Horizontal headlight adjustment Gen4 Camry

[Dan3215]

OK so ive been having trouble with the adjustment of my headlights laterally on my Gen 4 Camry. The drivers side beam is flirting with the passenger a bit too much. Ive been reading that the TOP screw is vertical and the one on the BACK is the horizontal. First I want to clear up what the "back" screw is. To be certain the "back" one is the one nearly in line with the actual bulb that sticks out from the housing brackets an in ch or two? I ask because when I adjust this the beam actually moves up and down! WTF! I have also seen some talk about the horizontal screw being covered by a rubber cap, is there any validity to that? The top screw on the other side also adjusts vertically but that was expected....any help would be great and pictures would be amazing to clear this up once and for all. TY TN!

[calnra]

um, what year is yours? is it a gen 4(97-99) or 4.5(2000-2001)?

On the 97-99 the horizontal adjustment is close to the grill on the top of each lamp. Dunno about 4.5 lamps.

[JohnGD]

Take a look at the 4th picture down of the back side of the headlamp housings. The brass colored nut closer to the radiator is for vertical adjustments. The other one, closer to the fender is for horizontal adjustments.

Toyota Camry Gen 4 new headlight

[Dan3215]

Ok, so is this the beam pattern that I should be aiming for? It seems to me that this is shifted to the right with both beams lining up on top of eachother? Maybe i'm just off but i guess lemme know...thx!

Bottom image of beam pattern----> Toyota Camry Gen 4 new headlight

[Dan3215]

1998 ^GEN 4^ by the way

[calnra]

So okay, a 98, the long one pointing into the engine bay is for vertical(as mentioned above) and the short one facing away from the car is for horizontal

I really wish they put in the 2000-2001 lights earlier, that's the only part of the car I dislike. No amount of fine tuning and upgrading will make the H4s as good as dedicated high and low beams.

[Dan3215]

K, and just to clarify the short one is the Philips screw you turn from the front top corner of the assembly (in a square piece of plastic)? I just want to be sure because that one doesn't seem to do anything . anyways yea I agree about the H4's....if only the gen 4 and 4.5 were the same I could do a projector retrofit!

[calnra]

yeah, the philips head screw.

It's a very gradual adjustment, but you should see the black plastic bracket's relative position to the screw changing as you turn the screw..

['_']

I have the Gen4.5 (2000) and couldn't find the horizontal adjustment. I only see the brass one for the vertical on the back of the headlight.

[calnra]

Originally Posted by '_'

I have the Gen4.5 (2000) and couldn't find the horizontal adjustment. I only see the brass one for the vertical on the back of the headlight.

see this thread
Headlight Adjustment 2000 Camry

I don't know much about the 2000-2001 Camries, but on the 05 we have there is no horizontal adjustment, only vertical.

['_']

Originally Posted by calnra

see this thread
Headlight Adjustment 2000 Camry

I don't know much about the 2000-2001 Camries, but on the 05 we have there is no horizontal adjustment, only vertical.

I saw that thread too, and looked in two places. There are two holes in the frame that are directly over the bulb, but there wasn't anything to adjust. It was just the frame, then a gap, then the headlight underneath. No star knob or anything. This is in the first picture.

I also looked towards the inner part of the light (closest to the grill), and the screw couldn't be turned..though it did have threading from what I saw. I think the small black bracket swivels on it (like spins around that nut) but not sure if it can be adjusted. Do I need to remove the headlight from the car to access it, and then turn it in a direction? This is shown in the second picture. I tried taking off the headlights and messing with the brackets, but there was nothing to turn other than the vertical brass knob. The big bracket (with the brass knob I think) does swivel left/right, but I didn't see any way I could adjust it after fitting it back onto the car.

[calnra]

Originally Posted by '_'

yeah that ground off screw is where the philips head screw would be on the 97-99 ones..

you only choice might be to take off the black block in the back and rotate it and see how it changes the beam. Or you might get the equivalent screw from a gen 4 camry to replace the ground-off ones on yours.

It sounds like Toyota took away the horizontal adjustment option once they switched (back) to the dedicated hi/low beam set up, but since all those mounting parts for the 97-99 were already made they just cut off the head of the screw after installation.

The thing about the dedicated high beam is they are very sensitive to small directional changes compared to the H4 lamps. It's a CYA move.

['_']

Originally Posted by calnra

yeah that ground off screw is where the philips head screw would be on the 97-99 ones..

you only choice might be to take off the black block in the back and rotate it and see how it changes the beam. Or you might get the equivalent screw from a gen 4 camry to replace the ground-off ones on yours.

It sounds like Toyota took away the horizontal adjustment option once they switched (back) to the dedicated hi/low beam set up, but since all those mounting parts for the 97-99 were already made they just cut off the head of the screw after installation.

The thing about the dedicated high beam is they are very sensitive to small directional changes compared to the H4 lamps. It's a CYA move.

Thanks for the input. I took a look at my aftermarket ones, and turning the black piece didn't change its distance. I guess what you said about replacing it with a gen4 bolt would be an option (if I can swap them without damaging the part). And it's interesting what you said about having that option grounded off, but it makes sense as far as the dedicated high beams being sensitive to adjustments.