Poor illumination of headlights

[Marion]

I have had my Telluride S 2021 since August and I am very frustrated with the headlights at night. #1 I don't think the main headlights beam high enough. When I go up a hill I must have my brights on to adequately see in front of me. #2 I noticed a complete blind spot when turning...At night if someone walked in front of my car while I am turning I could never see them. This is quite scary to me. Thought perhaps it is because I am short but now I am reading that this is a common complaint with this car. Now I read that the "fog lights" can help illuminate the car when turning. Of course now I found out I don't have fog lights in this car style. I hate to say this but if I had any inkling of this problem would never have bought this car. It is very dangerous.

 

[jw_tx21]

I have had my Telluride S 2021 since August and I am very frustrated with the headlights at night. #1 I don't think the main headlights beam high enough. When I go up a hill I must have my brights on to adequately see in front of me. #2 I noticed a complete blind spot when turning...At night if someone walked in front of my car while I am turning I could never see them. This is quite scary to me. Thought perhaps it is because I am short but now I am reading that this is a common complaint with this car. Now I read that the "fog lights" can help illuminate the car when turning. Of course now I found out I don't have fog lights in this car style. I hate to say this but if I had any inkling of this problem would never have bought this car. It is very dangerous.

Yes, the poor headlights have been known on the LX and S trims (and some EX). The IIHS noted that those halogen projectors are poor in their safety rating of the 2020 Kia Telluride more than 2 years ago.

In any case, it's an easy fix - you just need to replace the headlamps. There are a few ways to do this - LED bulbs, or a bit more complicated to do HID bulb replacement. Check out the forum and search "EX headlight replacement" - among other terms. Good luck!

 

[HillCountry]

Read here where an S owner went into specifics about upgrading to LED bulbs throughout: Comprehensive LED Upgrade Guide with Photos

 

[Marion]

Thanks for your direction. Since I am a 72 yearold female, I don't plan on changing the headlights myself. Hopefully my local mechanic can do it for me since the nearest Kia Dealership is 2 hours away from me.

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[NDBlackEX]

Thanks for your direction. Since I am a 72 yearold female, I don't plan on changing the headlights myself. Hopefully my local mechanic can do it for me since the nearest Kia Dealership is 2 hours away from me.

Local stereo shops usually specialize in lighting. Check them out.

 

[Marion]

Will changing the headlight bulbs on the Telluride S...help to see better when making turns at night?

 

[ronniebell]

I agree regarding the poor headlights. I also have a S trim as well, and my trade-in (2019 Honda Insight EX) had LED headlights. There is a huge difference. I plan on upgrading by will have to hire it out.

 

[jw_tx21]

Changing the bulbs is unlikely to help a lot. Replacing with HID bulb assemblies will help more. See posts by @JonFar111.

Alternatively, you could replace the entire headlamps with the SX LED headlamps - but that's a much more expensive option. There are posts on the forum about this method too.

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[Tellthemride]

. #1 I don't think the main headlights beam high enough. When I go up a hill I must have my brights on to adequately see in front of me. #2 I noticed a complete blind spot when turning...

Will changing the headlight bulbs on the Telluride S...help to see better when making turns at night?

Keep in mind that regardless of what bulb you swap with, realistically there are still limitations on how high the beam pattern will shine when driving on hilly roads (even with high beams on). It will have little to no change if you are trying to compare them to adaptive or cornering headlights which will swivel or illuminate corners when you are rounding a sharp curve.

Very limited visibility on dark roads

We just got a Telluride EX a couple of weeks ago. We hadn't driven it at night on dark roads until last night. It was dangerous in our opinion. The light had a definite line that almost appeared like a dark screen on the windshield. Upon stopping and looking at the headlamps, I discovered...

tellurideforum.org

Night Drive Review Video

Thought this review video did a good job demonstrating LED headlamp performance at night. It also covers all the lighting in the 2021 Telluride for those interested. The test drive starts around 8.5 minutes. Dark road test starts around 11.5 minutes and high beam and fog light examples start...

tellurideforum.org

 

[G-412179]

Has anyone ever experienced their 2021 S Telluride headlights going dim, getting bright, and changing colors during night driving? There was a driver in front of me who got scared thinking I was trying to drive recklessly behind her and was getting ready to call the police until she realized who I was.

 

[ronniebell]

Has anyone ever experienced their 2021 S Telluride headlights going dim, getting bright, and changing colors during night driving? There was a driver in front of me who got scared thinking I was trying to drive recklessly behind her and was getting ready to call the police until she realized who I was.

