# Don't press "Adjust Headlights" button



## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

TL;DR: 
I hit the "Adjust Headlights" button on my Model 3 last night, and now the headlights have been stuck on ever since. So far Tesla doesn't know the cause or how to fix it. 
Bottom line: I'd recommend no one else touch that button. (I'm on firmware 2018.28.5.)

Full story: 
Last night while parked I hit the "Adjust Headlights" button under the Service menu just out of curiosity to check it out the functionality. An "Adjust Headlights" window popped up on the screen, but all the buttons were grayed out and there was just a circle spinning around and around (like when you're waiting for something to load on a computer), so I wasn't able to try adjusting them. Probably for the best, as there was also a little disclaimer at the bottom of the window explaining that it's not recommended for anyone other than Tesla technicians to adjust the headlights. (Since then I've also read the section in the manual reiterating this warning.) So I figured Tesla had simply disabled this feature. No biggie. I closed out of the window, exited the car, and went on with my day.

3 hours later I come back to find the headlights are on. At first I figured the car had failed to recognize that I had left the car and it had simply stayed on this whole time, but no... I checked and it was locked and off. Once inside I find that I can't turn off the headlights, nor can I turn off the ambient lights, and the dome lights won't turn off when they're in the "Auto" setting (but they will turn off in the "Off" setting).

After trying multiple car resets, walking away from the car for 30 minutes, checking all the doors, plugging in / unplugging, etc., I call Tesla Customer Service. They spend 25 minutes having me try all the things I already tried, to no avail. Eventually they say they'll arrange to send someone out to fix it.

This afternoon I got a call from a 'diagnostic technician' (I think that's what he called himself) asking me questions about the situation, and he suggested that there might be a bug in the firmware and he was trying to investigate the issue to pass information along to Tesla engineers. Then later I got a call from one of the mobile repair guys, and he says he can't get anyone out to me for a week, so maybe I'd prefer to take it into the Service Center instead. 
But if it's a firmware bug, I don't even know what they'd be able to do. Is there some kind of "hard" reset they can do at a Service Center that goes beyond holding the steering wheel buttons down?

Normally I wouldn't care too much about a nuisance issue like this, but I was planning on going on a trip tomorrow and leaving my car in a public lot overnight, but now I don't want to since leaving the headlights on all night might attract unwanted attention. So I'm fairly annoyed (especially after how pathetically my first 2 weeks of "ownership" went).


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

One more detail that I just noticed on my drive home: the high beams won't turn on.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

Have you tried powering off the car from the menu?


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## 3V Pilot (Sep 15, 2017)

I'd be tempted to disconnect the 12v battery and give it a few minutes before reconnecting. Don't the headlights run off of that?


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Another update: I set up a time-lapse camera in my garage overnight, and the headlights actually cycled on/off roughly once an hour. (I.e., one hour on, one hour off, etc.) But the daytime running lights stayed on consistently.



SoFlaModel3 said:


> Have you tried powering off the car from the menu?


Yes.



3V Pilot said:


> I'd be tempted to disconnect the 12v battery and give it a few minutes before reconnecting. Don't the headlights run off of that?


Sounds like that's what the Service Center would try first, but they strongly recommended against me trying to do it myself.


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## 3V Pilot (Sep 15, 2017)

jsmay311 said:


> Another update: I set up a time-lapse camera in my garage overnight, and the headlights actually cycled on/off roughly once an hour. (I.e., one hour on, one hour off, etc.) But the daytime running lights stayed on consistently.
> 
> Yes.
> 
> Sounds like that's what the Service Center would try first, but they strongly recommended against me trying to do it myself.


Funny, that is just the type of comment that would encourage me to try it! I'm actually tempted to adjust my headlights now just to see what happens. If I do I'll let you know.


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## pjfw8 (Apr 28, 2016)

3V Pilot said:


> Funny, that is just the type of comment that would encourage me to try it! I'm actually tempted to adjust my headlights now just to see what happens. If I do I'll let you know.


I adjusted my headlights in late May. No problem! I will not try this again until the problem is rectified.


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## SalisburySam (Jun 6, 2018)

jsmay311 said:


> TL;DR:
> Is there some kind of "hard" reset they can do at a Service Center that goes beyond holding the steering wheel buttons down?


The only other reset I've heard about in these forums is the "two finger one foot salute." That is, with your foot on the brake, press the two steering wheel buttons and hold all three until the screen turns black and the Tesla logo comes up. Then release all. I don't know if that doesn't anything that just the steering wheel buttons don't, but it's cheap to try.


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

One more tidbit: I just realized that the front turn signal / hazard lights aren't working. (The rear turn signal / hazard lights are working though.)

I'm scheduled to have a mobile repair guy come out to my work next Tuesday to attempt a fix.


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Got it fixed today. 

A mobile service tech (Kyle, great guy btw) came out to my work. He mentioned that he had seen a couple other similar issues on other Model 3's related to the "Adjust Headlights" button.

