Are the LED headlights (MY 2021) supposed to be auto leveling?

Today was the first time we drove our new 4Runner TRD Pro in the dark and the experience was not ... enlightening, to say the least. The light output was actually not bad, but the only part of the road lit was to about 15 yards out. Complete darkness beyond that.

Now, I seem to recall that HID and LED headlights have to be auto-leveling in the US for a few years now, the 4Runner doesn't do the typical up/down of the lights when turned on that we have seen with our other cars. I did find the manual adjustment gears.

Now, do I have to adjust these every time I put something heavier in the trunk? I didn't find anything about this in the manual, so I assume, it's not something a user is supposed to touch regularly. Any enlightenment here? ;-)

 

They are not auto-leveling :-(

 

Wow. I haven’t had a car without auto leveling in the last 15 years. And for the last 30 or so they had at least an adjuster inside the car at the dash (if not auto leveling) ... this is ... disappointing.

 

The more you want the more expensive. Auto leveling requires modules, motor. Any AFS system cost 2k-7k per headlight for replacement.

 

Sorry, but that's outright wrong. Cars that cost half the price of a 4Runner have had these features for years.

 

I know huyndai and nisaan has. Lots fearure toyota dont have compared to cheaper cars. 360 camera is one

 

I get features that are "convenience". Headlight leveling is a safety feature, if not for you, then for oncoming traffic, especially with HID/LED low beams now being standard. The road illumination I saw was worse than p***poor straight from the dealer floor. Even moving the beams up significantly is not yet where I need it to be for safe night driving. A halfway decent adjustment will have to wait until I'm on level ground with some time, but the downside is that it'll be off the moment we have any different load on board. That's just ridonkulous in this day and age.

 

I would trade navi for 360 camera and sunroof for AFS anytime. Those two features just stupid for me