Headlight Question

[CindiG]

I have a 2025 Outback and I don't want to drive my car at night due to the headlights shining too low to the ground. When I look out of the windshield, you can see a definite line across the windshield. The top 3/4 of the windshield is totally dark. About 16" above the dash I can see the road through the windshield. The rest of the windshield is totally dark and I can't see anything except darkness. It's like the headlights need to be adjusted and pointing higher up to where I can see further in front of my car. I spoke to the dealer about this and they tell me they can't adjust the lights because they are so bright and if they do that it will blind the on coming traffic.

Where I live there aren't street lights. I live in NW Arkansas and the roads are windy, hilly and lots of trees everywhere. Deer run out of the woods all the time. So at night, I need to be able to see more of the road and the way these lights are...I don't even want to drive at night because of these lights. I can maybe see 25 feet in front of the car at night. I've driven the car in the city at night and there isn't an issue at all. But where I live in the country....is a major issue.

Is there something that's aftermarket that wouldn't be as bright as the LED lights?

 

[Grumpy1950]

Have you tried using the high beam assist feature? Your outback can automatically dim the high beam headlights when behind another car or when there is oncoming traffic. When the headlights are turned off, if you set the headlight switch to the "auto" position (first click from off) and then push the stalk forward to activate the high beams, the automatic high beam assist will be enabled, Try it and see if that helps you. Also, if you set the "auto" position without activating the high beams, the car will switch from daylight running lights to normal headlights automatically when the ambient light drops. One other feature. If you turn the interior lights setting all the way to the bottom and then back off one click, the dashboard brightness will vary automatically based on ambient light level if the headlight switch is in the "auto" position. This will automatically reduce the dashboard lighting at night. Lowering the dashboard lighting can help with seeing outside as the interior lights will not be as distracting.

 

[CindiG]

Have you tried using the high beam assist feature? Your outback can automatically dim the high beam headlights when behind another car or when there is oncoming traffic. When the headlights are turned off, if you set the headlight switch to the "auto" position (first click from off) and then push the stalk forward to activate the high beams, the automatic high beam assist will be enabled, Try it and see if that helps you. Also, if you set the "auto" position without activating the high beams, the car will switch from daylight running lights to normal headlights automatically when the ambient light drops. One other feature. If you turn the interior lights setting all the way to the bottom and then back off one click, the dashboard brightness will vary automatically based on ambient light level if the headlight switch is in the "auto" position. This will automatically reduce the dashboard lighting at night. Lowering the dashboard lighting can help with seeing outside as the interior lights will not be as distracting.

I’ve tried the auto feature and it does work to a point. But with all the hills and curves, I find it will switch off of brights when there isn’t even a car coming towards me. We can’t figure out why it does that. The whole thing is that the lights at night, don’t shine far enough upwards to where I can see the road in front of me and there is this distinctive line all across the windshield. About 16” of the windshield (above the dash) it bright where I can see the road in front of me. The rest of the windshield is dark. So I can only see about 25 feet in front of me at night. The headlights point to much towards the road in front of me but not far enough down the road.

 

[CindiG]

I’ve tried the auto feature and it does work to a point. But with all the hills and curves, I find it will switch off of brights when there isn’t even a car coming towards me. We can’t figure out why it does that. The whole thing is that the lights at night, don’t shine far enough upwards to where I can see the road in front of me and there is this distinctive line all across the windshield. About 16” of the windshield (above the dash) it bright where I can see the road in front of me. The rest of the windshield is dark. So I can only see about 25 feet in front of me at night. The headlights point to much towards the road in front of me but not far enough down the road.

Here is a pic of what it looks like when I’m driving at night

 

[piste]

Here is a pic of what it looks like when I’m driving at night

Looks to me like it is how it should be and would allow adequate depth of vision down the road....vs into the trees.....

 

[CindiG]

Maybe for you I guess. But my husband and I can’t stand it. Neither one of us feel safe driving this car at night. My old jeep wrangler didn’t have LED lights and I could see much better with it than I can with this car. I could see more of the road in front of me. Everyone that’s ridden in this car at night all day it’s dangerous.

Had another person on another group tell me not to drive at night. This is a $40k plus vehicle and I can’t drive it at night because of the lights? Maybe I just need to get rid of the car. Get something else. IDK. It just seems to me that these LED lights are the problem because they are too bright and can’t be adjusted up because they will blind the oncoming traffic. Any other light would be able to be adjusted a little higher up.

