Driver side headlight gets lower and lower

[Quickst]

and once set, what causes the driver side light to move lower over time?

Dunno
Speculation - does it have anything to do with Autopilot/FSD? - when activated it may adjust headlights if the cameras do not like what it sees?. Its pure speculation of course and I dont have any data to back that up.

 

[Onshore]

If they're meant to be uneven, why doesn't the autoomatic leveling procedure set them this way? Why does it set them level with each other?

and once set, what causes the driver side light to move lower over time?

I suspect that is how the calibration mechanism finds its "zero set point".

 

[cafz]

This is mine. Its been this ever since I got the car.

It makes sense.
The right side is lowest for on coming traffic on other side of road
The middle is a little higher as no oncoming traffic on the left side of road
The left side points toward the side of the road and should be the highest

Mine are similar. As was the Liberty I had before, although it was globes so it didn't have that stepped block look, it was a smoother curve from the reflectors inside the headlight units.

I don't believe the headlight levelling is meant to just be done by itself, it's supposed to be part of a step-by-step process for calibrating the headlights. Maybe just ask the service centre if they can calibrate them for you next time you're there for tires or something?

 

[paulp]

Mine are similar. As was the Liberty I had before, although it was globes so it didn't have that stepped block look, it was a smoother curve from the reflectors inside the headlight units.

I don't believe the headlight levelling is meant to just be done by itself, it's supposed to be part of a step-by-step process for calibrating the headlights. Maybe just ask the service centre if they can calibrate them for you next time you're there for tires or something?

I can confirm that headlights have to be levelled and calibrated. One of mine was replaced recently and I watched them doing both in a dark part of the shed they call the service centre.

 

[dasn]

The headlights absolutely need to be leveled manually at some point in the manufacturing process, a headlight replacement would definitely require it as well.

Tesla's own, free to access service manual, tells you how to do it and the instructions literally make you calibrate them such that both headlights are level with each other.

For those unsure about how to access the service manual just head to: Tesla Service and sign up for a free account. Once you've signed in, head to this link to go directly to the non-matrix headlight adjustment instructions. You can also navigate the service manual to the matrix instructions as well.

I'm actually more curious about the slight headlight adjustments that I've observed when opening/closing the door. What's the purpose of this and is it a bug? Of course, I don't really expect to find an answer, I just wanted to share what I've observed to a wider audience to see if I'm the only one.