I just bought a 2011 ET. I'm happy with everything except the harsh "cutoff" between the light and dark regions on the headlamp low beam, which is like looking out from under a black curtain. Last fall I hit a deer, so I'm a bit paranoid about driving on country roads with what seems like less lighting distance. (The high beams are fine.)

I found this excellent article that explains the kind of headlights I've been used to for decades vs. the new ET's:
http://www.motivemagazine.com/pub/fe...n_Lights.shtml

After taking out the bulb, which is a standard H11B, I saw that half the projector is blocked by a horizontal piece of metal. So it appears that a different bulb is not going to change the lighting geometry.

Over on the Azera forum, there's an old thread about adjusting the "upper-level cut-off" with a Phillips screwdriver:
https://www.hyundaiforum.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=1948

Does anyone know whether such an adjustment is possible on the ET headlamp, and if so, how??

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

I complained about this problem with our Sonata. The service rep said it was to help oncoming drivers not be blinded by the brighter lights on these modern cars. Our ET does the same thing. I hate it. . It seems very unsafe to the driver since you have to look under the blackness to be able to see. No other car line we have owned has this problem. Are all the "modern" cars like this now? Is there a fix..or is it just tuffo stuffo?

ETMike

 

This is probably the fourth car I have had with the cutoff. My Cadillac Catera (Opel), Audi and Volvo all had it. The Catera (the oldest) was the most noticeable.

 

I too have owned several cars that have headlights configured as such. The worst was a 96 Integra....it had a really low cut off

 

Yes, it's done to prevent other drivers from being blinded. And NO it's NOT unsafe to the driver. It's worse to blind all oncoming traffic and the car in front of you. Modern headlights do a much better job illuminating the road.

 

First of all there seems to be some confusion or ignorance here. The sharper the cutoff the better. This has been the goal of better light mfgs for years. Cibie and other aftermarket light mfgs have been doing a better job and you had to spend money to get good lights. The cutoff alows you to have a very bright light right up to the point it would get into oncoming drivers eyes. Without a sharp cutoff more light is geting into oncoming drivers eyes and blinding them. Bottom line is be glad there is a nice sharp cutoff as this allows maximum light without blinding others.

 

Wow I just read the rest of the comments and there seems to be a ton of ill informed ignorance about lights. One is - if you want to adjust the cutoff you do not mess with the bulb or inside anything you adjust the aim of the headlight.
Again a sharp cutoff is a GOOD thing - it is desirable. You all have just been driving cars with very bad headlights before.

 

I agree completely- dont mess with the bulbs or even the way the lighting is configured- Its that way by design. I also own a 1971 Firebird that I drive sparingly so I can attest that the design of today's headlights are absolutely a good thing- but it does take time to adjust to the cutoff if one isnt used to it. For me, it was the Integra that I had back in the mid 90s...not only my first car that had these type of headlamps, but also it was the lowest cut off of any of the vehicles Ive owned that do this. IMO the ET does a good job in lighting the roadway. Coming out of a G35 with HID's...the ET does better than I expected.

 

My wife has a 09 Elantra SE and if you live in a hilly area like we do it is HIGHLY unsafe for the driver of the car to have these low beams, at least the way they work on her car. As you go up and down hills the very defined limit of the light field gets as close as about 10 feet to the car, I believe it is when going up hills. So the range of the light field shrinks drastically when going up hills. I find the lights okay on level areas but on hills they are useless. There must be a fix for this. Is this a problem with this car? Thanks

 

FYI, this thread is for the Elantra Touring wagon, not the Elantra sedan. However, as was said above, modern headlights are just like that. There is a sharp cutoff line to prevent you from blinding oncoming drivers.

Here are the quotes from above that you may have missed: