stiles17

Hello,

I've been having considerable frustration with my 2010 GS350 AFS headlights not working, or rather, not moving from side to side. The auto-level appears to be working. When I start the car the beams dip down and then back up.

When I first bought the car three months ago the AFS worked beautifully. The, like most of us on here, just couldn't leave things alone. Before I knew it I had ordered a pair of Black Series Clear Lens upgrade. I performed lens swaps before so I knew what I was getting into. I baked the lights at 250 degrees F for 10 minutes before I separated the lens from the black rear housing.

After a few modifications to the compression ring (the metal piece that you bolt down to hold the lens in place) I put the stock shrouds on with no problems. No difficulty, etc. The modification to the compression ring was quite minimal. I had to trim some material of at the bottom of the piece so it would not "bottom out" against the projector housing. This is because the Black Series has a very slightly curvature...you could say the lens height is less which means a lesser angle for the compression ring to hold the Black Series in place. Regardless of physics, the thing is in there and in there properly. I've done this many times but just not with AFS.

So, AFS. Now it refuses to work from left to right. Sometimes it seems like it is trying because if I turn a corner it looks like the light "clicks" back into position. When I took the original compression ring off I had to use a Dremel tool to make a slot to use a screwdriver to remove the screws. The Koito screws are in there TIGHT and the Phillips head WILL strip if not careful.

Even using the screwdriver to remove the screws I wonder if I used to much pressure or torque and possibly busted the gearbox. Maybe the oven (literally) cooked the AFS motors? Both headlights exhibit the same problems. Moreover, the bubbles for headlight beam aiming are way off for the low beams. The bubbles face all the way toward the firewall. If I bring them to spec they shine stupidly high off the ground. Curiously, the high beam bubbles work insofar as adjust their beam pattern height.

One last thing worth noting is that I know some people do hack jobs. I must emphasize that I have done this before with other vehicles and never have experienced this problem. I work extremely slow and tediously, like a perfectionist. I don't believe in half-*** results. That is why this has got me so frustrated---I've put some two months time into this.

Finally I said heck with it. Brought it to the dealer. This is his report, exact words:

CHECKED AND CONFIRMED CUSTOMERS CONCERN OF AFS SYSTEM FOR HEADLIGHTS INOPERATIVE . CHECKED AND FOUND HEADLIGHTS TO NOT BE MOVING THROUGH THE LEVEL AND SWIVEL MOTOR CHECK WHEN VEHICLE IS FIRST STARTED. WHEN AFS SYSTEM IS TURN ON, FOUND AFS LIGHT TO BE BLINKING (my own little addition here is that this is BS; I've read the owners manual and the AFS light was NOT blinking) INDICATING A MALFUNCTION FAULT IN SYSTEM. CHECKED FOR FAULT CODE AND FOUND B2413 - RIGHT HAND SWIVEL MOTOR MALFUNCTION. PERFORMED ACTIVE TEST OF PASSENGERS SIDE HEADLIGHT SWIVEL MOTOR AND FOUND OPERATION TO BE VERY LIMITED. MOTOR NOT MOVING HEADLIGHT PROPERLY TO THE RIGHT AND FOUND TO BE BINDING. ACTIVE TESTED DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGHT AND FOUND TO ALSO HAVE LIMITED MOVEMENT. BINDING OF SWIVEL MOTOR ALSO FOUND TO BE EVIDENT. HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES ARE NON SERVICEABLE (now that IS a rhetorical statement) AND WILL REQUIRE REPLACING BOTH FRONT HEADLAMP CONCERN. ESTIMATED COST W/O LABOR IS $2,975.

Notes:

* The shroud fit perfectly on the projector; it was not, what's the word, "sticking out" farther than stock. It was at stock specs in regards to this measurement.

* This part scares me: I manually moved the projectors from left to right to see if they had full range of motion. It appeared they did. I mean, they don't exactly move 90 degrees. During this movement I could hear the gearbox gears turning. This inevitably turned the motor as well. Could this be the wrong thing to do? There were no clicks, skips, or any sign there may be a busted gear or a gear with a missing tooth.

* Could the heat from the oven have ruined the motors? Any retrofitter's out there that have done something similar?

If you have made it this far into the discussion I applaud you! Any and all help is sincerely appreciated. I hope I provided enough info.

One more thing----though the headlights are a bear to adjust, live with people flashing me nearly every night, the lenses are beautiful!