Welcome to the asylum.
As RideWithYanu stated, the head lights are designed that way (per the owners manual) so as to not blind oncoming traffic.
Shadows in headlights
- Thread starter Funpauly
- Start date
Welcome to the asylum.
As RideWithYanu stated, the head lights are designed that way (per the owners manual) so as to not blind oncoming traffic.
I have been a lighting geek when it comes to my vehicles for 35 years. If it was replaceable/upgradeable I did so. Sometimes at great expense. Upgraded halogens, HIDs, projectors, LEDs- tried them all. All have their weaknesses and strengths relative to price points and ease of install or adaptation.
I did some digging online before pulling the trigger on the Land Cruiser knowing they wouldn’t be readily upgradeable, and I am pleasantly happy with it as it came right off the showroom floor. Yes there are “V” patterns visible when driving at night (for reasons mentioned in this and other threads) , but Toyota did an excellent job on their LED headlights, at least in the Premium trim. Overall brightness is good at distance, as well as up close, with good coverage curb to curb or shoulder to shoulder. I have yet to meet another Land Cruiser approaching at night, so I can’t comment on how easy these will be on the eyes of oncoming traffic.
For owners who drive areas where they are likely to run into wildlife or rockslides in the roads, these are going to perform pretty well. I don’t see the aftermarket flooding the market with upgrades for the Land Cruiser headlights any time soon.
I did some digging online before pulling the trigger on the Land Cruiser knowing they wouldn’t be readily upgradeable, and I am pleasantly happy with it as it came right off the showroom floor. Yes there are “V” patterns visible when driving at night (for reasons mentioned in this and other threads) , but Toyota did an excellent job on their LED headlights, at least in the Premium trim. Overall brightness is good at distance, as well as up close, with good coverage curb to curb or shoulder to shoulder. I have yet to meet another Land Cruiser approaching at night, so I can’t comment on how easy these will be on the eyes of oncoming traffic.
For owners who drive areas where they are likely to run into wildlife or rockslides in the roads, these are going to perform pretty well. I don’t see the aftermarket flooding the market with upgrades for the Land Cruiser headlights any time soon.
It may be a design feature but if the design is an issue for drivers it may eventually be addressed. We will have to wait and see what Toyota does.
I understand that however not everything that rolls out is perfect. If the consumer deems these lights unsafe they may reevaluate in time. I for one hope they do.
I wouldn't hold your breath! Nothing new to this and has been around for close to 25 years now, these cutoff lines are not just by design they are mandated by governments around the globe.
When I lived in Japan and we bought our US spec Volvo it came with an additional set of Bi-Xenon headlights for RHD (opposite pattern) as mandated by Japanese govt. then once we moved to the US we had to switch back the LHD version to be in compliance here.
Even old halogen headlights when aimed correctly the drivers side was dipped (lower) than the passenger side, go back a little further when two lane highways were much more widely traversed and the passenger headlight had a slight skew to the right (towards the ditch or shoulder).
Many countries outside of the US require very intensive vehicle testing every couple of years and one check they perform is for headlight intensity and alignment against the mandated pattern and allowed brightness or lack thereof.
Point being it isn't going away or being modified and it's a global standard. It may change if there is a new headlight technology that comes around like when HID, Projector and LED technology made into automobiles and then the beam pattern was mandated before they could be sold with such.
I am not coming from an argumentative place, but am wondering what is unsafe about the Land Cruiser headlights? It is possible I just haven't seen that aspect.
My first Wrangler came with poor excuses for halogen headlights from the factory, kind of like driving by candle light. I was on a dark street and didn't see someone in dark clothing step out and jaywalk in front of me until I was almost on top of them. I vowed right then and there to upgrade the headlights. I put in some JW Speaker LED headlights I was able to order from the US for about 60% of the cost locally. My previous vehicle had these Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights which were pretty good, at least until a bulb failed and the dealer parts counter asked for $400 for one with a straight face. I got the pair of JW Speaker LED headlight assemblies for about 25% less than a pair of those Bi-Xenon bulbs and they were still going strong nine years later.
The pair of Euro market Hella housings and upgraded bulbs I installed in my sports car in the 80's had those cutoffs molded into the lens even back then. The low beam filaments were legal, the high beams much less so.
Aiming and cutoff is critical with high performance lighting. The cheap lighting you find on Amazon and other online vendors is very good at splashing unfocused bright light all over the place (as are LED bulbs dropped into halogen housings)- great for blinding drivers in oncoming traffic, but not as good for the driver of the car with the upgraded headlights as properly designed and aimed lighting. I can't say I miss the blue tinged HIDs that came on certain German cars as factory lighting in the 90's either...when I met one coming at me on the road it would make my retinas ache.
As for global standards, thank goodness. It took a while for North America with our generic sealed beams to catch up to those standards.
For anyone wanting to geek out on lighting:
Transportation Lighting
www.candlepowerforums.com
Headlight Revolution has a lot of testing uploaded to YouTube.
I understand a cutoff line. This isn't the same as other vehicles we've driven. Even our Ford truck thats a 2023 doesnt have this sort of pattern in the light. There isn't anything to battle over here. Im not saying its broken I was hoping to adjust it and shared that it can't be as I took it in to be checked. It's an unusual pattern in one's field of vision. I don't like it and obviously others feel the same. My hope is that it can one day be adjusted. If you don't mind it great but the point is that it is a change and to many not a welcome one.
My last car was a 2021 Venza, which had the same sort of "notches" at the tops of the low beams. Except they were worse - way more distracting, like a small animal was trying to run out in front of the car. The high beams were fine, so it seems like it was part of the shutter mechanism. I got used to it pretty quickly.
When I had my 1958 I did notice the same kind of notch, though not as bad/distracting as the Venza. Now that I have the premium, which I think uses multiple bulbs versus a shutter (?), the cutoff seems a lot more natural with no notch and the light pattern is better overall.
When I had my 1958 I did notice the same kind of notch, though not as bad/distracting as the Venza. Now that I have the premium, which I think uses multiple bulbs versus a shutter (?), the cutoff seems a lot more natural with no notch and the light pattern is better overall.
The shadow is there by design to reduce glare for oncoming travel (which is a serious safety issue with LED or HID headlights).
It's not only a Toyota thing, all LED projector headlight since ~2022 have this feature. It's more pronounced in the LC than, for example, Lexus NX because LC headlights are mounted higher hence present a higher risk of glare.
It's not only a Toyota thing, all LED projector headlight since ~2022 have this feature. It's more pronounced in the LC than, for example, Lexus NX because LC headlights are mounted higher hence present a higher risk of glare.
