Toyota Echo Headlight Adjustment?

While driving my 2000 Toyota Echo across the country on an interstate highway with the trunk and back seat heavily laden, the headlights pointed much too high. One trucker I was behind in Montana put his wheels off the pavement so they'd throw rocks at me, and when I finally got around him, he got on my bumper with high beams and stayed there until I outran him at nearly 90 mph.

Thereafter, I overtook and passed traffic with headlights off, until I came to a lighted area at which I'd adjust the lights. The only problem was, I could not find any means of adjustment. The owner's manual was no help.

Being an ingenious fellow, I discovered that I could push down on the exposed back ends of the headlight bulbs. That raised the bulbs within the headlight, and that directed the beams downward. I cut a couple of sticks about four inches long and wedged them between the backs of the bulbs and some sheetmetal above them. For the load in the back of the car, the beams were exactly right. I left the sticks in for the rest of the trip.

In leisure time, I checked in daylight for some means of adjustment. No luck. I posted a query on the Car Talk forum and got one response that didn't seem to address the problem. Then today, in a moment of inspiration and desperation, I asked at the service department of a Toyota dealer: There is no adjustment, he said. The lights are set at the factory and that's that.

No wonder Toyota discontinued the car, I said. Too many Echo drivers killed by irate truckers.

Now, where did I toss those headlight adjustment sticks...