HID problems persist on 2006 - convert to halogen?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by cgates30, Sep 27, 2010.

  1. cgates30

    cgates30 Junior Member

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    I know there are a lot of posts on HID headlight failures, but here it goes. I had my lamps die the first time and Toyota replaced them under warranty. The next time around they told me it was now out of warranty and I would have to pay $xxx/each - instead I bought bulbs on ebay and things were good for the next 1-1.5 years when one of those went out. I went back to ebay and bought more, and guess what? After about 1 month I'm getting intermittent operation and last night both lights went out at the same time! I turned the lights on/off and one of them came back on.

    Can anyone offer some advice? What about converting the car to halogen bulbs? At least they're reliable.
     
    #1 cgates30, Sep 27, 2010
  2. fgoodyear

    fgoodyear New Member

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    If you bought the off brand bulbs, they won't work with a Prius...... I bought off E Bay also. Same problem. If it is the same company, High Performance Bulbs, they are good to work with. they will replace with the Philips bulb. It is OEM and will work. The Philips bulbs are $100 a set more than the off brands, but that is still cheaper than the $100 or more from the dealer
     
    #2 fgoodyear, Sep 28, 2010
  3. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    You could get an adapter like this and use an aftermarket ballast (about $20). The OEM ballast may be killing the bulb. It was designed to be mercury-free.

    2006 Prius use D4R HID bulb (also mercury-free). The adapter I linked is for D2S/D2R bulb. It appears it may fit. Do more research to make sure... I couldn't find D4R to AMP adapter.

    You need to keep the existing OEM ballast because it powers the light leveling motor.
     
    #3 usbseawolf2000, Sep 28, 2010
  4. cgates30

    cgates30 Junior Member

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    Off brand v. OEM makes sense, but I recall there were a lot of complaints regarding the Phillips OEM bulbs. Hmmm... If they're considered to be the best bet, then I would spend the $100 to make the problem go away.

    Regarding the adapter, so I would use this with an aftermarket ballast for just the lights while the OEM ballast would power the leveler?

    Thanks!
     
    #4 cgates30, Sep 28, 2010
  5. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Yes, that is an accurate statement describing my idea. The flicker is most likely caused by the OEM ballast. Have the HID bulb powered by an aftermarket ballast by using a AMP to D4 connector/converter. D2 and D4 sockets appears to be the same. Just make sure (from the seller) before you buy it.
     
    #5 usbseawolf2000, Sep 28, 2010
  6. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    Here's the thing: the complaints about the Phillips bulbs were based on lifespans of approximately 2 years (which is how long mine lasted). Wikipedia cites an Osram/Sylvania paper stating that the HID bulbs last ~2000 hours. Back-of-the-envelope calculation: 365 (days) x 2 (years) x 2 (hours of operation per day) = 1460 hours over 2 years. I'm sure that I'm vastly miscalculating it, but the ballpark number is about right. I'm also sure that a few Prius owners have never had HID-equipped cars before the Prius, and were hit with sticker shock.

    The complaints about aftermarket bulbs are based on lifespans of months, so it's suggestive that these bulbs are problematic.

    PM me if you want contact info of a guy you can call for a decent discount (OEM bulbs, totally legit).
     
    #6 a_gray_prius, Sep 28, 2010
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