Have you ever been driving down the road at night and thought to yourself, “I thought my headlights were brighter than that”? Well, chances are, they were brighter than that before but now because of the amount you’ve driven and the age of your car, they might have dulled a bit. There are a bunch of simple solutions to this problem that are very easy to take care of at home, and you’ll notice a change in the brightness of your headlights the next time you’re driving in the dark!

First, just take some window cleaner and a soft cloth to your headlights. The problem might only be that they’re dirty and need some TLC – this is the easiest answer and easiest solution. If this doesn’t work out, however, you might have to put in a little more elbow grease.

So, you’ve cleaned your headlights and they still seem dim. You might have to go to the auto parts store and get a headlight reconditioning kit. This is a simple kit that lets you clean your headlights a little bit more by buffing out any dirt or UV damage, as well as scratches and divots from road debris. This is definitely a little more difficult than just washing your headlights, but hopefully, you should see a difference.

If they are STILL dim, you might have to replace the bulbs in your headlights. This involves going to your auto parts store and buying some replacement capsules – your owner’s manual will tell you exactly what type of capsules your vehicle needs. If they’re halogen, you can upgrade them to either a brighter halogen capsule or a drop-in LED capsule. This will really make a difference in the brightness of your lights, but make sure you are doing the replacement correctly. This isn’t super hard, but if you’re hesitant to try it yourself, come to Fiore Volkswagen and we’ll take care of it for you.

If you’ve tried all of these options and your headlights are still dim, you should have a professional take a look at your alternator. Dimming headlights can be indicative of a dying alternator – especially if your headlights brighten when you accelerate and dim when you’re slowing down.

We hope these tips have been helpful to you! Happy trails!