How to Adjust the Headlights on a Toyota Celica

by Steve Bradley

lincoln navigator headlight image by Jorge Moro from Fotolia.com

The Toyota Celica was in production from 1970 until 2006. While many changes were introduced over its 30-plus year career, certain aspects of the car remained unchanged. One of those was the method for aligning the headlights. Many people overlook this simple job to their own detriment. Not only do misaligned headlights interfere with your night vision, they can also blind oncoming traffic. Once a year you should check and realign your Celica's headlights.

Step 1

Mark the headlight's center lines on a wall. Park the Toyota one foot from a wall. Turn the headlights on and engage the parking brake.

Step 2

Run a line of masking tape across the wall from the center point of the horizontal light beam on the driver's side to the center point on the passenger's side. Take two small pieces of tape and mark the two vertical centers. The wall should be marked with a horizontal line going from one side to the other and two small vertical lines in front of each headlight, creating small crosses.

Step 3

Pull the Celica back about 20 feet. Examine where the light hits the wall. If the horizontal or vertical light beam is off center from the taped line, then you know what needs to be aligned.

Step 4

Locate the centering screws for the driver's side headlight. Pop the hood and look directly behind the light. On the top center you will find a small screw that controls the vertical alignment. Along the side you will find the horizontal control screw. Use a screwdriver to tighten or loosen each screw until the light beam hits the center of the taped cross mark on the wall.