Quicksilve

Happy Holidays Friends!!!
This past holiday season we have taken our 2012 GX460 on several road trips. Some good, some not so good, but the car did great (we have a 9 month old who objected to driving to see grand dad in south Texas.) I did have one rather "glaring" (pardon the pun) issue with our trips. I noticed that the headlights on low beam with the fog lights on only lit about 50-70 feet in front of me. Driving down dark Texas highways this is less then ideal as you often see deer and other critters at night. My previous car 2013 Acura MDX had great projector headlights that lit the road very well. I have two questions:
1. Has anyone else experienced this issue and how did you resolve it?
- I have been to the dealer with this complaint (Sewell Lexus in Dallas) and they say there is nothing wrong with the headlights, they are functioning as spec. I think there is a way to elevate the headlights by turning a screw but I cant seem to find any "How to" guides.
2. I live in Dallas and am toying with the idea of adding on Rigid 3x2 cube led lights to the front of the GX. ( https://www.4wheelparts.com/Lighting...t_pn=RIG702313) I was thinking of placing them behind the lower grill, on either side of the license plate.
Does anyone know of a shop I could get them installed in Dallas. I have gone to 4 wheel parts and they wont touch a Lexus, I have been to Alta Mere in Dallas but did not feel super confident in their ability to do the work. So any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Acrad

Do you have Base (Halogen) or Premium (HID) '12?

These will give you usable light too:

http://www.morimotohid.com/lexus-morimoto-xb-led.html

Unfortunately my FSM is for a '14 so it doesn't cover headlights of the earlier non-LED models. On LED there are these adjustments.

Quicksilve

Acrad,
I have the Premium model.
Quick

Acrad

Have you had the GX since new? HID bulbs do wear out over time and become dimmer.

EDIT: I'd go look at mine now but it is a couple miles a way from me (via snowmobile ride)... I'm snowbound at my cabin. :-)

hzhao

Not familiar with previous years model with HID, is it also with the auto leveling on the head lights? Could it be the problem?

Acrad

That is a possibility. The HIDs are auto leveling and directional right to left (AFS)

bbqsoup

I also feel that the HIDs are also a bit low. The last time I was driving at night on mountain roads (in Yosemite) I had to use high beam while a bit. I don't recall seeing anything in Techstream that could adjust them up a bit, that would be cool though

Quicksilve

The 2012 Manual has instructions on how to adjust the headlights, I have not tried yet so no news but it appears that it is possible. I also have ordered some replacement HID bulbs to see if that will help the issue. I will keep you all posted.

Acrad

Keep us posted... those Morimoto fogs I posted are really plug and plug. Same connector and one screw IIRC. I'd consider them more driving lights than fogs. Easy install.

shotz86

I have a 2012 as well and i agree the headlights do seem to point too low. Would love to hear if you find a solution.

Acrad

If headlight assembly adjustments aren't satisfactory...always one could trick the auto leveling of the HID by tweaking the sensor on rear axle. I know I have seen it but can't remember exactly where. I think on the left side like the my other two cars with HIDs.

CdeFabio

My 2012 had the worst headlight alignment of all of my GX's. It was way too low, border lining being dangerous. It looked like the beam went about 20 ft in front of the car and did not go off to the sides at all. Where we live the road to get to our subdivision is a 2 lane hilly road, very dark with some good curves. Not too uncommon to find deer on the road, with my 2012 I would not see them till I was on top of them. I even had several passengers comment that the headlights were almost worthless! I had the Xenon lighting and the dealer said it was normal (no surprise there). My 2004, 2015, and 2017 all had/have great lighting dispersion. I think it is something with the 2012 model year...

Acrad

Interesting... I don't find that an issue at all on my '12. If I get a chance this weekend I'll see if I can get some pics of adjustments on HIDs as well as the rear sensor in back.

Out in the country.... in any car I keep my high beams on when I can as well.

Vampireak

Hey all,

My wife hit a deer and damaged the left headlight. I had the car repaired and now it looks like the lights are not adjusted correctly. We have a 2015 Lexus GS. Now the lights look out of sync. Any idea how to fix this?

tecman

The drivers side is supposed to be lower than the passenger side so to not blind oncoming traffic.