Headlight upgrade for older parent's 2010 Gen. 3

Taking a closer look at the lenses, they are in excellent shape, no yellowing, cloudiness, or crazing to the plastic. The vehicle is always garaged and so sees very little UV damage. It's fairly pristine.

 

Just seeing this now and wishing it had come along earlier in the original inquiry, before confirming the LED replacements were the ones to get, before ordering and spending 1.5 hours searching under the hood and scrutinizing a half dozen videos, along with the disappointment of having shared the LED replacement tactic with family expecting increased safety. Now on to the refund process.

How rare are these early year trim 5/V models? We seldom see the larger wheel size they had, but which improved visuals greatly.

Backtracking now. This did not turn out well. Now I know, and others on the forum should take note: the early year Gen 3 in a particular trim cannot take bulb replacement suggestions.

 

The backside of the headlight assembly - quite different than expected - and a shot of the front of the headlight. It's also odd as the LEDs are halogen-like in their color temperature, matched, not stark white. These are indeed LEDs? I wonder.

 

The photo I shared above - 3 posts previous - is the requested photo. It shows the factory LED, and the unique headlight/housing. This confirms what we already know. Sending the LED kit back.

 

I feel the 13-year-old OEM LEDs on our high-trim level 2010 would not compete with some of the more modern, higher color temperature (whiter), and higher lumens options out there, such as what we sought out before it became known to us that not all 2010 Prii could accept new bulbs. For a senior driver with reduced nighttime contrast in their vision, the OEM standard on Trim V is likely not the ideal. Our lights, I believe, are pointed optimally. Struts are worn, I'll note, which may or may not have affected the angle of the beam with a drop in height from front or back, or both, but lights are adjusted for any difference this makes and pointed ahead properly.

How many auto brands had LEDs in 2010? The Prius seems a forerunner, and to my knowledge, successfully produced a (then) more natural and warmer color LED years before they were available for home lighting and before the auto industry determined that a starker white was either advantageous and/or preferable.

 

I posted above that the stock OEM LED headlights are definitely not white - that they were surprisingly warm for early LED tech. (You may or may not recall when LED replacements of all kinds - not just automotive - were first appearing over a decade ago, a common complaint was the lack of warmer color temp. options - they were all stark white.) The stock OEM LEDs on the Prius, trim V, are rather warm, and not too jolting for car buyers in 2010, as yet unaccustomed to white LEDs. You can see in the photo posted above the contrast in color between the marker LED bulbs that were installed and the Toyota Prius LED low beams. The former is a stark white (6500K) and you readily see its difference in the photo. Lumens and directivity may matter more.

I've done a quick search to find out more and verify the assertion that fog lights (covered in yellow film) are a good option for senior drivers, but did not land on the same sources you may have. Please provide links.

 

Our OEM LEDs are in full working order it seems. They're great, particularly for 2010. That's no reason not to seek better, however. Except that it's a destructive/wasteful/expensive proposition to change an entire assembly to make possibly an incremental gain. Worth it for the $45 LEDs replacements our trim V level can't accommodate.