rabenoja

iTrader: (2)

I'm getting highbeamed alot at night. Is anyone else getting the same thing? I'm hoping that my HID's are aimed right...

GrayArea51

iTrader: (1)

I get that a lot as well. I took my car to the dealer to have them adjust the level of the HIDs. Seemed like one was aimed a little higher than the other. No one has flashed their high beams at me for a while, but I still think they are aimed a bit too high. When I see other '04s on the road at night I always know it's a Max because the HIDs are blue/purple and blinding!

Might just be a matter of adjusting the beams. Hope that helps.

sitnonchrome76

its funny u say that cause people hi beam me all the time!!

bluefish

me too... will have to look into that wednesday. I'll report if their is a TSB for it...

lightonthehill

These Maxima headlights are very strong, and if the road is not level and straight, even correctly-aimed headlights can be directly in someone's eyes. This is unpleasant with most headlights, but particularly annoying with these powerful lights.

If you are frequently getting 'highbeamed' when both you and the 'beamer' are on a level and straight road, an adjustment is probably in order.

ENDelt263

I have found that I get "highbeamed" much more often when i have the fog lamps on. I almost never get beamed when they are off.... it's a design flaw in my opinion....put the fog lamps right next to the headlights, and people assume you have your brights on because they see 4 bulbs all next to each other...

Blaxima

yep, all the time

04EliteSE

I get hit back all the time... when I zap them back, I can't help but smile because I can actually see the expression on their faces...

jaydabee

I get flashed alot in rural area, never near town. I have noticed that my passenger side beam is higher than my driver's side beam. I mentioned it to a friend and was told that was the proper alignment, that it helped to light up street signs better. Not quite sure about that one but I don't think that the passenger side beam is annoying the incoming traffic because there is quite a distinct
bountry beween the two sides.

4drsleeper

I get flashed alot too. Like jaydabee...my passenger side light is aimed higher as well. I really hate driving at night because I feel like I'm blinding every car that drives by.

MAXSE-RIOUS

You may be right about people's assumptions of actually seeing the additional bulbs, but additional brightness or glare is not an issue... even though the fogs are positioned next to the headlamps, they are aimed much lower.

MAXSE-RIOUS

The top of the beam cutoff on passenger side is intentionally designed to be a bit higher (farther) than the driver side.

I've only gotten beamed 2 or 3 times in the 12 months that I've had the new Max.... each time it was when I had come over the crest of a rise in the road, which for a second jumped the top beam cutoff higher.

mudafoka

I also get high beamed when i have my fog lights on.
It feels good when i high beam them back and let em know that
mine r just BRIGHT?

jc53

prior comments are correct...passenger side hid is higher to illuminate street signs, etc. I haven't been beamed yet;three months in my 04.

PETZUK

I like to drive with HIDs, but hate when they're coming from the other car.

HIDs are too bright. Roads are busy enough without having to deal with blinding lights too.

All in all, I think that they should be banned. Halogens are good enough when aimed right and designed with good reflectors.

lightonthehill

Lots of thoughtful responses in this thread.

Yes, when dimmed, the beam from the passenger side headlight should drop only slightly, with a slight shift to the right. The driver side headlight drops much more noticably, and shifts further to the right. This 'pattern' of dimming has not changed much since the 1950s, althought it works slightly differently when four headlights are involved.

Several posts here hit on what I think the problem is: the foglights should not be adjacent to the headlights. Folks see four 'headlights' and naturally assume the 'brights' are on. Considering that the headlights (even dimmed) on the '04 Maxima are very bright, were I approaching one at night, I might make the same assumption, and I have been driving for fifty-five years.

Several mentioned that factory fog lights do not normally bother oncoming drivers. This is correct, as they are aimed toward the ground at a point between ten and twenty feet in front of the car. This is in order to reduce reflecting off the fog (creating glare) up at windshield level, as well as to have less fog to travel through before illuminating the ground. This is another reason the fog lights should have been placed lower on the front of the '04 Maxima.

Foglights have earned a very poor reputation because of nerds installling 'add-on' fog lights and aiming them directly ahead. I see them often, and they are very annoying. The problem is so bad here in the south that some municipalities (such as East Point and College Park, GA) ban the use of foglights unless there is fog around. And they do give citations for this; ask my wife.

I guess the easy solution would be to turn the foglights off unless it was foggy. I hesitate to do that, as I have found the foglights give me a much better look at the roadway in that dim area between the front bumper and the point at which the headlights fully illuminate the roadway. When travelling at lower speeds, this has enabled me to avoid potholes/debris/etc.

Maybe Nissan will consider moving the foglights down as part of the front and rear end cosmetic adjustments that will be mandatory with the third year of the 6th generation ('06 model).

CanadianMoFo

Well I've had some serious issues with my drivers side headlight.

When I've been using it for a few hours, and I change to high beam mode and then try to go back to low beam mode, the mechanism does not fully return down to the low beam position. This results in the beam being aimed somewhere between the low and high points, right in on the coming driver's view.

