How to Take Great Care of Your Car’s Headlights

Headlights are one of the most critical safety features on any vehicle. Not only do headlights light the road for you, so that you can see when it’s dark out, but they make your car visible to other drivers as well. Without headlights, you can’t drive at night; and with only partially functioning headlights, you can’t drive safely at night.

Just like the lights in your home, the headlights on your car don’t require much attention or maintenance, but they do need some basic TLC. Since they’re a safety feature, doing what you can to keep your headlights up and running is very important. Here are a few basic tricks and tips for making sure that your headlights are always working well. 

Check Your Lights Constantly 

When it comes to safety measures, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. The last thing you want is to not realize that you have a dead bulb until you need to be driving at night. About once a month, check to make sure that your headlights are working properly. While you’re at it, it’s a good idea to check your tail lights, high beams, and blinkers, and if you have a friend to help you, your brake lights as well. 

Change Early and Often

With headlights, preemptive action is always smart. Ideally, you don’t want to wait until a bulb burns out to change it. Headlights aren’t black and white, so to speak – they have a gradient. As they begin to wear down, the light will become weaker and weaker. As the light wears down, the headlights will still be usable, but you should change them. That way, you dramatically lower the chances of getting stuck on the road with only one headlight. 

If you don’t ever notice your lights getting dimmer, just change them every few years. 

Keep the Lens Clean 

If you’re the kind of person who obsessively keeps their car clean, then you can skip this tip because you’re one step ahead of us. However, if your car is sometimes dirty, then follow this advice: clean the headlight lens with some regularity. A dirty lens makes for a cloudy, less visible light. It also increases the chances that some dust or debris makes it into the headlight case. 
Replace Your Headlights Together 

If you’re ever replacing one headlight, always replace both (this also goes for all other pairs of lights, such as your blinkers). By replacing both lights at the same time, you keep your lights on a synchronized schedule, and reduce the chances of having them die with any frequency. 

Replace Them Yourself 

Headlights are one of the easiest components in a vehicle to replace, as they require virtually no mechanical experience, and there’s no risk involved. By replacing headlights on your own, you can save yourself a lot of money, as well as the time involved in taking your car to the shop. 
It’s easy to forget about your headlights, but don’t! They are vital safety features, and you should always keep them operating in good, working shape.