drgrant

I have a 2005 ES330 with HID headlamps. Car has 264,000 miles on it. Recently, the passenger side HID headlight will randomly turn itself off after about 20 or 30 minutes of operation. If I shut the headlights off, and turn them back on again, they start working again. Of course part of the problem is the ****ing light will go out and I don't know its out. (the headlights on this car are really good, so its hard to notice the pattern changing with only one light running unless you're paying real close attention) Then this turns you into a ****magnet for police. (I got pulled over last night because the headlight suddenly went out on an hour long drive) I realize its probably just the age of some component here, so with that I have a couple questions...

-Is this likely the bulb itself or the ballast?
--WRT the above, does it make more sense just to replace both at once?
-WRT all of the above, would it make sense to just dump/redo everything on BOTH headlights (both sides of the car) given the age of the car?
-Is there aftermarket parts acceptable for this? Or do I need lexus OEM parts for the least amount of headaches? I need these headlights to be reliable for at least another 40,000, as I plan on keeping the car probably to 300K.

Thanks,

-Mike

LeX2K

I would replace the ballast and bulb at the same time, either with a new OEM ballast or a used one. Philips bulbs are well made and put out good light, on that note you'll likely notice a brightness difference if you only replace one bulb.

Romanova

The bulb going out and coming back as you cycle the headlights is a classic sign of a dying HID bulb. Order a good Philips replacement bulb and call it a day.

I would probably just do both bulbs as the other is probably getting tired. I went through the same thing with my LS430, no issues replacing both OEM bulbs with the Philips bulbs.
Just be careful not to touch the new bulb other than the base... oils from your skin will kill the bulb pretty quick.

speedkar9

Swap bulbs left and right and see if the issue stays with the same side. If it does, then its your ballast.

drgrant

Thanks... picked up a pair of these from Amazon, didn't have enough time to do the drivers side today but I'll get to it eventually. I left the lights on all the way into work and it didn't go out, so I would say your hunch is correct. I guess I'll find out tonight..... I'm pretty sure it'll be OK though because before it would die within like 10-20 minutes or so of being turned on. (and I went an hour and a half this morning and it stayed on the whole time).

One thing that is kind of unnerving is even with the retention clip holding the bulb in place, it seems like ithere's some slop in the fit. I put a shop towel in behind the cover to make things a little more snug....

-Mike

drgrant

I just decided to grab the bulbs, because if it was the ballast I was going to do the bulbs anyways, worked out so far. Drove the car around for an hour tonight with the lights on and they stayed on... would like to be able to adjust the lights a bit (one is a bit high on the right/passenger side) but I think this has something to do with the wreck the car was in and one of the two headlights I think its "all the way up" but id be content to bring the other one down. (one of the housings is LKQ or some bull**** like that, not OEM, so I dont think the auto body shop got it to aim perfectly).. although it doesnt look that bad....