Hi everyone. I`m new to forums, but I am on my second Skoda, my first being the 2006 Superb, a nice car but thirsty. I love the Octavia Estate bought new 1st March 2008, but find the main beam headlights shine very high in comparison with the adjustable dip beams. My main dealer says they are set as normal for an Octavia and cannot be adjusted.The beam hardly touches the road and I get dazzle from road signs.I`ve never had a car with such a problem. Have any other `Octavians` out there got a similar problem or am I being fobbed off by my dealer?

I had exactly the same with mine - if you do a search on here then it'll come up with a few piccies but basically the main beam is adjustable seperately from the dipped beam (but doesn't dip with the interior switch).

Open the bonnet and at the back rear corner of the ligts nearest the grille on each light is a screw adjuster facing upwards towards the bonnet. This is the adjuster you need! Anticlockwise for lowering the beam from memory.

I have to say that one of the few really poor aspects of the Octavia in my view is its main beam lights. Compared to my 02 reg Zafira they really are pathetic. Poor on both range and brightness.

Are you talking about xenons as well nickcoll, or are you commenting on normal lights??

Octy II Xenons are Xenons on low beam only, high beam is halogen in both versions. Other cars (eg VW Golf) have "Bi-Xenons" which are Xenon on high and low beam (in the one reflector).

I have the (low beam only) Xenons, and am going to try out a few different H1 globes to see if I can improve high beam (it "pales" by comparison with low beam).

Once I've decided which globes (if any) give an improvement I will post my results. I believe Philips will soon be releasing an X-treme (+80) H1 globe which I also want to try out (the H4 x-treme version is the best std wattage globe I've tried in my transporter)

Faz - Found what you are looking for - courtesy of another Briskodan! (Thanks Bosnjo)

Adjustments:

With the bonnet open you can see two hex nuts one above the other on each light fitting, these adjust the horizontal and vertical position of the projector lens, this is the same with halogen and xenon bulbs, you don't need to mess with these unless you intend to fiddle with the dipped beam alignment.

If you look inside the engine compartment at the rear of the light fitting you will see the white nylon nut that keeps the fitting in place, directly underneath this there is a single upward facing hex nut, this is what adjusts the up/down position of the main beam.

Note, this screw adjusts the entire main beam unit - that's the bulb AND the surrounding reflector.

I agree that the full beam halogen lights are very poor, it is like going back fiteen years or more to cars which had such poor headlamps. The xenon on dip are so bright, that I do wonder whether it is the contrast between the two that makes full beam seem dull. However I have to strain to see the road clearly on full beam, and this was noticeable as soon as changing cars, so it is not my eyes. It can only be in the design of the reflectors as the bulbs are the same in both the Octy and the Volvo I had before.

Are you talking about xenons as well nickcoll, or are you commenting on normal lights??

The normal ones. The Xenons may be fine, but they are a lot of money to sort something out that shouldn't be a problem in the first place. As I said, the headlamps on my Zafira are excellent, and they are also just standard halogens.

Hi skomaz, you`re a star ! With your explicit instructions, my main beam is now adjusted. I set it roughly by the brick lines in my garage then when it went dark I went to a poorly lit quiet road and fine tuned the setting.I now love my Octy completely. Many many thanks for your help(and to bosnjo too). I`m just a bit miffed that Hayseldens at Doncaster had me trail 40 miles round trip from Sheffield to look at it and tell me they hadn`t fixed it because it could not be adjusted. I`ll know who to ask for future problems -thanks again, I owe you a drink!

If you'd said you were in Sheffield...

Whereabouts anyway as there are a few of us around here. There was a meet the other week and another planned (check the link here).

South Yorkshire Meet Venue

Anyhow, glad you got it fixed.

If you'd said you were in Sheffield...

Whereabouts anyway as there are a few of us around here. There was a meet the other week and another planned (check the link here).

South Yorkshire Meet Venue

Anyhow, glad you got it fixed.

Hi skomaz. Thanks for your reply. I live at Waterthorpe near Crystal Peaks,and would be interested in your meets. I`ll keep checking the link you suggested for date and venue. Hope to see you there

if your from sheffield, surely it'd be easier to take your car to bickertons in sheffield? i know the feeling though, im in rotherham and its a good 30 mile round trip to hayseldens for me too

if your from sheffield, surely it'd be easier to take your car to bickertons in sheffield? i know the feeling though, im in rotherham and its a good 30 mile round trip to hayseldens for me too

Yes I agree, but Hayseldens sales setup licks Bickertons into fits. When I bought my Superb in 2006 Bickertons couldnt get the face lift model or the nightfire blue I wanted and they offered me peanuts for my Xantia. Within three weeks Hayseldens got me exactly what I wanted including transfer of cherished vrm and I was on the road. So really its a `loyalty` thing with Hayseldens, albeit tarnished with this headlight episode.

Have to say that I tend to agree with the comment regarding Bickertons sales staff - we bought neither of ours from there but the service department has generally been good (although a recent change of service manager may change that...)