2022 Expedition new headlights quality question

[Distant Traveller]

Hi all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm considering buying a 2023 Expedition (not released yet I know), but I am skeptical of the redesigned headlights for the 2022 Expy. Can any of the 2022 Expy owners chime in on the light output of the headlights at night? Throw distance, dispersal, color, etc?

I think they cheaped out on the design, going with reflector housings, instead of superior projectors. Kudos on at least going with LEDs, but that's almost the industry norm in this price range/category anyway. They saved the superior headlight design for the Navigator, but it sucks that even on the Expy Platinum they don't have upgraded headlight housings, with the Platinums costing around the base trims of the Navigator.

There's things I can overlook, but crappy headlights at this price range and era (where there is far superior headlight tech than mere LED projectors) I think is unacceptable. Especially since the pre-refresh (2021's) had projectors in upper trims (albeit Halogen projectors). I have a CX-5 now with the LED projectors that are curve adaptive (bending) with good throw, decent brightness and great color (I think 5K), and want to retain similar or better light output for our next family cruiser.

Sorry for the mini-rant, I'm just peeved with the redesigned front end on a whole, the headlights being the icing on the cake. The Expy is still a contender, but I just need to find out about the night time performance of the new headlights. There aren't any night drive reviews on Youtube, nor IIHS ratings of this vehicle (they don't rate BOF vehicles unfortunately).
Thanks all in advance for helpful information!

 

[sdinwiddie85]

I find the lights on my 22 to be great. Bright white light, but not blue. High beams work great too. I don’t have any night shots, but I can try to get some tonight

 

[LazSlate]

My 2022 Timberline has probably the best headlights I have ever owned. I live outside of the city and every night I am amazed how well you can see. Every time Ford changes something people make comments speculating Ford is going backwards. Sometimes companies do, but in this case whatever they did the lights are superb.

 

[GGecko311]

I bought a 2022 XLT and its hands down best coverage and brightest I've ever owned. My last 4 vehicles were Tahoes & Yukons were awful at night, I had to drive with my brights on, especially in the country. It's so refreshing to be able to actually see where I'm going.

 

[Polo08816]

Hi all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm considering buying a 2023 Expedition (not released yet I know), but I am skeptical of the redesigned headlights for the 2022 Expy. Can any of the 2022 Expy owners chime in on the light output of the headlights at night? Throw distance, dispersal, color, etc?

I think they cheaped out on the design, going with reflector housings, instead of superior projectors. Kudos on at least going with LEDs, but that's almost the industry norm in this price range/category anyway. They saved the superior headlight design for the Navigator, but it sucks that even on the Expy Platinum they don't have upgraded headlight housings, with the Platinums costing around the base trims of the Navigator.

There's things I can overlook, but crappy headlights at this price range and era (where there is far superior headlight tech than mere LED projectors) I think is unacceptable. Especially since the pre-refresh (2021's) had projectors in upper trims (albeit Halogen projectors). I have a CX-5 now with the LED projectors that are curve adaptive (bending) with good throw, decent brightness and great color (I think 5K), and want to retain similar or better light output for our next family cruiser.

Sorry for the mini-rant, I'm just peeved with the redesigned front end on a whole, the headlights being the icing on the cake. The Expy is still a contender, but I just need to find out about the night time performance of the new headlights. There aren't any night drive reviews on Youtube, nor IIHS ratings of this vehicle (they don't rate BOF vehicles unfortunately).
Thanks all in advance for helpful information!

You are correct. Projector headlights should be better than reflector headlights.

Maybe we just have to wait for a 2024 update to get better headlights.

 

[Distant Traveller]

I find the lights on my 22 to be great. Bright white light, but not blue. High beams work great too. I don’t have any night shots, but I can try to get some tonight

Thank you for your reply. Yes, if you (and others) can post some night pics showing off the headlights in action that would be excellent for me, and others on the fence.

 

[LazSlate]

You are correct. Projector headlights should be better than reflector headlights.

Maybe we just have to wait for a 2024 update to get better headlights.

Its all personal preference. IMO projector are not better its all preference. I hate the projectors in my BMW. I hate the focused line across the horizon. The LED reflector in the 2022 Expy are WAY better and more natural diffused.

 

[Distant Traveller]

To everyone who replied thus far, thanks for the input. I'm glad that these reports indicate the coverage, luminosity and color are above par. I know there are some reflector housings that exceed the performance of typical projectors, seems this falls in this camp. I think I'll look into the parts they used for the 2022 headlights and see what they used to maximize the performance of the reflectors.

Anyone else with 2022's feel free to share your experience. Maybe we'll get some outliers.
Maybe there's some out there that can compare it to the Nav headlights (I know a whole other ballpark but they are sisters under the skin).

