4th Gen LED headlight durability

They need to go back and "study" all the cracking windshields...

 

It would be interesting to know if car manufacturer's specify their windshields or if the pick from a list of available options.

And, why did you put the word study in quotes?

 

"I don't know."

But I am enjoying my LED headlights. The brightest headlights I've ever had on a vehicle. A very nice "white" light. I can see the road much better at night. (I just can't see out the SIDE windows! )

 

I completely agree. The first time I used the headlights at night I couldn't believe how much better they were than all others I had used up until then. I don't have the side window problem, though.

 

Unfortunately, what they’ll read in Toyota’s Repair Manual, at least in the U.S. edition, is that a faulty headlight assembly must be replaced as a complete unit. The only field repair is to replace the (incandescent) turn signal lamps and to install retainers, sold as service parts, to replace broken mounting tabs. If the LED unit inside is faulty, the whole assembly has to be replaced.

As I noted in another thread, it’s different in Europe and Japan, but I don’t know if the headlight internal parts Toyota sells in those markets would be compatible with a U.S. vehicle, or if the U.S. headlights are permanently sealed, as another poster in that thread thought they might be.

Almost. Depending on the trim level, the U.S. list price for a UNIT ASSEMBLY, HEADLAMP is $1119.69 or $1166.21 each, though in practice, discounts of 33% or more from those prices are not hard to find.

The headlight current is switched with three relays, H-LP SHADE in Relay Block Assembly No. 2, and H-LP LH and H-LP RH in the No. 1 Integration Relay module, both separate from the headlight units. It’s reasonable to assume those relays have design lives of at least 10⁵ cycles.

 

Ours will be RH Drive, which means the internals are different - the pattern of mainly low beam is drastically different, though high beam can be too:


And with prices - we can often double USA or EU prices here - and discounts at dealerships just don't happen here. Maybe 3rd party but they only stock popular items.

 

I believe Europe and Japan have self-leveling headlights. Their parts may not work for US lights.

 

Didn't somebody ask whether the EU head units would work on US Prii back along? Can't remember the outcome now.

 

I do not remember that but some people have imported previous generation Prii from Japan only to find out the display, including error text, is Locked to Japanese only
Many times they post screenshots trying to translate error text.

 

Should have read 'headlamps' - would that have affected your reply?

 

I would have said look at post 27.
He said there are parts for the European headlamps but he did not know if they would work on the US headlamps. I merely mentioned the self-leveling difference to point out they may not work.
Is self-leveling strictly mechanical or is there an electrical component to that?

 

It’s electromechanical. From the European edition of the New Car Features book:

The headlight ECU sub-assembly LH receives vehicle height change signals the rear height control sensor sub-assembly LH and calculates the changes in the pitch angle of the vehicle. The headlight ECU sub-assembly LH/RH drives the headlight leveling motor LH/RH in accordance with the change. [ . . . ]

Depending on the specification of the vehicle, either dynamic control which maintains a constant beam angle, or static control which adjusts the beam angle only when the vehicle is stopped, is used.​

Interestingly, the headlight units, at least in Europe, have fans in them.

 

Since they have fans they must not be sealed units. That would make it easier to replace parts.