Standard on all trims in 2021.

2021 Subaru Outback Press Kit:SUBARU ANNOUNCES PRICING ON 2021 LEGACY AND OUTBACK MODELS - Subaru U.S. Media Center

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they can still be adjusted too high - the steering responsive part just swivels them from left to right, it’s not a height or load adjustment.

 

they can still be adjusted too high - the steering responsive part just swivels them from left to right, it’s not a height or load adjustment.

I thought that too, that they only swivel horizontally, but I just pulled this out of my manual (pg 265 in my 2023 book):

I guess they do auto level, I've never noticed it happen.

 

I have responsive steering HL’s on my ‘21 Touring XT. At that time it was top tier trim only, IIRC. Not unusual that they move tech downstream as time passes, it seems. As for blinding others - I occasionally get flashed - 4 times a year? - but not enough to be concerned about changing the orientation.

 

I have responsive steering HL’s on my ‘21 Touring XT. At that time it was top tier trim only, IIRC

My 21 Premium with steering responsive headlights will counter your recollection and confirms the info posted by @walker in the first reply of the thread (which I see was probably posted as you were typing).

 

If you steering responsive headlights, you also have auto leveling headlights. The autoleveling compensates for changes in loading.

There is still a manual up/down adjustment. If the lights are adjusted too high, they will autelevel to that too high setting, so height adjustment can still be incorrect with autoleveling lights.

(To see this entire thread, click on the little up-arrow inside the circle)

I can confirm that my 2020 Limited 2.5 Outback with SRH has auto leveling headlights.
I turned on the ignition till all gauges were lit and turned on the headlights (engine was off).
I jacked up the rear of the car till the headlight beam dropped about 4 inches on the wall approx 15 feet away.
about 2 or 3 seconds later the beam adjusted itself up 4 inches! (with accompanying servo noise)
After lowering the rear, the headlights again repositioned themselves to where they were previously.
Pretty Cool!

 

There is still a manual up/down adjustment. If the lights are adjusted too high, they will autelevel to that too high setting, so height adjustment can still be incorrect with autoleveling lights.

So, my question remains, is this manual adjustment to the auto-leveling lights accomplished the same way as my 2020 Onyx XT without the auto-leveling headlights.

 

Awesome responses! Is the adjustment location the same regardless of which headlight? Do I have to learn a new way of adjusting up and down with the new car?

 

My 18 3.6R has them, Can't remember if our 16 3.6R had them.

 

OP, as i think you have picked up on, the steerable headlights can still be adjusted too high from the factory, so you will need to adjust them if you want them leveled differently. Most Americans appear not to give two whits about whether they're blinding other people, because who cares about other people right? But personally I prefer the pilot of a three ton Suburban barreling towards me with a six foot offset be able to see where he's headed.

You need to get a long screwdriver - i had to buy one just for this - and stick it down into the slot from above (it is labeled). The screwdriver turns a wee gear that slowly adjusts the level. It is not difficult, but unless you have a marked wall to reference, you aren't going to get it dialed in without some trial and error.

 

weird. My bone stock 2023 lowest trim in Europe came with matrix LED. That means on top of the other features it also adapts by turning off some of the LED's inside the headlight that could blind oncoming traffic. It works very well. never had an issue, and actually it is not turning off the high beam. Except for a small patch directed towards the traffic, the rest of the road is illuminated with the full high beam power.
A small video describing the system.

 

weird. My bone stock 2023 lowest trim in Europe came with matrix LED. That means on top of the other features it also adapts by turning off some of the LED's inside the headlight that could blind oncoming traffic. It works very well. never had an issue, and actually it is not turning off the high beam. Except for a small patch directed towards the traffic, the rest of the road is illuminated with the full high beam power.
A small video describing the system.

We have yet to get those in North America. Probably will in the future... they look awesome.

 

well it comes with hefty price . lowest trim in Benelux, with is considered one market (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg ) is comparable in price with an OBW. On the other hand, the lowest trim seems to be at least as the mid trim in US with a few extras.

 

I currently have a 2020 Onyx XT. It doesn't have responsive headlights. It looks like the "LED Steering Responsive Headlights" are now standard on all Outbacks. Does anyone know what year they added this feature to all Outbacks. The Subaru Website shows that even the Base Model comes with the feature.

For 2020 they were on the limited and touring trims only, then were on all trims for 2021+

Matrix headlights would be very cool to have, but sadly the US seems slow to adopt new things like that in the regulations

 

The concept of matrix headlights has been approved by the NHTSA but they have yet to agree upon and release a standard, which would then allow their use. Several US vehicles have them installed but not yet activated by the manufacturer.

 

That explains it. .. Weird anyway, US is usually adopting very fast new tech, this were present in cars in Europe almost a decade ago.. ( in the beginning luxury vehicles only and were like a 2 k option ) ..
Even now they are quite expensive as part of a package or option.
Subaru is the first brand I know here to offer them included in the standard option, this is why I think the Outback, at least when I got it is quite a good value proposition considering the size, capability and features..
Now with the update price ( my trim now went from 40 k euro last year to 45 k euro ) - not so much, it is kind of mehh... you really need to have some very specific reason to justify the buy at this price point..

 

Leave it to the NHTSA to keep us from adopting technology that has been proven effective in other countries. We have a 2014 Outback and get flashed by other drivers pretty much every time we drive at night. This leads me to believe that the headlight aiming is off. I do consider this a big deal and will be looking up the specifications for my state and finding a suitable level parking lot next to a blank wall so I can get them right. Subaru's build quality is generally pretty good, but much of the tech seems to have been released prematurely and I have spent too much time already learning how to turn off the more annoying features. I'm considering just sticking a piece of gaffer's tape over those annoying windshield lights. I do like the adaptive cruise control, though. Reading through the EyeSight manual, my biggest takeaway is that some features take less than a page describing how they work, then up to 12 pages about when and under what conditions they won't work properly. Why bother? I'm very happy that we got the Premium model, which minimizes the number of features, while still providing amenities like separate environmental controls.