eric, I got a lot of help from the DIY threads, and those who contributed as well. However, my guess is, even though this is 3rd gen forum, there is many different 3rd gen types, AWD, FWD, Hyb, 2/4WD, F Front, etc. And while things like NAV might be the same on all 3rd gen, (or close), there can be other physical changes to the rig from year to year, just part of the cars evolution. Add all this up, and it can be a witches brew on possible outcomes. Many of my LED replacements were highly challenging, a few still never got done.

I think the F front end is part of the problem for the FOG light replacements, specially when combined with FWD, the front end s amazingly crowded. Trying to remove all the shrouds below laying on a creeper was quite a difficult project, having a lift would have helped.

Anyway, there was no vendor I could find who knew all the proper (or best fitting) LED replacements. Going through the Owners manual was a start, but it only provides you the base type, however, the bases don't seem to follow a specific standard. Many of the bulb bases I removed, looked nothing like the bases on replacement LED, hence why I made constant use of a Dremel tool to jury-rig the LED's bases into the sockets. Some had to be Dremeled, then compressed in place, then, yep Cyano glue (Crazy Glue) to hold the LED's base into the socket deep enough, as the the slightest outward movement causing an open circuit. Not easy keeping constant pressure on odd sized items, finally I found some 1" wide rubber bands to keep them taught as the glue dried. The bulbs were so sensitive to movement, a 1mm outward shift would open the circuit.....One night I learned I had no brake lights, as they lost contact after a few bumps. After $600+ in LED's, and most of them hacked up, I had to resort to some extreme measure to make these work... I know, a bit extreme for a new luxury car, fully agreed....

For the double sided contact bulbs, (forgot the nomenclature, they look like old fashion in-line fuses) after hours of googling and contacting LED vendors, there is NO proper sized LED replacement...so the closest I could find was 6 mm longer than factory bulb length. This required some fancy metal bending of the sockets to make contact, while not creating a short in the fixture. First attempt, blew 4 fuses till I finally learned the short occurred after the base was re inserted into the housing, the added pressure would short out the fixture.

Other replacements waste a lot of the LED light output, as the design of the fixture requires all the LED's to be on one side, and the replacement LED's had LED's on both sides, or multiple sides, so much of the light was misirected, reducing the potential light gain (fortunately they are still brighter)

I should have known better. I have been a project engineer for 30 yrs...and no project is ever what you expect.....they all seem to take on a life of their own. So, would I do it again? No way, too time consuming and frustrating for the outcome.... but had it been easier, with proven replacement kits, then yes, cause I do prefer the brighter bulbs... but as Anita mentioned, certain bulbs just too hard to get to.

So, that is what I meant by sharing my experience. So when a new RX owner thinks, "hey replace my lights with LED's", it should be easy, well...... possibly in some cases, it will be, certainly not in my case. (oh, but to be fair, I did have 3 interior replacements that were simple, Vanity, front dome, and floor lights)

This change-out is prob. much easier with older high volume cars where the LED vendors have designed the bulbs to match the physical specs of the factory incandescent bulbs. (base, length and width, all can create problems) Then the complexity is limited to the access to the fixtures. As many of the vendors told me, it often takes many years for them to have a perfect replacement kit for a given car model...and it makes good business sense to go after super high volume cars. Many of the LED's I ordered from Vled took 7 weeks to get, so it has been a long drawn out project....

 

The work you did and the narrative is really impressive. If you want to work up what you think would be the most likely bulbs an owner might want to replace with LED's, and could fashion a 'manual' type instruction set we can insert the document into the FAQ thread. I'm sure a lot of folks would benefit.

Thanks for posting what you did. But it's way above my abilities to tackle .

 

Hi Jim.... thx for the kind words.... I am too burnt out with this project to write a detailed analysis of bulb recommendations... more importantly, I still don't know which bulbs are ideal for each replacement, cause I never found them all myself. But I sure found many of the pitfalls and shortcomings of this endeavor..... a first for me. Possibly the 2014 will change the sockets and none of this will be relevant. Who knows, these are details which are simply not documented, hence my comments in my previous post.

