Silverstars...
Don't quote me on this, but I do believe the Silverstars are NOT made in Korea.
Also, the 9006 Silverstars are rated at 60 watts, NOT 80 watts.
If I had to guess, I would say you didn't get what you thought you were getting.
Instead, you got some crappy imitation hiper white bulbs.
Well, here are some links that I found very useful when doing research on the best bulbs for my budget...
Hope these help you as much as they helped me...

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=177538

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/

http://piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-9000.html

There's just too many choices. What type of light gives the best lighting without sacrificing longetivity?