To fix it, he did a "hard" reset by first disconnecting the 12V battery under the hood, then disconnecting a connector on the top of the HV battery pack under the rear-right seat (he said it was a connector for the BMS), and then just waiting a few minutes before reconnecting everything. Voila.

Finally... now I won't have to endure 10 different co-workers texting me or stopping by my desk every day to tell me my lights are on and having to explain the whole sorry situation to them!


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## Kenneth815 (Sep 12, 2018)

I just took delivery of my model3 today and was curious was going through all the menu options and did the same thing. Hit the "Adjust Headlights" button and now I'm experiencing all the exact same symptoms as @jsmay311 described.

Glad I found this post, was going crazy thinking I changed some setting. Guess I'll have to contact Tesla in the morning.

Thanks for sharing all this info!


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Wonder if disconnecting the 12V would be enough on its own. Anyone can do that.


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## Mesprit87 (Oct 29, 2017)

Wonder what happens if you try again...
They did the reset but probably didn't fix the issue. 
Next update maybe.


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

Kenneth815 said:


> I just took delivery of my model3 today and was curious was going through all the menu options and did the same thing. Hit the "Adjust Headlights" button and now I'm experiencing all the exact same symptoms as @jsmay311 described.
> 
> Glad I found this post, was going crazy thinking I changed some setting. Guess I'll have to contact Tesla in the morning.


Sorry to hear that. What firmware version are you on?
*
Be aware that your front turn signals likely won't work* *until it's fixed.* And expect a lot of vampire drain. During the week I experienced this problem, my "on screen" efficiency was under 200 Wh/mi, but my actual wall-to-wheels efficiency was ~480 Wh/mi.

It's good to know that Tesla has the resources available to make the Model X dance to classical music but not to fix safety-related bugs like this.


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## neps (Jul 31, 2017)

I also thought it was weird that the "Adjust Headlights" button didn't have a warning or a prompt before starting adjustment. The accompanying text says that this should only be done by the service center - but it doesn't tell me that until after i've already started the process. 

And how does it work? Like if I'm on a sloped driveway, does the Adjust button level them to the earth, not to the slope of the driveway, and thus cause my lights to be out of alignment?


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## jsmay311 (Oct 2, 2017)

neps said:


> I also thought it was weird that the "Adjust Headlights" button didn't have a warning or a prompt before starting adjustment. The accompanying text says that this should only be done by the service center - but it doesn't tell me that until after i've already started the process.
> 
> And how does it work? Like if I'm on a sloped driveway, does the Adjust button level them to the earth, not to the slope of the driveway, and thus cause my lights to be out of alignment?


Back when it used to work, you could just manually adjust the height/angle of each headlight using the right and left scroll wheels on the steering wheel. I can understand why they might want to discourage people from messing with the settings, since they might aim them too high and blind oncoming drivers. But that doesn't excuse the firmware bug.


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## Unplugged (Apr 5, 2016)

I adjusted my right headlight up a small amount when I first received the Model 3 in April. I had no issues with doing it. It's smart to avoid doing that now until Tesla figures out what line of code messed up the headlight adjustment command.


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## pjfw8 (Apr 28, 2016)

jsmay311 said:


> Back when it used to work, you could just manually adjust the height/angle of each headlight using the right and left scroll wheels on the steering wheel. I can understand why they might want to discourage people from messing with the settings, since they might aim them too high and blind oncoming drivers. But that doesn't excuse the firmware bug.


My right headlight was extremely misaligned when I picked it up (5 feet from the garage wall it was a foot lower than the drivers side). It was so simple to correct on the screen. Most car headlights are consumer adjustable. It ain't rocket science!


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## Kevin44 (Sep 16, 2018)

Just picked up my model 3 today and now my headlights won’t turn off because of this “bug”. 1+ hour hold for Tesla support. Any advice?


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## KarenRei (Jul 27, 2017)

Kevin44 said:


> Just picked up my model 3 today and now my headlights won't turn off because of this "bug". 1+ hour hold for Tesla support. Any advice?


If you're willing to try (even though Tesla apparently advises against it, even though it's what their techs will do when they come), you can try disconnecting the 12V.


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## Kevin44 (Sep 16, 2018)

KarenRei said:


> If you're willing to try (even though Tesla apparently advises against it, even though it's what their techs will do when they come), you can try disconnecting the 12V.


It worked!! (Kind of)

I was following the instructions to disconnect the 12V and after I turned off the power via touch screen the headlights automatically went off a few minutes later. In the future, if anyone else has this problem just use the Power Off button in th touch screen and wait 3-5 minutes.

What a relief!!


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## darco (Aug 27, 2018)

If you are going to disconnect the 12V battery yourself, make sure you disconnect the negative terminal. That way if you accidentally touch the tool you are using to the body of the car you don't cause a short. 12v itself won't hurt you assuming your hands are dry-ish, but a short circuit can cause burns and other mayhem—especially if it spot-welds your tool to the car so that you can't immediately remove it (admittedly unlikely with the small-ish 12v battery in the Model 3).