I've had my drivers side lamp replaced twice now.

You may be experiencing the same thing. The best way to tell is at night against a light coloured garage door or wall. You can see the beam pattern. If you come home after getting flashed check the pattern. If its changed then you know what the problem is.

Changing the vertical aim of the lamps is not all that difficult. You can see a little 10mm nut near the top and to the inside (towards the engine) on the drivers side. Turning it will adjust the beam.

Hope this helps. I'm on my third drivers side light now, and it looks like its working fine.

CM.

walsh03

I too enjoy the bright reply I get to send when I get flashed. I have had my lights checked and they are aimed correctly. They are just bright. When I get flashed I too grin a flash back. I know its all fun and games until someone loses an eye, right? Sure does make me smile though.

rabenoja

iTrader: (2)

Well I've had the dealer check the aim on my lights and they are fine. I have not really gotten highbeamed that many times but, I wanted to get it checked anyway.

I've had HID's in my past two cars, both kits were aftermarket. These are the first factory set that I have had. I can say that the factory hids are bright but, they are no brighter and maybe even not as bright as the aftermarket ones. My aftermarket HID's gave off more light and more of a blue color. Anyway, my point is that I have had aftermarket HID's and I've never gotten hi-beamed. It's probably cuz I had them aimed a little lower than usual but, that's better then blinding on coming drivers.

Mystery

I don't even have HID's and im always getting flashed. Personally i find it entertaining to count how many people flash me on a various trip. For the most part i agree that the fog lights make it seem more like i have my high's on until i put them on and they see the difference.

I just remember one time i was at a 4 way stop and a saturn oppostie of me flashed me, and i just blinded him away. Sure its an a'hole move to do, but they did it first.

Anyways, im looking into swapping for HID's something i really wish i had. So i can only imagine how many more times i'll get flashed.

kmoney56

One thing you guys are forgetting is how much weight is in the car. The Maxima's projectors are pushing the limit of how high they can be aimed when just you are sitting in it, let alone when 300-400 lbs of your fat *** friends are riding around with you (drooling all over everything, of course) . That is the number one pet peeve I have with this car, it should have either manual or automatic load-sensing (ie. BMW, Lexus) adjusters. They are absolutely necessary, in fact, I'm thinking of getting some aftermarket manual adjusters put on.

And for you guys who want your fogs on all the time, they actually limit the distance you can see with your regular headlights. When the road immediately in front of you is brighter, your eyes adjust so you can not see the dimmer light way out ahead which is where these projectors really 'shine' so to speak

rabenoja

iTrader: (2)

Here's one for you guys. I'm driving down one of the street with a few small inclines here and there. The guy in front of me starts slowing down. I'm thinking that he has to turn so, I slow down and wait for him to turn. There is no oncoming traffic and this guys is coming to a complete stop. He stops and turns his lights off. I'm like what the f***!!! He stays there for a few seconds and then he takes off. He didn't turn, he just kept going straight. I didn't pay it any mind, I figured that there is something wrong with his car. We pull up to the next light which is red and stop. I am turning left and he is going straight. So, I pull up next to him. He is rolling down his window, so I roll mine down. He's like, "What's up with your lights?" I said, "Nothing, they are factory HID's!" He didn't get it...he didn't even know what HID's were. All he said was that my lights were blinding one second and the next second, they were fine. I told him that they were factory and that it was probably the small hills that were making my lights seem too bright. He still didn't get it. He was trying to argue with me and kept telling me that there is something wrong with my lights. I didn't have time to sit there and explain it to him so, I turned. He had this confused look on his face like he had no idea of what I had just told him.

I still am surprised by what little people know of the technology out there. I don't blame the guy for not knowing what HID's are, but please don't argue with me about something that you have no knowledge of.

Sorry, just had to vent a little!

lightonthehill

rabenoja - the guy either is a fairly new driver, and doesn't realize that hilly or curvy roads make headlight adjustments meaningless, whether HID or quartz or tungsten or whatever, or fails basic physics in not understanding the simple geometry involved.

I have even been blinded by non-HID headlights when the shape of the roadway/terrain causes the dimmed lights of another vehicle, whether oncoming or following me, to hit squarely in my eyes or my rear view mirror. That is all part of driving at night.

Having said all that, I would bet the HIDs of the '04 hitting squarely in one's eyes is an eye-filling event.

CoolMax

iTrader: (7)

Even though I believe that foglights should only be used during times of fog (hence the name...), I really don't have a problem with people using them in conjunction with their headlights for beter visiblity on roads that need it.

However, I do have a problem with the *******es who insist on nightime driving with only their foglights.
Why do they do this? For the sake of looking "bad-***"?
In generalYour headlights give you better visibility of the road as compared to foglights. It's truly pathetic when people are so vain/self-conscious that they are willing to compromise safety. When people are staring at you with only your foglights on, it's not in admiration or awe.