Adjusting your car’s headlight aim should be left to a professional with the proper aiming equipment. However, you can make temporary adjustments for a lighting system which is critically out of adjustment.
Each headlight has two adjusting screws: one on the top for controlling up and down movement and one on the side to control left and right movement of the light beam. There are several do-it-yourself ways to adjust the headlights.
The simplest method requires a blank wall 25 feet in front of the vehicle and a level surface in front of the wall. Adjustments should be made with the fuel tank half full and no unusually heavy load in the trunk or bed.
Step 1
Park the vehicle on the level surface 4 inches away from the wall.
Step 2
Attach masking tape vertically to the wall in reference to the vehicle centerline and the centerlines of each headlight.
Step 3
Now position a long piece of tape horizontally in reference to the centerline of all headlights.
Step 4
Move the car straight back to a point 25 feet from the wall.
Step 5
Starting with the dipped beam adjustment, turn the adjusting screws to get the brightest area of the light 2 inches below the horizontal line and 2 inches to the left of the headlight vertical line.
Step 6
With the main beams on, the center of the light area should be vertically centered, with the exact center just below the horizontal tape line.
Step 7
Since it may not be possible to position the headlight aim exactly for both main and dipped beams, if a compromise is required, keep in mind that the low beams are most frequently used and have the greatest effect on driver safety.