HI! '01 w orig. headlights. Need brighter. Which should get? Can trust auto parts store to install?

If you go back with halogen buy the Basic model from a good supplier like Philips. The higher brightness versions trade lifespan for lumens.

The other important factor is to clean the headlight assembly lens back to clear.

Sometimes the LED retrofits will last but the beam pattern is often bad when installed in a factory halogen reflector housing. You can end up blinding oncoming traffic with low cost versions which can be bad if it causes a wreck.

Another problem with LED retrofits is they require a power supply to regulate current into the LED. These days the power supplies are built into the cord or light but the LEDs and sometimes the power supply run very hot. The LEDs require fans (also built in) to keep them cool. The lower cost LEDs can cause rf interference and audible humming in some cases. The heat can melt loose wires or hoses they may touch.

So a quality unit costs money but can last many years. I use Lasfit for my low beams and halogen for the high beams.

Amazon.com: LASFIT H4 9003 Powersports Light Bulbs for ATV, 90W 9000LM 600% Brighter 6000K Cool White, Flip Chip IP67 Waterproof Non-Polarity, Plug and Play,Pack of 2, LS Plus Series : Automotive

 

Aux beam s1 thru 4 depending if h4 or what have you I e got some installed 5 yrs old S1. Still perfect. You'll have to crank down on your adjusters down about 9/2 turns then you'll see the cutoff clear as day put that on the garage door at the correct distance and do the other side then you're all set You won't be blinding anybody you'll have 6,000 Kelvin very bright headlights and you will be quite pleased and they will last quite a long time at least all of mine have so far I have 5 to 7 years on one or two cars here with the original s ones by the maker above Amazon sells this brand

 

Those might not be the best for headlights and are $70 less on Amazon. So your shop is making that margin as well as their labor. Usually when they say for fog lights they mean the beam pattern is different than factory.



I changed to LED low beams about a year ago. So far so good. LEDs should last 5 years or longer.

Generally replacing the bulbs is not a complicated job. See video below. It is essentially the same as a gen2 through 2009 although the parts removed for hand clearance is different on a gen2.

Watch through the passenger side replacement for a better idea of the retaining clip which is the trickiest part.

Pics of back of headlight

 

I would consider trying to remove and then reinstall the low beam on the passenger side as a trial. Many people replace their own bulbs and a LED is no different as they are made to fit the same socket and wiring harness.

The advantage is more than the initial cost. If you buy from Amazon or most retailers you can return them if the LED you pick has one of the common issues. But if you have to pay someone again to remove them and then a third time to try another brand, you won’t do it and would be stuck.

I have replaced your setup in the past and it’s is not “mechanic” work but smaller hands and good light help. On my car I went through one of your brands and was not satisfied with the beam pattern. It had been recommended by a Priuschat member. So I returned them and spent more.

 

Are the old ones and H4 design headlight u-shape looking arrangement of the three pins I don't think the '01s or o2s or whatever had HIDs then? And I don't think Toyota would be putting you in the 9005/6 arrangement. So I would guess it's H4 and if that's the case they will just be plug and play in your car they are a fanless design aluminum heat sink they will clip into your H4 bulbs holes that are there right now and you won't need to do anything unless you have a headlight adjuster that will allow you to crank it down about nine turns in the generation 2 it will be very similar I do believe in the one very similar poor design headlights. But that's okay You're about to correct that.

 

H4 is 9003 so you're in good shape You need the aux beam S1 or up And you'll be good to go You should be able to order those from Amazon without question direct from the store of AUX beam. Then when they arrive you'll be able to install them in seconds literally you'll even be able to adjust the beams at 3:00 and 9:00 they call that indexing tighten the screw plug them in and let them rip You can even get the rubber boot and everything back on by mounting the H4 tab in the plastic and wire clip first putting the boot back on and then inserting the bulb through the hole in the boot into the plastic piece you installed into the headlight housing twist the beam to where you marked on the heat sink so you're at 3:00 and 9:00 plug in the lamp go do the other side I promise you this is what you want to be doing.

 

Dang girl I thought I told you to be careful with the fan units That's why you want the AUX beam s ones or what have you now these fans are going to start sounding like you're a Star wars millennial fighter hear in a couple months. But this is how you learn things The next time these things start howling and making a racket you send them back rather than having them replaced with the same brand maybe ask the people if they have sandless heat sink setups that's all I use here when the early days we tried the fan LED jobs and they just made you sound like a Reset at every stoplight people would look over at the car wondering how this stupid 50 mi to the gallon thing makes all this racket at dusk sounds like an airplane taking off but anyway yeah great stuff looks like you got cob generation 3 blah blah blah which is about what's out right now You just got stuck with the fans I guess you know you forgot about that part or didn't care or what have you so when they start making a racket and the next time you go through this which should not be very long fan less is the buzz word. In the headlight bulb business at the present time You don't want noise you don't want to be replacing bulb assemblies because fans go out or make lots of noise maybe these are a new generation of fan that say that will never happen I have no idea Good luck with them and yes they'll make a huge difference remember you need to crank the front adjuster It's right up there next to the radiator almost on the headlight assembly You need to crank that righty tighty about nine half turns Do it at dusk You will see the cutoff line all of a sudden magically appear now you need to set that cut off line to the line on your garage door or be like 35 ft behind a car and set the cutoff line like level with the trunk lid something like that I can't remember the measurement this is a Google thing it'll show you how to do this It's nothing to it but it's the up and down that's got you messed up right now those lights will be blinding people That's why you're cranking the righty tidy almost nine times to get the cut off line in your view and then you need to tweak it so that it's right where it needs to be 34 in off the ground whatever so far away from the garage door fairly level Good luck. You should be careful listening to Japanese auto shops especially ones with 4 ft wings sitting on Honda civics out in the parking lot they're there to sell personalization accessories so on and so forth That's a big part of this thing with the kids The AUX company deals in reasonable headlights that work well they've done some research apparently The fan sizing and all that has nothing to do with much of anything that's why the Cobb threes and fours that AUX uses don't require this fan business and that's important anything that can be less moving less noisy less frequency generating the fans also can cause problems with your radio I don't spend a lot of time with my radio so this is not an issue for me but I don't have the fans and so if you're a big music person might be something.

 

I have used both and each had fans and the noise is not audible. You probably had a bad one.

 

I've had several bad ones maybe 20 or they're not bad in the fans just failed normally and say 18 to 20 months comes to mind I have all of these broken or loud fan headlights I'm staring at them in a box there are about 2468 is like 10 in here all different brands different manufacturers since I started messing with these about 7 years ago I don't think the word Cobb element was even out when I started fooling with these LEDs I'm not positive of that but I think so.