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How do I adjust headlights on a 2001 Honda Civic?

My uncle kept his old Civic because he wanted to give it to me. I noticed the headlights aren’t adjusted correctly and I’d like to drive it. What’s the best way to adjust headlights on a 2001 Honda Civic?

avatar
Phoebe Mah · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
That’s very nice of your uncle to give you his car. Adjusting the headlights is a straightforward process, but ask your uncle or a friend if they can assist. To adjust headlights on a 2001
Honda Civic
, you will need to:
  1. Park on even, level ground and have the car face a blank surface, like a wall or your garage door.
  2. Turn on the headlights.
  3. Use tape to mark the center of both headlight beams on the garage or wall. Have another person sit in the driver’s seat when using the tape to ensure precise measurement.
  4. Get in the car and move the car roughly 25 feet away from the garage door.
  5. Put the vehicle in Park again and notice if the headlight beams are closer or further away from the point of reference you made earlier on the garage door.
  6. Search for the vertical adjuster to adjust the headlights. The vertical adjuster is a round cylinder near the radiator. Inside both vertical adjusters are screws used to raise or lower the headlights.
  7. Take a Phillips screwdriver and insert it into one of the vertical adjuster screws to raise or lower the headlights. Turn the screw clockwise to lower the beams or counterclockwise to raise them.
  8. After making your adjustments, check where the center of the headlight beams is. They should be 2 inches above the spot you marked earlier.
  9. Close the hood once they’re in the correct position.
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