NYDesi80

I'm pretty sure the Toyota Prius uses the same bulbs as our Lexus the Philips Xeneco 42402 as OEM but yet.. they issued a TSB for the Prius guys but neglected all the other vehicles with the same bulbs with the same issues.

I've attached the PDF.

Mikeyy

iTrader: (3)

That tsb is only for priuses that fall between the 4yr/50k which is upgraded from the 3yr/36k mile warranty and i believe only the bulbs from the factory which is made in germany

BurgBoxstr

I don't think the prius and GS use the same bulbs.

GS' have lenses and Prii have reflector housings...

bigblack06

iTrader: (20)

Well the housing is different but the bulb is baisically the same just that they have D4R and we have D4S but there the same, That is intresting as they should have provided the same for Lexus, I'll ask my service advisor tomorrow.

NYDesi80

Yup.. exactly .. this is why I posted it. Housing might be different but they are both using the Same Philips D4 bulbs. We use the 'S' version (for projector based headlamps) and they use the 'R' version (for reflector based headlamps). No difference in the bulb component itself. Only addition is a small thin metallic shield on the outer surface of the bulb itself.

Seems to me that they only wanted to address it on the Prius even though they use the same HID bulb on every dam Toyota and Lexus with HID's. I ended up replacing mine anyways but it would be great to get reimbursed as its ridiculous that HID's can't even last more than 4 years when they should last practically the life of the car. My 05 RX330 is still kicking its original HID's.

I also heard that Lexus and Toyota acknowledge this problem and they have switched over to another brand of HID bulbs called the Toshiba Harison which is a Japanese made bulb. I however can not confirm this without going and buying one at the dealer. I do not have have enough lube to do that.

Mikeyy

iTrader: (3)

Yep the new bulbs are made in japan instead of made in germany, hence the price difference. We actually had enough prius customers complain about the bulb that toyota actually did something about it. otherwise they turn a blind eye and doesn't do anything about it

suyoungman

Any update on this matter? The lights on my '07 occasionally shuts off until i turn off my headlights completely and turn it back on...

Drzava

Seems to definitely be the same problem as with the D4S in the GS. I'm sure I've heard of some members here being charged (big money) for new ballasts to 'cure' their problem. Obviously this was unnecessary - where do they stand? Also, xenon bulbs should last a lot longer (effectively the life the of the car) than it seems the Philips 42402 do (about 3 - 6 years).

NYDesi80

I suspect that most of us don't call into Lexus and complain vs. the Toyota owners, because we rather not be bothered. The more of us that call the Lexus customer service number and complain, the more they are prone to do something about it.

clinresga

This is familiar territory, having just battled Toyota over similar issues with an '08 Avalon Limited. It is definitely true that those who make noise get attention. The Avalon is cursed with not one, but two fundamental flaws in headlight design. First is the use of the highly unreliable D4S bulbs, which are notorious for burning out prematurely (despite the conventional wisdom that "they last 10 times longer than halogens"). It's the same problem as with the Prius, and it's correct that only the Prius has been addressed by Toyota. For Avalon owners you're still on your own--and the list price to change the HID bulb on an Avvy is around $800 at the dealer!

The second problem with the Avvy is that it uses a halogen bulb both as the high beam, and also as the DRL. They do the latter by running an inadequate voltage through the bulb. That in turn causes superheating of teh bulb, and subsequent burnout and in some cases, either shattering or melting of the bulb and the actual headlight assembly. Toyota finally owned up to that one and I just had my two headlight assemblies replaced last week on Toyota. The headlight assemblies alone were $2000 at retail.

So the message is, the early burnout of HID bulbs is a well established flaw in Toyota and Lexus products of this vintage. The only hope is to complain repeatedly to Cust Svc and hope that they address the issue eventually.

PS: Since one of my headlights is out, what bulbs have people used to replace? I don't want to spend $175 at the dealer. I can find Phillips bulbs online at half that price. Anyone have any experience? What about replacing the bulb yourself? According to svc manual it is a three hour job since front bumper has to be dropped to access bulb. Smart design, hum?

ProfDoc

I have 07 GS 350, and the headlights have been driving me crazy for almost a year. problem is I refuse to pay Lexus a grand per headlight to replace ballast, etc. Finally I woke up and remembered my Bud Chris Rado has his own shop in Torrance Ca. called World Racing where he builds his world class Scions under Toyotas sponsorship. Anyway these guys build their own stuff and think outside of the box. So, I went over and talked to Rob Cardona who is the general manager and a really cool guy. After me explaining the symptoms, he suggested it might be a combination of things. so they tore the front end off of my Lexus, examined it and told me first of all the bulbs weren't right, and they noticed the grounding of the headlight assembly was poorly designed, and all the symptoms fit an intermittent badly grounded system too. So they ordered all the right factory bulbs and an inexpensive after market ballasts, and reworked the grounding, and installed. My lights come with a snap, they are bright clear, and no more flicker. If you're in Southern California I'd go by and see them. If not give them a call and mention that "DOC" posted it on the Lexus Forum. Those guys are all young, into racing and Motorsports, and very cool and will talk to you if nothing else. I have never been happier and they solved the problem. Someone suggested that Lexus wants to sell you the whole thing so they don't have to admit they had a poor ground design among other things. Or as Robbie said, "I bet if you go to Lexus and have them do it, if you tear it down afterwards you'll find they "fixed" the ground defect, but they won't tell you that." Had lunch with Robbie today. Give him a call, tell him "Doc" told you. My lights are kicking *** now.

Hope this helps

Rob Cordona
World Racing
2170 W. 190th St.
Torrance CA 90504
(310) 533-1751