I also don’t like the dark line across the windshield. There isn’t enough view of the road to even be able to see a sharp curve coming up. So I have to drive under 20mph.

I was hoping there was an aftermarket light that wasn’t so bright. I guess there isn’t. So now I have to decide if I want to keep the car.

 

[piste]

Maybe for you I guess. But my husband and I can’t stand it. Neither one of us feel safe driving this car at night. My old jeep wrangler didn’t have LED lights and I could see much better with it than I can with this car. I could see more of the road in front of me. Everyone that’s ridden in this car at night all day it’s dangerous.

Had another person on another group tell me not to drive at night. This is a $40k plus vehicle and I can’t drive it at night because of the lights? Maybe I just need to get rid of the car. Get something else. IDK. It just seems to me that these LED lights are the problem because they are too bright and can’t be adjusted up because they will blind the oncoming traffic. Any other light would be able to be adjusted a little higher up.

I also don’t like the dark line across the windshield. There isn’t enough view of the road to even be able to see a sharp curve coming up. So I have to drive under 20mph.

I was hoping there was an aftermarket light that wasn’t so bright. I guess there isn’t. So now I have to decide if I want to keep the car.

Well...the tech is indeed changing allowing a finer line and less "spray" of the light. That helps avoiding light in the eyes of oncoming traffic. That said...your dealer has confirmed that everything is performing as it should with this car..so I think your only option is to find another vehicle? Be sure to test drive it at night.

 

[Dick Foster]

I have a 2025 Outback and I don't want to drive my car at night due to the headlights shining too low to the ground. When I look out of the windshield, you can see a definite line across the windshield. The top 3/4 of the windshield is totally dark. About 16" above the dash I can see the road through the windshield. The rest of the windshield is totally dark and I can't see anything except darkness. It's like the headlights need to be adjusted and pointing higher up to where I can see further in front of my car. I spoke to the dealer about this and they tell me they can't adjust the lights because they are so bright and if they do that it will blind the on coming traffic.

Where I live there aren't street lights. I live in NW Arkansas and the roads are windy, hilly and lots of trees everywhere. Deer run out of the woods all the time. So at night, I need to be able to see more of the road and the way these lights are...I don't even want to drive at night because of these lights. I can maybe see 25 feet in front of the car at night. I've driven the car in the city at night and there isn't an issue at all. But where I live in the country....is a major issue.

Is there something that's aftermarket that wouldn't be as bright as the LED lights?

You can try this. Looks like it may be the answer you're looking for.

 

[CindiG]

You can try this. Looks like it may be the answer you're looking for.

Thank you!! That might work.

 

[piste]

You can try this. Looks like it may be the answer you're looking for.

is that street legal?

 

[Dick Foster]

I'm no lawyer but it likely doesn't matter as you said you wanted something for use out in the country. That said, take it or leave it.

 

[CindiG]

I'm no lawyer but it likely doesn't matter as you said you wanted something for use out in the country. That said, take it or leave it.

LOL. I live in a small town in Arkansas. Windy curvy hilly roads. It’s not a big city. I purchased my Subaru in Fayetteville at the number one Subaru dealer in the country. I’m 68 years old and have owned more vehicles than I can count. Never have I had a vehicle where the headlights are so bright, they have to point them down to the ground, so as not to blind the oncoming traffic. Maybe all the newer vehicles are like this. IDK. To say I bought it to use in the country, is crazy. I purchased a brand new vehicle that cost me well over $40k. I expected I could drive it anywhere I want to and be able to see the road in front of me if I have to drive somewhere at night!

My whole point for coming to this forum was to see if there is an after market light I could get to replace the LED lights that are way to bright in my humble opinion. I also didn’t think, I would need to test drive it in the dark and even if I could do that, I would of had to bring it home and drive it where I live at night. I doubt the dealer would let me take it home over night to see if I can see to drive where I live.

The town I live in, is a nice place. Just so many windy curvy hilly roads and no street lights on these roads. I have to drive about 3 miles on these roads to get to a major highway. I’ve driven this car at night in Houston Tx when I went for a visit in March. There wasn’t an issue at all with the lights there. But it’s a well lit up city. Unfortunately where I live, it’s not well lit up and I need a vehicle I can drive at night and be able to see the road and feel safe driving.

 

[piste]

Curious to know how far ahead of the vehicle does the light project?

 

[CindiG]

Curious to know how far ahead of the vehicle does the light project?

