MG512

I've been trying to figure this out ever since I picked up my car. I've seen conflicting reports online that it's either a choice between Halogen or dealer installed LED w/ auto leveling, but also reports that xenon is, in fact, an option. My dealer told me the car had xenons but since I had switched choices a few times between what was available on the lot I may have ended up without them. All the cars I switched between, except for the ones with the Tech package, have had the same sticker price though. I can't really tell by the light being emitted because halogens don't look yellowish like they used to. On many cars, and my HS (which I don't know what it has) the light is very white. In addition the light has a very definable "cut off" like a xenon projection would have. Still I don't think I saw them listed on the sticker, but I can check again, unless it is included with one of the packages (it doesn't seem to be available online though).

Is there anyway I can tell by looking at the housing? I guess at the end of the day though I don't really care. The headlights I have, whatever they are, are fantastic. They're just as bright as they were in the RX I got rid of and I still have another RX for comparison and I really can't see much of a difference in the light although I haven't carefully examined it. Also they don't look cheap on the road by any means since they're bright and white. One thing that may lead me to believe they are xenons, if it is a dealer installed option (or even ordered), is that the dealer I bought my car from doesn't even bother buying certain versions of the car becuase of the clientele who use the dealership (I got my car at JM Lexus which is the world's largest Lexus dealership). They don't carry any non-Premium HS250s, for example. Maybe they had a few when they first ordered them, but since I just got the car now and they're not ordering any more 2010 models because they need to get rid of all the leftovers on the lot from the sales hold they didn't have a single non-Premium car. In addition I don't think they have any without the Navigation, although they may have had a few to begin with again. Keep in mind this dealership is massive though. Driving through their lot to get to the HS area took a few minutes in a gas powered golf cart and when we did get there they must have had 100+ left easily (and not a single non-Premium).

Anyway I kind of veered off topic, except for the fact that this dealership knows people are going to shell out for certain options so they usually include certain ones. Still, I don't know if xenons are even available so can anyone help me figure this out? Thanks.

moolman

Your car has regular halogen light bulbs but they are in projectors, that's why they look almost like HID/Xenons. It makes it certainly acceptable and much brighter than regular halogens but they are not HID. A HID HS does not exist and it is highly doubtful that a dealership would install aftermarket HIDs because most likely it wouldn't meet DOT standards since the housing is wrong. If they did all that it would be just cheaper to order the car with the LEDs from the factory. Even a very popular dealership rarely has the LED and ML installed HS250 since they are special order. I found 1 car for sale that had both installed in stock in all of California and CA is a big Lexus state but it was too much of a hassle to get a good deal on.

If you want them brighter or whiter, you can try the standard all those bulbs that they make, like the Silverstars etc. but I found that they don't last that long and I find that white halogens are just not that bright. My favorite, semi-white, very bright bulbs are the philips x-treme power bulbs. Use them on my Honda Fit and it makes a huge difference. Didn't bother changning out the HS cause the lights are good enough for me and I know any aftermarket whiter/brighter bulb will just blow out in a year. I'm coming from a GS with HID's and I find the lights acceptable. I don't think they are as bright as HID's but it's nothing to get me to spend the extra money for the LED's. I did a 4000 mile road trip in the HS last week and we drove through Montana and other dark roads in the middle of the night and the lights were good, nothing to complain about.

Lexus should of just made the standard lights HID but they cut corners and they needed to hold something back to add crap for the mid-cycle refresh. Considering I bought a car with a sticker price of $46K, not having HID is a joke. Even my old Prius had HID lights, so it's not a hybrid energy saving reason, as some people alluded to. They said something like HID take more energy so they put in halogens, the Prius HID cars get the same mileage as the halogen ones. Anyway, I'm sure when the midcycle refresh comes out in 2012 or 13 and they will put in the features the car should already have like a rear sunshade and the HID lights.

And they should fix the most retarded feature of the front camera. Not having a parking sensor in the middle of the front but having to rely on the camera is too difficult. That camera is hard to judge distances. They should have the camera and the sensor and the camera should only come on when the sensor detects something.