You are welcome to take whatever I wrote and use it however you see fit to help others. In a nutshell, the premise of buying a bulb with the "proper base" as a replacement, is, at best, a 50/50 proposition the bulb would be an "ideal" replacement. As mentioned above, this is for cars which u are buying "generic" replacement bulbs, not specifically designed replacements bulbs, which would assure an exact fit in your base and the enclosure. Here is a "beware" list that might be helpful to those who want to pursue LED replacement project....

If your considering replacements:

1) check accessibility of the existing bulb. This will help determine which bulbs you are willing to replace. Some bulbs seem simple to replace, but are not. As an example, 2nd row center dome light, simple cover...but for some reason, you can not get the diffuser off. Yet, the front dome is nearly identical, and is simple to remove. It took 2 hours, and yes, I hacked up the fixture pretty good, regardless of all the precautionary measures I took. Poor design. Had I checked access first, I prob. would have bypassed this replacement to avoid the now, unsightly scared and bruised fixture. Sometimes your OCD gets the best of you.

Just because you can reach down and grab a light socket, such as fog lights, does NOT mean you can pull the socket out, remove existing bulb and insert the replacement. This often takes two hands and the ability to "see" what you are doing. With my fog lights, I could barely get ONE hand on the socket, I could remove it, but could NEVER pull the existing bulb out, or insert new bulb.... it requires access from below, which has many layers of shrouds that extend all the way into the wheel wells, which all must be removed.... be prepared for some unusual fasteners....make sure you have the proper tools, and replacement fasteners in your arsenal, as these fasteners break, get lost, strip, etc. For my shrouds, there was 5 different types of fasteners I tackled, of course many were damaged, or lost (dropped in an obscure places)... I had about $100 in replacement fastener boxes. Finding the proper replacement fasteners is another hit or miss proposition, as its hard to find documentation on types or model numbers, so be prepared for some serious R&D and trial n error. Replacement fasteners was another 3 hour project. I am not a big fan of these "re-usable" plastic fasteners.


2) Physical size of the LED bulb. In some fixtures, every dimension matters, as the bulb can be a tight fit inside the housing, adding a few mm in any dimension can prevent the bulb from fitting, or in some cases, it can cause shorts.

3) LED orientation - take notice of how the bulb is placed in the fixture and find replacements where the LED's are positioned in the direction the light is required. In some cases, more than half the light is lost because the orientation of the light is directed into a dead zone, such as a door panel, roof, or simply in the opposite direction of where the light is required. Even if an LED has 3x the brightness vs. the incandescent, but, you waste 70% of the light due to mis-direction, you haven't gained much light, if any.

As a side note... if you 2x the lumen output of a given light, it sounds very impressive...but in reality, our eyes have such a huge dynamic range, about 15 stops of light, (one stop of light is 2x, or 1/2 a previous level, so 2 stop gain is 4x, 3 stops 8x, etc.) So, a 2x increase in light output often is only noticeable if viewed side by side with previous bulb. So it takes large lumen gains (measured in hundreds of %) to be VERY noticeable.

Fortunately, many of the 1950's style incandescent interior and exterior bulbs are soooo low on lumen output, increases are usually always detectable, but in many cases, they are only slightly better due to all the issues mentioned above, such as light orientation. Also, pay attention to color temp. of the bulbs, as the color of the light is significant, and can possibly clash with the surface colors the light will illuminate.....this is an interior issue. If you want a quick test of this...most good paint stores have color temp light preview booths. Grab a sample color that matches your interior, look at that sample under different color temp. light.... as your color perception can change dramatically from 3000K to 7000K light sources. You have to see it, to comprehend how our eyes only sense color as wavelengths of light....there really is no such thing as color.....our visual system interprets varying wavelengths of nrg as distinct colors. The wavelength that reaches your eye is a mixture of the wavelength of the light source and the reflective surface the source redirects to your eye. As a simple reference, sunlight, at or near sea level, mid summer, mid day, cloudless, no overcast, is about 5500K color temp. So if you like your interior colors mid day, try to find bulbs close to 5500K.