 

[zak99b5]

The best headlights of any car I’ve driven were Cibie halogen reflector round lights in my VW Vanagon, using a relay kit to power them directly by the battery. They were bulb-replaceable versions of the old bigger round sealed beam headlights. Better illumination than the projector HIDs on my ‘99 Audi A4 and LEDs in projectors on my 2010 Suburban. Not that those were bad. But well-designed reflectors can be excellent.

 

[rd618]

Headlights in my ‘22 are great.
The reflector/projector argument comes down to quality of parts and design. Ford’s implementation of these headlights is very good.

 

[BSarchet]

Had ours about a month and I think the headlights are awesome. I just got done driving around the hills of Missouri in pitch black and was thankful for their light output and coverage.

 

[BravoAlpha]

No complaints, they look great and work great. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the fascia and headlight design. I really hoped they‘d align it with the F150 like they used to. It still looks sharp and the plastic material is glossy and firm. Lighting in other areas… I digress.. it illuminates the road well

 

[uncboysetsfire]

The headlights were the main reason I jumped to the Raptor after 3 weeks with the Timberline.

The reflector headlights were not bright enough for me and didn’t light up the sides as much.

I strongly feel they are insufficient if you drive poorly lit roads at night.

Bummer they had to cheap out on such an important safety feature. I wasn’t able to find and aftermarket and had to let it go.

 

[rd618]

The headlights were the main reason I jumped to the Raptor after 3 weeks with the Timberline.

The reflector headlights were not bright enough for me and didn’t light up the sides as much.

I strongly feel they are insufficient if you drive poorly lit roads at night.

Bummer they had to cheap out on such an important safety feature. I wasn’t able to find and aftermarket and had to let it go.

Went from timberline to raptor just because of headlights?

 

[mrmustang]

I was a bit nervous about spending the money on the new Expedition with the unknown being the new headlight design. However, I've had my 22 XLT for a few weeks now, drive it in the city, in the country, and the unlit dirt backroads, the new LED headlight and reflector design throws light exactly where it needs to be, so much so, that it's a rare occasion I'm using the highbeams. As a response for the fellow above going to the raptor for the "larger" headlights, if you are using just the headlights, and not the driving lights, you'll find the Expedition puts out a bit more focused light, where the Raptor (apples to apples, same roads and conditions) puts out a more diffused light. You may get more of a wide coverage, but the light you think is better, is actually not where you want or need it. Again, strictly my personal, hands on, apples to apples comparison, using the same roads, and conditions, with a good friend of mine when I first got my 22 XLT. Your money, your choice, my money, my choice.

Bill

 

[mlogan]

Agree, hoped they would add adaptive or projector for Platinum but the lighting is better than my ‘15 with halogen projector. Definitely livable.

 

[uncboysetsfire]

The headlights were the main reason I jumped to the Raptor after 3 weeks with the Timberline.

The reflector headlights were not bright enough for me and didn’t light up the sides as much.

I strongly feel they are insufficient if you drive poorly lit roads at night.

Bummer they had to cheap out on such an important safety feature. I wasn’t able to find and aftermarket and had to let it go.

Went from timberline to raptor just because of headlights?

The headlights were the reason I started looking. I’ve always been an SUV guy and if it had the adaptive projector headlights I would still be driving the Timberline.

 

[Expy Gator]

Very happy with my 2022 Timberline headlights - Last February I rented a 2020 Expedition last winter and I couldn’t even tell if the headlights were on! Vastly improved for 2022.

 

[maxlim2022]

coming from a 2 year old Mazda CX9 which I must agree had excellent lighting - OP has mentions a CX5. We've had our truck now for two weeks, driven nights and days. in and out of the city and we live more in a suburban setting with low ambient light Is there a difference, probably. I do not feel much of a loss of lighting to be concerning. Ill try to pay more attention given the question at hand. Again, so far, I have not noticed lighting to be bothersomely low or lacking despite the LEDs being reflectors

 

[Distant Traveller]

coming from a 2 year old Mazda CX9 which I must agree had excellent lighting - OP has mentions a CX5. We've had our truck now for two weeks, driven nights and days. in and out of the city and we live more in a suburban setting with low ambient light Is there a difference, probably. I do not feel much of a loss of lighting to be concerning. Ill try to pay more attention given the question at hand. Again, so far, I have not noticed lighting to be bothersomely low or lacking despite the LEDs being reflectors

Max, yes if you can actively compare the output on your Expy to your experience of your CX9 the next time you drive, that would be excellent. Indeed, if as you say you have not felt much of a loss of lighting with the Expy, then that's reassuring (along with everyone else's positive feedback).

To everyone who has taken the time to provide feedback, thank you.

And actually, this online community is one of the top reasons why the Expy is at the top of my list currently. Its large, active and helpful. I guess it helps when there's so many Expys and F150s sold, but all the same the shared knowledge base is priceless.