MG512

Thanks for the information and I agree with you on all points. I wasn't saying the housing looked like HID housing though, more that with how far halogens have come since I last had them that I couldn't tell if it was HIDs or Halogens due to how white the light is, rather than having that yellow hue old halogens used to have, and how cut off the light is. Older halogens used to spill out all over the road and get progressively darker as they got further away from the car, whereas xenons had a noticable cutoff on their range. With these headlights I'm finding them to look like xenons when they're oncoming in traffic (white xenons, not blue xenons obviously, but I find blue and purple to look too ricer for me) and there's a definite cutoff rather than it just get progressively darker the further you get from the headlight. Still, it's a shame it wasn't standard with what the car costs, but honestly I'm so happy with everything in the car it is a minor detail and I think that it is made up in other areas (even if it should have been included). I'm not going to spend money on new bulbs; I think the current ones are more than adequate. I'd go as far to say that for halogens they're very good, almost as good as xenons.

But I definitely agree it should have been in the car. My sticker was only $43k but it should have at least been standard with the premium trim level. The only option I'm missing (aside from LED lights) is the Tech package which I was going to buy for the HUD but the HUD ended up being very unimpressive being so small and being only a reflection, but that's just my subjective opinion. I'm sure it's a great feature to have, and I love dynamic cruise control, but I commute in the HOV lane with a hybrid (even as a single occupant) so I rarely have to change my speed. Every other feature in Tech was just icing for me so I'm sure anyone with my tastes would have opted to get a car without it (and they didn't have tech in black on black, although they did have it in gray on black which was my second favorite combination). Had it not been an extra $3k, although I was offered it for just an extra 1k upfront or $25 a month, rather than $35 or 37 a month and a little over 1500 upfront because, because they made a mistake with my color combination that ended up working to my advantage as I got the black on black and ended up not getting a color I would have been unhappy with. I do feel like I maybe should have jumped on the deal but this is my third car for me personally (2nd new lexus) and I just graduated from University and I've only been working for about 8 months. Since I'm 23 I figured I should do the fiscally responsible thing and cut back somewhere as well, and it was an easy decision what to cut back on. Some might say I should have avoided Lexus altogether but I got a fantastic deal on the car since our family has purchased over 20-25 Lexus' from this salesperson over the years and I figure this is my last chance to spend a little bit more than I would with the income I'm making out of college as I don't really have any other financial responsibilities yet (no wife, no kids, etc.).

jettie1767

I use GP Thunders as replacement bulbs for whiter light output. I've had pretty good luck with them on my BMW and they are less than $20/pair.

MG512

That's pretty cheap although I don't really like going non-OEM. Plus, I'd have to see them in person to really get an idea of if I'd prefer them to the OEM ones. I'm sure a picture wouldn't do them justice and I don't want to buy a bunch of bulbs to try out because I am not very experienced when it comes to DIY on a car and wouldn't trust myself to be able to seal things up as well as Lexus would do it. How much would labor cost to put in new bulbs anyway? If it was cheap enough I would consider it. I really need to pull my car out onto the street or the driveway so I can get out and see what they look like from an oncoming perspective. I've taken a look once and I thought they look pretty much the same as the xenons I had on both of my RX 400h models (although I'm pretty sure they used the same everything in the assembly). The HIDs might have been brighter but these halogens are quite bright and they are very white so unless you're driving by someone who really knows their stuff I doubt people would be able to distinguish them from HIDs.

I'd consider a HID conversion kit but I don't know if one would fit in the HS assembly and they probably wouldn't be cheap (except for the poorly made ones on eBay). I also miss the auto-leveling I had in the RX that I got rid of, and even though I have it in the one I have left, I won't be driving that car for my commute anymore. That being said the auto-leveling was a somewhat unnecessary feature, especially in Florida where all the roads are flat and straight, with a few exceptions. The only time I noticed them was when I took 90 degree turn quickly enough to see the lag as they snapped back into place. If I lived somewhere with very twisty, one-land roads I might have more use for an auto-leveling headlight but not here.

