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Headlight Problem

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  brujanbru 
#1 · (Edited)
I recently bought a used 2004 Sorento LX, and am having an issue with the headlights.

When my low beams are on, they shine high, about where you'd want high beams to shine. When the highs are on, they shine low. There is an H7 bulb in the low socket (closest to the side of the vehicle) and what I presume to be an H1 in the high socket..

My question is.. There appears to be a deflector of sorts in the low sockets, but not the highs. Is this correct? There was no owners manual with the car, and I can't seem to find a decent pic of the headlight assembly to judge for myself if it's supposed to be there. If it is, is it possible that it was installed incorrectly?

There is no deflector with on the high beam side on either assembly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

*EDIT: I did find some close up pictures of the housing, and the little deflector is there on all of them, just like in mine. So.. Now I'm really lost. I noticed that the harness can't really be installed upside down, so I assume that the lights closest to the sides of the car are in fact supposed to be low..

Thanks again, Bob
 
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#3 ·
The deflector is there to channel the available light downwards to the ground more in front of the car and to the shoulder of the road as opposed to the high beams which are there for maximum forward illumination, hence the term "low beam" and "high beam".
 
#4 ·
It seems like the deflector is actually channeling the light upwards, though.. And the high beams are shining lower than the lows.. The highs actually illuminate the road directly in front of me (~10-15ft) whereas the lows don't seem to even tough the road.

It's almost as if the deflector is in upside down and the headlight assembly adjustment is tilted a good bit forward to compensate. Is that even possible?
 
#5 ·
My headlight assembly is a one piece unit it looks like its glued together. You can purchase them after market or get two at a scrap yard. I use a 10mm nut driver to remove three bolts holding them in and slide out. I've replaced the low beam on both sides. The plastic gets cloudy and they may need replaced anyway.
 
#6 · (Edited)
You just mentioned cloudy plastic headlight covers

Hello,

I am in New Zealand and due to low numbers of Sorento in the market the dealers charge megabucks for these covers. (wreckers charge 155 more than the cost of new because of 3 week shipping delays for new parts)

Where in the US or Canada can I order these? Do you have the part numbers to make ordering them easier? (The actual headlight is different as we have RHD cars, not LHD like Nth America)

My car is a 2006 model, 2.5 diesel, but will probably have the same headlight outer shell.
 
#8 ·
Hello,

I am in New Zealand and due to low numbers of Sorento in the market the dealers charge megabucks for these covers. (wreckers charge 155 more than the cost of new because of 3 week shipping delays for new parts)

Where in the US or Canada can I order these? Do you have the part numbers to make ordering them easier? (The actual headlight is different as we have RHD cars, not LHD like Nth America)

My car is a 2006 model, 2.5 diesel, but will probably have the same headlight outer shell.
I got new headlights at RockAuto
 
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