4) Base match - some bases fit, but have a terribly poor electrical connection. Insert the replacement, wiggle the replacement in the socket, the light should not cut out...if shaking the socket makes the replacement turn on/off, it's a very poor fit... consider modifying the base of the replacement, or finding a better fitting replacement, or abandoning that replacement. Once you start modifying the bulb bases, they are not returnable... OK for the $15 versions, but frustrating for the $100+ replacements.


HTH's

 

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble. Here is what I used for my 2010 RX350 AWD. I saved money via ebay and vled sales and ended up with lots of spares. 6000K inside, 5000K outside. Hopefully this helps the next person that comes along.

Installed Own Type Store *Price Lighting
2 2 D4S XenonDepot $100.00 5000K XenonDepot D4S
2 2 9005 ebay $42.46 5K WHITE 28 LED 13W DRL/FOG LIGHT BULBS HB3 9005 H10 9145 | 1 PAIR
2 2 9005 ijdmtoy $25.48 iJDMTOY Canbus Error Free Digital Decoders/Warning Canceller
10 16 194 ebay $13.32 AGT 5-SMD LEDs
4 4 194 4 Door Panels
2 2 194 2 Front Dome
2 2 194 2 Footwells
2 2 194 2 Vanity Mirrors
2 4 194 v-leds $5.98 2 Parking Lights - 5K WHITE HIGH POWER LED LIGHT BULBS 194 168 158 2821 | 1 PAIR
1 4 194 ebay $3.69 1 Rear Dome - flat
2 2 194 v-leds $27.00 2 6K Puddle lights - flat/flank
3 3 3175 v-leds $19.48 3 6K Trunk lights - 29mm festoon/dome
4 6 7440 ebay $24.00 4 Signal lights - 7440/WY21W Chrome Amber Light Bulb
2 4 921 ebay $21.79 2 Reverse lights - Cree Q5 7W LED Reverse bulb
$283.20 Total

Is there an easy way to build tables??

 

Great information, ericsan13. Thanks for posting. We've had some links to bulbs purchased by members in other threads. Unfortunately many are not valid anymore. It would probably be helpful to post pictures of the bulbs with location as a reference guide. Then we can post it in the FAQ thread. Now I'm not sure if there were any changes from '10 to '13. It sounds like there were based on Dolphin's experience. Whew! I have PDFs of the chart listing bulb sizes from the owners manual on another computer.

 

Nice to see a post on a specific year, and what bulbs worked....
Anita, don't be fooled...the base size is nothing but a starting point...and yes, my guess is, some things must have changed between model years....or, the LED bases have changed since others have installed them, as these LED's are continually evolving. Many of the ones I got were different than the web site pix, as it seems Vleds changes the specs on the LED's as they keep learning more on each run, in addition, they increase lumen output when LED technology advances. Maybe the Lexus sockets have not changed, I have no clue, as my 13 is the only rig I tried this on, so hard to know for sure. The incandescent bulbs, most of them use the glass as the base, so they seem relatively generic for simple plug in fit. However, the LED's have very elaborate bases, making the mating process more vulnerable to misfits. For example, the incandescent bulbs you can push down into the socket till they are fully seated, i.e. the bottom of the glass base hits the bottom of the socket..... some of the LED bulbs have "stops" as part of the molded base.... the stop, hits the top of the socket, not allowing the base to seat any deeper...however, these stops, can prevent the bulb from being FULLY seated, hence why I had to dremel the stops off... in those cases, it only allowed the LED base to seat an additional .5 - 1mm, however, that made the difference between a connection, and NO connection. So that is the level of finicky I refer to.... again, I feel like there is no rigid standard dimensions for the sockets, as each car maker prob. has made them differently through the years...then, LED makers try to make generic bulbs to fit all model sockets that use a given base type. Its clearly a hodge-podge of after market mess...no one to blame, this is what happens when 3rd party products are sold, with minimal or no specs on the products they mate with...and no info on the LED's as well... full listing of all dimensions, etc) A witches brew of "gotcha's".... so buyer beware!
BTW, Vled's was very upfront about this...this is why they have a very liberal return policy...they realize, you have to "test"... to know for sure....