Also, are the LED headlights a dealer option or a factory option? I ask because I don't see them on the Lexus website. I don't see the ML audio option either, but I know you can get that in any car. I opted out of that as well, although considering it would have been cheaper than the Tech package which I almost bought I might have gone for it since the audio leaves a bit to be desired in terms of volume. The sound quality of the stock system isn't bad; it isn't fantastic, but it is by no means bad. The only problem with it for me is the max volume but there aren't many times when I need to turn the volume up that high. I know ML can only be ordered from the factory though and since I was specifically leasing a 2010 to get a great deal (even with the residual lower since it is August, it is more than made up by the fact that they need to get rid of leftovers, especially after the sales hold) I don't think they had any. In fact I went to JM Lexus to get my car which is the world's largest Lexus dealership and they said that they didn't order any HS with ML, although I'm guessing a few people may have special ordered it. They probably order some for the lot for cars like the LS and IS F though (for example my Grandfather buys a new LS460L or whatever it is at the time every 3 years with every option). I don't think ML is worth it though; out of all of the premium sound systems from other car companies is is definitely the best if you're spending extra money for it (Bose is generally a crap upgrade for the money, I had ELS Audio in my 2004 Acura TL which was my first car and that sounded great but was included with the navigation package, and others I can't think of). Still, I don't think it is worth the price tag for myself, although I don't have stacks of money personally as I'm just starting out. Members of my family can splurge on things like that but I can't at the moment. If I bought the car out, which I doubt I would do, I would most likely upgrade the audio. Still, the reason I lease Lexus is because I can turn it in 6 months early with no penalty, even if I've used all my miles, and I don't have to continue to make lease payments on it provided I buy another Lexus (which I would do gladly). Also I like being able to get a new car ever 36-39 months (minus 6 months if I want) and being able to afford a little bit more for my money than if I buy.

Anyway I came off topic as I seem to do, but this board is pretty inactive and I've been craving some quality HS discussion. As far as the headlights go I think I'm just going to stick with what I have. If the LEDs can be installed by the dealer I might consider them but I doubt it. I may look into other bulbs but I doubt I would be able to find one I like enough to pay for labor on, and I am very indecisive; I would need to see them switched 2-3 times for me to make my mind up (an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). I would really need to see the light in person on another car before I committed to upgrading myself.

YotaCarFan

@MG5512: The LED lights cannot be installed by a dealer; they must be factory-installed. In addition to having a different lamp housing that has different lenses plus has motors for auto-swivel, there's different switchgear in the car allowing activation of the automatic highbeams, a light sensor in the car that controls the auto high beam feature, a headlamp washer system (pump under the hood plus switchgear in the car), a sensor on the rear axle for auto height adjustment of the lamps, etc.

Both the LED headlamps and the ML audio are only available via special order on the HS. There's typically a 4~5-month lead time between placing the order and customer receipt of the vehicle. Other options mentioned in the instruction manual like rear sunshade and front window de-icer (heating element near wipers -- see pics of CT200h elsewhere on this website for what it looks like) are not available at all in the USA market.

MG512

Thanks. I actually have seen those photos and I know exactly what you're talking about. Even if I could have it installed after the fact I wouldn't bother due to the reasons above and the fact that I lease my cars. Also, waiting 4-5 months was not an option for me as I got the car as my first RX's lease came to an end. Even with ML and the headlights on the lot, I probably wouldn't have paid extra for either of them, that's just me though. They're both very cool features though and I personally think HIDs with auto-leveling should be standard considering the sticker on my HS was higher than the sticker on a base RX (which I believe has at least HIDs), but as I've mentioned I don't live in an area where it makes a difference so they never really were useful to me on the RX (auto-leveling, HIDs would be nice but still the halogens are definitely more than adequate, so much so I didn't know they weren't HIDs).