I didn't experience this with my 2021 S trim, but I was not happy with the halogen lights, so I had Ziebart install high quality LED headlights. They are great. Just finished a 5,000+ mile trip and it made a huge difference when driving at night. Cost $299 plus tax. No labor was charged because I got a paint film treatment and tinted windows at the same time from the same company. I've read several forum posts about unhappy owners talking about the halogen lights.

 

[G-754598]

Will changing the headlight bulbs on the Telluride S...help to see better when making turns at night?

I used the lasfit led headlights because my high beams stopped working... Lasfit bulbs are amazing and make a huge difference and it's an easy install.. Now I gotta fight Kia to fix my high beams since I have 75,000 miles on my 2020 Telluride S.

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[mattcurry]

I used the lasfit led headlights because my high beams stopped working... Lasfit bulbs are amazing and make a huge difference and it's an easy install.. Now I gotta fight Kia to fix my high beams since I have 75,000 miles on my 2020 Telluride S.

Any luck getting them to fix your high beams? I have 79,500 on my LX and both headlights went out because of the shutter issue. Weird how they both fail at the same time. They want to much to replace the whole headlight assembly.

 

[Tohellyouride21]

hi all - just joined after I saw this tread. I'm having similar problems with my right front headlight, very annoyed by it, It has gotten very dim and is scary to drive at night. There's a law firm looking apparently looking at this problem, saw like a banner ad pop on Facebook about it - I just submitted my information to them they are called Ahdoot and Wolfson in California. you should call them or submit the information on their website. Kia has an issue here for sure and they k now about it but aren't doing anything.

 

[Jreask]

The headlights on our ‘23 X-Pro are a strong suit on it. The EV6 had some bad headlights. Did Kia change the headlights in 23? Were the previous years not projector LED’s?

 

[bbtelluride37]

The stock halogen bulbs that came on our EX were outright dangerously crummy lights. Exactly as everyone else has described. I opted to replace the stock headlight bulbs for a set of 55 watt 6500k HID bulbs. I also added factory fog lights which improve the lighting a great deal.

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[bruesjoh04]

The headlights on our ‘23 X-Pro are a strong suit on it. The EV6 had some bad headlights. Did Kia change the headlights in 23? Were the previous years not projector LED’s?

All Tellurides with LED headlights are projector-type LEDs.

In the US, for 2020, that was SX models only. For 2021 and 2022, EX Premium was added in addition to the SX models. Lower trims were saddled with halogens. For 2023, all Tellurides have projector LEDs.

According to Kia’s information, all 2022 and 2023 EV6s (regardless of trim) have reflector LEDs.

Many other newer Kias (like the Sportage and Carnival) save LED projectors for the top
SX-P trims only and the lower trims have LED reflectors.

 

[Jreask]

All Tellurides with LED headlights are projector-type LEDs.

In the US, for 2020, that was SX models only. For 2021 and 2022, EX Premium was added in addition to the SX models. Lower trims were saddled with halogens. For 2023, all Tellurides have projector LEDs.

According to Kia’s information, all 2022 and 2023 EV6s (regardless of trim) have reflector LEDs.

Many other newer Kias (like the Sportage and Carnival) save LED projectors for the top
SX-P trims only and the lower trims have LED reflectors.

Thank you. That was very informative. Appreciate it. The EV6 headlights were the biggest reason we traded it in. They were better after some adjustment but the lack of fog lights was another factor. We live along the Mississippi River and the fog can be brutal. That along with the deer population running across the highway.

 

[TellRick21]

Lots of good info in this post but I still need some help! We have the same headlight issue as a few others on our 2021 EX. There are 2 headlights plus the brights on each side. I am able to adjust them up and down but I can not figure how to adjust them right or left. Currently the low beam shine very far left and I get flashed quit frequently by oncoming cars. There are four Torx adjustments on the back of each headlamp assembly that take a T60 bit. Here is the trouble, each one of the four adjust the headlamps up and down, how can that be?
Anyone know if there are left & right adjustments?
I have added pics.
Last question: is anyone aware of a procedure on changing the existing bulbs, possible a YouTube video?

 

[bruesjoh04]

Last question: is anyone aware of a procedure on changing the existing bulbs, possible a YouTube video?

It’s a fixed unit. Nothing is changeable or replaceable in there.

I am able to adjust them up and down but I can not figure how to adjust them right or left. Currently the low beam shine very far left and I get flashed quit frequently by oncoming cars.

Your problem is surely that your beam is aimed too high. That’s what’s causing oncoming traffic to be blinded. You’d want to lower the aim.