Editing Headlamp (section)

== Lens cleaners ==
[[File:Skoda Yeti.ogv|right|thumb|Headlamp washers in action on a [[Skoda Yeti]]]]
Dirt buildup on headlamp lenses increases glare to other road users, even at levels too low to reduce seeing performance significantly for the driver.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Therefore, headlamp lens cleaners are required by [[UN Regulations|UN Regulation 48]] on vehicles equipped with low-beam headlamps using light sources that have a reference luminous flux of 2,000 lumens or more.<ref name=R48/> This includes all HID headlamps and some high-power halogen units. Some cars have lens cleaners fitted even where the regulations do not require them. North America, for example, does not use UN regulations, and [[Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108|FMVSS 108]] does not require lens cleaners on any headlamps, though they are permitted.

Lens cleaning systems come in two main varieties: a small motor-driven rubber wiper or brush conceptually similar to [[windshield wipers]], or a fixed or telescopic high-pressure sprayer which cleans the lenses with a spray of windshield washer fluid. Most recent lens cleaning systems are of the spray type because UN regulations do not permit mechanical cleaning systems (wipers) to be used with plastic-lens headlamps,<ref name="R48"/> and most recent headlamps have plastic lenses. Some cars with retractable headlamps, such as the original [[Mazda MX-5]], have a [[squeegee]] at the front of the lamp recess which automatically wipes the lenses as they are raised or lowered, although it does not provide washer fluid.{{Citation needed|date=December 2014}}