The picture I posted, doesn’t really do it justice. I’m guessing maybe 25-30 feet at most. My issue is that the windshield is dark about 16” from the top of the dash. So that dark area I see in the windshield is really what I want to see. Not right in front of the car. I was taught in Drivers Ed, not to look directly in front the car when you are driving but to look ahead. Down the road in front of you. At night on these roads where I live, I can’t see down the road. I can only see right in front of the car. I need to be able to see down the road (I’m not talking 50 yards, but only being able to see 20-30 feet isn’t that much if you think about it).

When I turn the bright lights on, it does light up the road and that dark area does disappear a little bit. I know I can also turn the bright lights on auto to where it will turn them off when a car is coming. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t.

My husband also doesn’t like these lights. Neither one of us feel we can see well enough at night to drive this car at night on these roads where we live. The town we live in, has a population of about 35,000 people. All the roads are windy, curvy and super hilly. There are a few main roads that are lit up at night but the majority of the roads aren’t. Even subdivisions don’t have street lights. Most of the time, we don’t drive at night. I had the car for almost 3 months before I realized how bad the headlights were. That’s because we pretty much stay at home at night.

That’s why I was hoping there was something aftermarket that I could get that would replace the LED headlights with something not as bright so we could adjust the headlights up just a little bit.

The light bar someone posted, looks like it would work but… is it street legal? And would it also be too bright for on coming traffic? Especially if I had my headlights on at the same time.

 

[piste]

The distance in front of the vehicle for which the driver needs light varies between straight roads and hilly curvy roads. One needs less visible light distance on hilly curvy roads as the hills and curves limit the distance ahead one can see...in both daylight and night. So the limitation in your ability to see down the road, if your headlights are set up properly, will be limited by the terrain more than the headlights.

Another factor in needed sight distance is speed..the faster one is travelling the further out one would want to be able to see. So..again if the headlights are performing properly and you cannot adequately see far enough ahead...you might be going faster than you should.

I think if you were to measure it your vehicle is projecting light MUCH beyond 25 to 30 feet...likely 100 feet or more. If not there is a problem with it and you should have the dealer fix it. Though it was already stated the dealer said it was fine.

The core issue here as I see it is that modern lighting technology creates a sharper image with a much clearer defined boundary between where the light is and should be going vs where it is not. That difference seems to be something you cannot adjust to, which is different than not being able to see adequately. You might be able to switch out the system for older technology which will likely not be as bright but provide more of the light "spray" or leakage that you are used to. Sorry I cannot help you with that option but perhaps your dealer or local trusted garage might be able to advise.

So in summary, seems to me the headlights are performing as designed and as they should. Leaving your options to: get used to it, swap them out, or swap out the car.

 

[CindiG]

The distance in front of the vehicle for which the driver needs light varies between straight roads and hilly curvy roads. One needs less visible light distance on hilly curvy roads as the hills and curves limit the distance ahead one can see...in both daylight and night. So the limitation in your ability to see down the road, if your headlights are set up properly, will be limited by the terrain more than the headlights.

Another factor in needed sight distance is speed..the faster one is travelling the further out one would want to be able to see. So..again if the headlights are performing properly and you cannot adequately see far enough ahead...you might be going faster than you should.

I think if you were to measure it your vehicle is projecting light MUCH beyond 25 to 30 feet...likely 100 feet or more. If not there is a problem with it and you should have the dealer fix it. Though it was already stated the dealer said it was fine.

The core issue here as I see it is that modern lighting technology creates a sharper image with a much clearer defined boundary between where the light is and should be going vs where it is not. That difference seems to be something you cannot adjust to, which is different than not being able to see adequately. You might be able to switch out the system for older technology which will likely not be as bright but provide more of the light "spray" or leakage that you are used to. Sorry I cannot help you with that option but perhaps your dealer or local trusted garage might be able to advise.

So in summary, seems to me the headlights are performing as designed and as they should. Leaving your options to: get used to it, swap them out, or swap out the car.

Before I got this Subaru, I had a 2023 Ford Maverick. No issues whatsoever with the lights or being able to see on these roads where I live. My step mom had a 2017 Subaru outback and she had to go to an assisted living facility. She gave me her car. I really did like it. It had more bells and whistles than the Maverick did. It didn’t have Apple car play and I use that a lot where we live now. I used to live in Houston but moved to where we are now. My husband and I retired and moved here to be closer to my dad and step mom. Anyhow.. my step mom couldn’t get in the Maverick very well so I sold her car, sold the Maverick and bought a brand new Subaru Outback. I wish now, I would have known what I know now about the headlights. My brothers were both here last week and one night we left my step mom’s place and came home after dark. Even my two brothers couldn’t believe the way the lights were. They both said they wouldn’t want a vehicle with lights like this.

