Front Headlights

[Jozzef]

The left front headlight has that uneven "W" projection on my LC 1958.

Is that normal? I took it to the dealership and they've been surprised too and don't have much experience with this new vehicle.

They said that they contacted Toyota, but haven't heard back from them yet...

 

[Cash]

From what I have heard this is intentional to help with headlights affecting head on drivers vision. Other manufacturers do this as well.

 

[PDPete]

If you’re driving straight on a 2-lane road, that dip pretty much lines up with the on-coming traffic, so I assume it’s to reduce glare from our lights on other drivers.

 

[tj_lc250_1958]

how do I get rid of the W pattern?

 

[Jozzef]

You can't... I got use to it. And I kinda like now. It's the little imperfections that make it unique.

Unless you completely change the lights.

 

[NoMe cruiser]

how do I get rid of the W pattern?

Turn on the “brights”. Works every time.

 

[munkeeboi]

The left front headlight has that uneven "W" projection on my LC 1958.

Is that normal? I took it to the dealership and they've been surprised too and don't have much experience with this new vehicle.

They said that they contacted Toyota, but haven't heard back from them yet...
View attachment 22859

It looks like your right headlight is much lower than then left one.

 

[Jozzef]

It looks like your right headlight is much lower than then left one.

Yea they've adjusted that at another dealer. The first dealer did a complete mess "trying to fix the W" so they raised the headlights so high that it felt like I was driving a ww2 searchlight.

 

[AlexGates]

how do I get rid of the W pattern?

Adjust the lights up. Mine were pretty low from the dealer, I got a little too aggressive and started getting flashed, so moved them down a bit. I still see it sometimes (I have the square lights), you get used to it.

*funny enough, the people flashing me were full size trucks, not cars lol.

 

[imann777]

You can adjust the Beam Pattern, I did mine on my FE there is an option. But do these as a first check - Tire Pressure should be even, Flat Ground, if you have done recently any changes to Wheel Alignment, that could be issue. If nothing of the above.

• Open the hood and locate the vertical and horizontal adjustment screws behind each headlight. They are difficult to reach as it is below the unit. Kinda hard to do the stuff.
• Use a long Phillips screwdriver.
• Turn the vertical screw clockwise to lower the beam, counterclockwise to raise it.
• The top of the low beam should hit the wall at or slightly below the headlight center height.
• Use the horizontal screw to center the beam directly ahead.
• Avoid pointing too far left or right to prevent glare or poor road coverage.

 

[PDPete]

You can adjust the Beam Pattern, I did mine on my FE there is an option. But do these as a first check - Tire Pressure should be even, Flat Ground, if you have done recently any changes to Wheel Alignment, that could be issue. If nothing of the above.

• Open the hood and locate the vertical and horizontal adjustment screws behind each headlight. They are difficult to reach as it is below the unit. Kinda hard to do the stuff.
• Use a long Phillips screwdriver.
• Turn the vertical screw clockwise to lower the beam, counterclockwise to raise it.
• The top of the low beam should hit the wall at or slightly below the headlight center height.
• Use the horizontal screw to center the beam directly ahead.
• Avoid pointing too far left or right to prevent glare or poor road coverage.

Good info, BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR: This should be used if your headlights are legitimately out of alignment, and is NOT how to "fix" or "get rid of the 'W' pattern" or notch in the beam.

That pattern is intentional, and not a bug or something wrong with your headlights. Trying to adjust the height or direction of the beam as outlined in the quoted post above MAY (or may not) make the pattern change or go away, however you'll likely also be creating additional issues either for yourself or on-coming traffic if your headlights aren't aligned properly as intended.

 

[Bedawson]

I also hate this, it feels like a defect that turned into a "feature".

 

[imann777]

I had that W patch as the FE edition seems that Single Projector lens has both the low beam and high beam the same width. It makes no sense. And this to me obviously is not exactly a cutoff, I had to merge that doing horizontal adjustment and get straight beam line. That will increase the throw and reduce the eye sensitivity to opp drivers. Next I plan to retrofit the projector swap from either from LS430 or E55 They are the best in industry when time permits. I am not happy with the current set up. My FE trucks bought was High Grade package with AHB lighting setup. There is no option to upgrade the LED bulbs. The whole Sealed Headlamp kits has to be replaced, The current bulb rating is around 4300K which I want to increase to 5000K and that would be good output results. The upgrade of bulb in the current setup by Toyota is so absymal being not able to upgrade the lighting bulbs only.

 

[Mike G]

The left front headlight has that uneven "W" projection on my LC 1958.

Is that normal? I took it to the dealership and they've been surprised too and don't have much experience with this new vehicle.

They said that they contacted Toyota, but haven't heard back from them yet...
View attachment 22859

I too had an issue with this when first purchased ( 2025 model). My dealership could not explain why, but after working with them adjusted headlights . The “w” is still there but coverage / range of headlights greatly improved. Still no real answer as to the purpose. The oncoming traffic explanation makes sense, but why the mystery?

 

[PDPete]

Still no real answer as to the purpose

It's been explained several times on this thread alone...

The oncoming traffic explanation makes sense

...including by you, in this statement.

but why the mystery?

You literally just solved the "mystery" in your previous statement.

The truth is, a lot of dealership salesmen simply do not take the take the time to research each and every detail of every new vehicle...just because a particular dealership salesman or employee can't explain it, doesn't make it a "mystery". Toyota is not the first automaker to do this, it's been around for a few years from various automakers (just to provide some examples from a quick Google search).

Yes, the pattern in the headlights may seem a bit distracting at first -- if you're not aware of it's intentional purpose, you may think that there's something wrong or mis-aligned...but personally, once informed of the purpose of the pattern and knowing that is intentional, it doesn't really bother me. In fact, as someone who hates being blinded by oncoming vehicles with super bright LEDs, I welcome any attempt to lessen that effect while still providing ample illumination for the driver. I just consider it another quirk of my vehicle and go about my evening of driving.

Trying to re-align your headlights to get rid of the notched pattern likely only reduces the intended effectiveness of your own headlight's field of illumination and/or makes them more distracting or hazardous to oncoming traffic.

 

[AlexGates]

I used a socket (can't remember which mm)instead of a screwdriver, the "W" cut off aside, my lights were way too low from the factory. I've gotten used to the "W" cut off, it isn't that big a deal after a while.

 

[Meeteepao]

Slightly off-topic, but would anyone know if there are any bulb upgrade options for the high-beams? Fellow members from the UAE (@imann777) will probably know what I'm talking about.

I'm looking for bulbs that flash bright and white like a camera flash in total darkness. Need it mostly to warn/alert clumsy or misbehaving drivers at night.

​

 

[Yoter]

I was driving on some back roads at night over the weekend and took note of the W pattern in the head lights. I noticed that the W's line up ~ 100 yards down the road, exactly where oncoming traffic would be on a two lane road. Closer than ~100 yards they didn't line up, kinda like being cross-eyed. It's definitely intentional and a clever safety feature from the engineers.

 

[imann777]

@ Meeteepao" LC250 Triple LED Bulb Headlamp- Yes - This you can change the current LED Bulb High Beam from 3000K to 6000K Osram H11 Night Breaker Dual Hi/ Lo Type)
First Edition LED - No ( Sealed Beam Headlamp ) I researched a lot and only way is to disengage the glue and the AHB sensor needs to carefully detached.)