Aftermarket replacement halogen bulbs for GenIII

From page 567 of the 2010 Prius Owner's Manual on PDF:

-- Low Beam Halogen: 55 watts, Type H11, [no Bulb # stated]

-- High Beam Halogen: 60 watts, Type HB3, Bulb #9005

I don't know the brand of the OEM bulbs.

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BTW, where did you get the 350 hours rating for the Philips Xtreme Power bulbs?

EDIT: 350 hours sounds high, as OEM halogens are typically rated for around 500 hours.

Also, do you have an hours rating for the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra?

 

I replaced the exterior bulbs on my car--check out this thread:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-parking-lights-rear-license-plate-bulbs.html

The fogs on my car are H11, which are the same as the halogen low beams on your car. I replaced them with PIAA Xtreme White bulbs, which are 4000K, and noticeably whiter and brighter than stock.

 

These "brighter" halogen bulbs seem to have a much shorter life than the standard bulbs. I've put XP bulbs in two of my three cars and and consequently am replacing them them nearly twice as often as the original bulbs.

Keith

 

I've used them (PIAA brand) for a long time in many cars, and never had a failure. My last car had them installed for 4.5 years, and then I sold it. PIAA isn't the cheapest, but I guess you get what you pay for.

 

A better bulb is the Osram Night Breaker from Powerbulbs.com... They are brighter than the PIAA and probably the best halogen bulbs out there....

I tried the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra, PIAA Xtreme and the Osram... To me, the Osram came out on top... the light is not as white (or blue) as the others, but it hasexcellent coverage...

 

Hi Jon,

Do you have any info as to how long each of those bulbs lasted for you (e.g., miles) and your particular use of them (e.g., did you run them as daytime running lights)? Or did you change them before they burned out?

 

Just wanted to relay some life expectancy info.

1. OEM Halogens: Philips claims that the typical OEM halogen bulb lasts about 500 hours.

2. Philips XTreme Power Bulbs: These are probably the brightest aftermarket halogens you can get -- Philips claims that they're up to 80% brighter than OEM halogens (and based on my experience with them on my Gen II Prius, this claim seems true).

usbseawolf2000, Tideland Prius and I have reported how long the Philips XTreme Power bulbs lasted for us on the Gen II Prius:

- usbseawolf2000: approx 5000 miles for one bulb and 9000 miles for the other.

- Boo: exactly 9595 miles when the first bulb blew out.

- Tideland Prius: approx 16,000 miles when the first bulb blew out, and being in Canada the bulbs were on all the time as daytime running lights.

3. Philips Vision Plus: usbseawolf2000 went approx 45,000 miles when the first bulb blew out.

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Would love to hear other people's experience with brighter aftermarket halogens.

 

Good point. The PIAA bulbs I've bought (I've used them in half a dozen cars over the last 2 decades, with no issues) do make this point in the instructions, so I've always made it a point to never touch the glass part of the bulbs with bare fingers.

 

True.

But I still think anecdotal experience is worth something, and oftentimes, a lot.

Or else, why did Danny start this site? And why did you start this thread? Were you asking if someone out there had knowledge of "reliable data ... from the manufacturer themselves, or some independent testing lab"?

 

Hrmmm - I'd love to get brighter Halogens (lot LED) - but this whole life thing is confusing to me...

I know our 2005 Lexus GX has halogen, and we have yet to replace a bulb. In fact, over my life, I believe I've replaced one bulb 20+yrs ago.

So I am surprised/confused that bulbs are rated only to 500hrs ???????

 

In my Toyota Sienna, the bulbs are on all the time as daylight running lights at a lower voltage. I suspect that in this lower voltage the bulbs can last forever but they are not very bright.

For example, if you run a household 110 volt bulb at 50 volts, it will last 3 or more times as long. I would not be surprised if it last 10 times as long.

At night, and when I pull into a garage, the lights become brighter. I guess most people don't drive more than 500 hours at night so 500 hours can last the life of the car.

A car driven at an average of 30 mph needs only to last around 3300 hours before reaching then end of its life at 100,000 miles. So if you don't drive more than 1/6 in the dark, the 500 hour bulbs will last a lifetime - meaning an appropriate amount.

I know cars last longer than 100,000 miles. But, if you have to replace a bulb after 100,000 mile, most people will consider it normal. Hence my assumption of a 100,000 mile lifetime purely for this discussion.


I have a question - do you find that you have more trouble seeing at low beam on the Prius? On my Toyota Sienna, I see better on low beam. My Prius is in the shop and I am driving a Hyundai Sonata - I see better too. Is the Prius dimmer on low beam? Or if the low beam is the same, maybe it is the angle of sitting too low and the windshield angle? Or is it just me?

 

Thank you. I'll call the shop and have them do that. Someone ran into my 3 week old car so it is in the shop. $1800 damage. I have to pay the deductible.

 

Thanks. I had construed or misconstrued your subsequent post as being dismissive of personal or anecdotal experience, which was surprising to me given that you had seemed to have requested such info in your initial post.