As far as the dealer saying it’s okay, they haven’t checked my car out at this point. All they did was tell me a lot of people are complaining about them and they could check it out but more than likely they won’t be able to adjust them and if they can adjust them, it probably won’t make that much of a difference. I may ask them about a different headlight from older technology. But… bottom line, I’m going to have to figure something out soon. Thank you so much for your thoughts and advice!

 

[Dick Foster]

LOL. I live in a small town in Arkansas. Windy curvy hilly roads. It’s not a big city. I purchased my Subaru in Fayetteville at the number one Subaru dealer in the country. I’m 68 years old and have owned more vehicles than I can count. Never have I had a vehicle where the headlights are so bright, they have to point them down to the ground, so as not to blind the oncoming traffic. Maybe all the newer vehicles are like this. IDK. To say I bought it to use in the country, is crazy. I purchased a brand new vehicle that cost me well over $40k. I expected I could drive it anywhere I want to and be able to see the road in front of me if I have to drive somewhere at night!

My whole point for coming to this forum was to see if there is an after market light I could get to replace the LED lights that are way to bright in my humble opinion. I also didn’t think, I would need to test drive it in the dark and even if I could do that, I would of had to bring it home and drive it where I live at night. I doubt the dealer would let me take it home over night to see if I can see to drive where I live.

The town I live in, is a nice place. Just so many windy curvy hilly roads and no street lights on these roads. I have to drive about 3 miles on these roads to get to a major highway. I’ve driven this car at night in Houston Tx when I went for a visit in March. There wasn’t an issue at all with the lights there. But it’s a well lit up city. Unfortunately where I live, it’s not well lit up and I need a vehicle I can drive at night and be able to see the road and feel safe driving.

Those aux lights should work well for you too. The problem is the crappy LED headlight are great for less power but are pure crap for headlights compared to tungsten halogen lights. LEDs produce less output in both lumens and spectral content. As far as I'm concerned, a step back instead of forward.

 

[CindiG]

Those aux lights should work well for you too. The problem is the crappy LED headlight are great for less power but are pure crap for headlights compared to tungsten halogen lights. LEDs produce less output in both lumens and spectral content. As far as I'm concerned, a step back instead of forward.

I found this thread on an other forum. I’m not the only one not liking these headlights

https://www.reddit.com/r/SubaruForester/comments/1gjy0hw/i_hate_my_2025_headlights

 

[Dick Foster]

Well there's no hiding what isn't right and has been allowed to run amok. LEDs are great for some things but not all things. What's right is right and what's wrong is wrong and auto safety is no place for MBAs and penny pinchers to be allowed to go messing around.

 

[Train Dan]

Maybe for you I guess. But my husband and I can’t stand it. Neither one of us feel safe driving this car at night. My old jeep wrangler didn’t have LED lights and I could see much better with it than I can with this car. I could see more of the road in front of me. Everyone that’s ridden in this car at night all day it’s dangerous.

Had another person on another group tell me not to drive at night. This is a $40k plus vehicle and I can’t drive it at night because of the lights? Maybe I just need to get rid of the car. Get something else. IDK. It just seems to me that these LED lights are the problem because they are too bright and can’t be adjusted up because they will blind the oncoming traffic. Any other light would be able to be adjusted a little higher up.

I also don’t like the dark line across the windshield. There isn’t enough view of the road to even be able to see a sharp curve coming up. So I have to drive under 20mph.

I was hoping there was an aftermarket light that wasn’t so bright. I guess there isn’t. So now I have to decide if I want to keep the car.

If you set the lights to be operated manually, you can turn on the brights whenever you feel you need them. That sharp cutoff you're seeing is great for bad weather; it reduces bounceback from rain/snow/fog. Used European 'E-code' lights in many vehicles before OEM headlights got better, and they typically had the sharp cutoff like you are seeing.
Try operating the bright headlights manually, think it will solve your problem. BTW, had a drive, last night, on our Westsylvania country roads. Superb lights in my Outback, IMHO, and the automatic lights worked quite well.