 

Based on your experience, there probably are some changes to the bulbs. The big mystery is whether it was Lexus or VLEDS that did it. There’s no way to tell without removing a few from a ’13 RX to compare. All of the bulbs I ordered from VLEDS fit without having to make any adjustments. A few members changed theirs so I had the benefit of all the information I needed to order the right ones. The only tricky part was finding the right size festoon bulb for the cargo area. I purchased a few sets before I found one that was close enough to work. The front blinker was wrong but that was Lexus' fault. The size listed in the guide in the owners manual is incorrect. I haven't had anyone else confirm they had the same problem. If there’s a lesson to be learned, next time around I will pull the bulbs myself to make sure I order the right ones and don't wind up with any surprises.

I brought up posting pictures because it can be helpful for some but obviously not all. I still have all of the OE bulbs lying around. They have the glass base like you mentioned. VLEDS were plastic. That front blinker bulb, plastic. Go figure. Obviously it would be nice if one of the vendors here (hint, hint) put together a kit. But until then we have to check ourselves or hopefully find the information here.

 

well, this is why I wrote up the "beware of" post, as its not clear what has changed (bulbs, sockets, both?) , what years have changed, when, etc.
I was really disappointed when I learned there was no LED kit for the RX...with 50k units sold in NA per year, I would think this is enough volume for a big LED player to design / build / test a kit. Each model year, they re check the bulbs... from what Vled mentioned, they simply do not have access to all the different model cars, which would be required every year, ... understood, but still frustrating, as this mod offers a lot of bang for the buck, assuming you can do it yourself with min. effort.

OH, and btw, I prob. should have taken pix, but after hours of work every try at this, the frustration level often overcame my desire to document all this jury riggin :-) I do appreciate all your help, and a few other posters who really offered some great advise and tutorials and pix. And yes, this documentation is prob. a job for Vled... if someone loans them a new model car each year, this could be worked out... like free upgrade for use of the new model car.... enough RX's are sold, where I assume they could find someone local.

 

I'm thinking somewhere in your signature, you should have "McGiver" .

 

Not the first time that reference has come up

Since the LED project, I did a home project, installed a ZWave home automation system...ya know, plug n play, ... no wiring, all radio frequency. 5 end devices, about 40 hours of my time so far, 2 phone calls to over-seas tech support, had a local interpreter so I could understand them...had it up and running, it was worth it, impressive for the cost.... then, a few days later, CRASH. I foresee another 10+ hours getting the system back up. Duct tape and dremels are useless for these projects :-). I think I prefer the mechanical retrofits, as I can work my way through most things mechanical or electrical...

Bottom line... I am getting too old for these "simple projects"....

Next endeavor, trying to force Lexus to make RES+ to work... Lexus servers are always having problems, its been a useless option...at least Lexus 800 admits the problems, and clearly stated, this option was NOT READY for prime time... so far, waste of $1k. Lexus has offered no resolutions, other than very courteous lip service and many promises of phone calls from upper management, which of course, conveniently never happen. The dealer claims I am their only customer that actually uses any of this stuff.... I doubt that, regardless, its frustrating. I should prob. buy a Schwinn and live under Santa Monica Pier.... life would be easier.

 

Here are my latest and greatest bulbs for the rear turn signals. These bulbs are super bright and fit tightly in the socket plus they fit right in the hole. You can see I have the load resistors hooked up to prevent Hyper Flash. The resistors have to be at each location where a LED bulb is. I did all four corners.