Your lights can be working and also adjusted too high. If your suspension is stock, I would get a headlight adjustment.

 

can the headlights be adjusted with basic hand tools DIY? Has anybody adjusted the headlights on a forester?

 

The headlights on my Forester can be temporarily adjusted down electrically by a dial switch between the steering wheel and door. It is one of two, the other controls instrument panel light intensity. The one you want should have a series of numbers and be set at 0 currently. Try adjusting it down by 1 unit at a time until oncoming traffic no longer flashes you. Then get the lights mechanically adjusted at the next service (don't forget to reset the dial back to 0)

 

There are youtube tutorials on how to do this. Basically you need some flat ground for about 25' away from a building. Figuring out which adjustment on which on the headlight should not be difficult. If you aren't confident, probably best to take it somewhere, as this adjustment is pretty important.

 

I found this on Fixya:

On each headlamp assembly, there will be either one or two plastic nuts that you can turn.

If you only have one nut on each, that will adjust the vertical aim of the headlights.

If you have two nuts on each, one will adjust the vertical and the other will adjust the horizontal.

Park your car on a level ground 30 feet from a wall and measure the height from the ground to the bulb and mark on a wall (do this for highs beams and low beams if the bulbs are separate, if highs and lows are the same bulb, only do it for the lows)

If the headlights read VOR, then aim the brightest part or cutoff part just below the mark on the wall. If it says VOL or nothing, aim them 2 inches below the mark on the wall.

 

Had the same issue with my 2016 Mazda 3 on an NC trip. A quick flash of the high beams helps them to understand "NO THESE ARE NOT HIGH BEAMS"

 

Our American Foresters have no inside adjustments. Only at the bulbs.

 

I will try to adjust them myself this weekend. Will update on how that goes . If that doesn't work I'm going to just drive around with my high beams on all the time > jk

 

First step in adjusting your headlights is to check your tire pressure. You did not mention if you had any weight in the very back area or rear seat passangers. Any chance you installed new bulbs? They may not be seating correctly.Just suggestions. Chheers Doug

 

I check my tire pressure weekly and there is no weight in the back besides an ice scraper. the bulbs are stock dull bulbs, I will check to see if they are tight and in straight

 

Did you buy the car new or used? A previous front end collision could really make for some interesting headlamp aiming.

 

I purchased the vehicle new

 

Not sure if your setup is the same, but this is how the '19 Forester LED headlights are adjusted. (My headlights were pointed down at the ground when new, and had the dealer raise them to where I could see more than 30 feet in front of the vehicle at night with low beams.)

For the driver's side, open the hood and look all the way back where the headlight assembly wraps around the inside of the fender. You will find a small plastic knob sticking out facing rearwards toward the driver. It looks like you can attach a socket/wrench to it. However, the tech at the Subaru dealer showed me right above that knob is a semi-open plastic "tunnel" molded into the housing where you slip a small flat-blade screwdriver down through and turn the adjuster via the toothed metal rim on the wheel. It will make more sense when you see it.

When it is semi-dark, park on level ground about 25 feet from your garage door or a wall. Use blue (easy to remove) masking tape to mark the upper cutoff lines of each headlight on your garage door. This is for reference. Then adjust up or down to where you want it and repeat for the passenger side.

Hope this helps. I understand you may not have the LED headlights, but maybe the adjustment setup is similar.

 

Sometimes lower is better



Both of our Foresters had this problem when new. After having our '06 readjusted without solving the problem I did it myself by trial and error by turning the adjustment wheels in measurable increments to lower the beams. The result was less flashing and better foreground illumination. Another method of improving adjustment is to use a wall to bring the higher of the two down to the lower level. This way both headlights provide a good combined pattern that won't irritate oncoming drivers.

IMHO this is a common occurrence with new Foresters. Sometimes meeting the regulations is not as good as a real world, more conservative, adjustment that is still within standards.

GD

 

I had a guy road-rage me because of this when I pulled into a kwiki-mart with my 2018. Made my day! Lighten up Francis!

 

This fall - with both my 2012 and subsequently my 2019 Subaru Forester that I got just before Thanksgiving - I was seeing a LOT of people (ostensibly) flashing their lights at me. What I finally realized is that we've had a LOT more frost heaves this year than in the past (and way, way earlier in the season) making it seem like they were flashing lights when, in reality, it's just been road conditions.

Now, on and off lights: well, that's a whole different issue - unless you've got a lot of police hiding in the bushes down the road! Good luck!

 

I would just follow a standard aiming procedure. "Headlight aiming" will return plenty of videos on how to do so.