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## systemBuilder (Jul 1, 2018)

I had this problem last night (headlights got stuck in the 'on' position, no way to turn them off). I solved the problem by upgrading to v9 software. I believe the problem is also fixed in v9. So, if you are in an earlier version of the software, and willing to upgrade, this is a simple way you can get your headlights to turn off again.


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## rlb4 (May 22, 2018)

So can we use this feature now? My drivers headlight seems aimed way too left. The passenger side is straight ahead whereas the drivers side is aimed left of the front fender.


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## 3V Pilot (Sep 15, 2017)

rlb4 said:


> So can we use this feature now? My drivers headlight seems aimed way too left. The passenger side is straight ahead whereas the drivers side is aimed left of the front fender.


I believe it only allows for a vertical adjustment but I've never tried it myself. Can anyone confirm?


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## pjfw8 (Apr 28, 2016)

3V Pilot said:


> I believe it only allows for a vertical adjustment but I've never tried it myself. Can anyone confirm?


I did a full adjustment in June. It adjusts horizontally and vertically.


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## tburk32 (Dec 11, 2018)

Curiosity got the best of me while I was sitting in the car. I pressed adjust headlights just to see what it did, which then warned that it should only be done by service tech. I clicked the X to close it as soon as I read the warning, but I did see “leveling headlights” appear on the screen. Now my question is, did the headlights move as a result of me pressing that button? I would I need to use the scroll wheels to actually make a change?


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## Jarettp (Dec 1, 2018)

tburk32 said:


> Curiosity got the best of me while I was sitting in the car. I pressed adjust headlights just to see what it did, which then warned that it should only be done by service tech. I clicked the X to close it as soon as I read the warning, but I did see "leveling headlights" appear on the screen. Now my question is, did the headlights move as a result of me pressing that button? I would I need to use the scroll wheels to actually make a change?


I did the same thing and have the same question.


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## jroachonline (Dec 22, 2018)

My headlights seem to be aimed too low. Can I use the car settings to fix this or should I go to a Repair Center to do this. Seems some have a problem doing so. Thank you for any help...


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## GDN (Oct 30, 2017)

I don't understand why they leave this button exposed. If it really is only meant to be used by a tech, then it should be hidden in the service menus. I'm not sure why they leave it exposed like it is.

And for those of you that have touched it, I don't have a clue what it did.


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## Kizzy (Jul 25, 2016)

GDN said:


> I don't understand why they leave this button exposed. If it really is only meant to be used by a tech, then it should be hidden in the service menus. I'm not sure why they leave it exposed like it is.
> 
> And for those of you that have touched it, I don't have a clue what it did.


One reason that I can think of is that it allows independent shops to adjust the headlamps without customized Tesla tools. How many cars have headlamps that are self movable?


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## Needsdecaf (Dec 27, 2018)

Kizzy said:


> One reason that I can think of is that it allows independent shops to adjust the headlamps without customized Tesla tools. How many cars have headlamps that are self movable?


Most cars have headlights that are adjustable with a screwdriver or a socket. Even ones with self-leveling. I've done it on most of my cars in the past (Volvo, BMW, VW, Acura). Cars seem to come pretty low. I usually adjust up until I'm getting flashed by people and then back down.

I haven't felt the need to do that with the Tesla. Mine has come well aimed.


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## pjfw8 (Apr 28, 2016)

Solid instructions on headlight aiming procedures are available on the net. When I got my 3 in late May, I found the one of my headlights was way off and required adjustment. I used the cars adjustment. Simple. I had zero issues and none had been reported on the forum. BUT others attempting this later have had problems. The ranger who replaced a defective headlight in October said I could aim them myself and was surprised to hear of problems. He uses no special procedure. Tesla's concern may be with poor aiming, not customer aiming. Try at your own risk!


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## Bernard (Aug 3, 2017)

Kizzy said:


> One reason that I can think of is that it allows independent shops to adjust the headlamps without customized Tesla tools. How many cars have headlamps that are self movable?


Most cars in the class of Model 3 have motorized self-leveling lights, at least in Europe. My $55K (highest configuration) 2006 VW Passat had self-adjusting lights that recalibrated every time you started the car to account for possible changes in front/rear loads... So nothing new here.
Actually I had been disappointed to note that Model 3 did not seem to adjust its lights automatically in that fashion (or perhaps it does in a non-noticeable way?).


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## Kizzy (Jul 25, 2016)

Bernard said:


> Most cars in the class of Model 3 have motorized self-leveling lights, at least in Europe. My $55K (highest configuration) 2006 VW Passat had self-adjusting lights that recalibrated every time you started the car to account for possible changes in front/rear loads... So nothing new here.
> Actually I had been disappointed to note that Model 3 did not seem to adjust its lights automatically in that fashion (or perhaps it does in a non-noticeable way?).


Given that the lights _are_ motorized and apparently have lateral movement (I thought it was just vertical), I'm a little surprised that they're curving around bends. Don't S and X cars have adaptive headlights (or whatever you call them)? Now I'm wondering about range and responsiveness required for _that_ feature.


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