How To: Change Headlamp / Headlight bulb

You guys talking about "Vision Plus" not to be confused with HID bulbs "for the casual viewer".. regular high performance Halogen xenon - Vision Plus?

It sounds like your life expectancy is doing pretty good for those types of bulbs,
HID however is "supposed" to last much longer and often don't and instead get the turn off/back on symptom that reactivates if turned off and back on.

 

I don't think I can ever revert back to stock halogens.

Even when I was young, I didn't like the limited visibility of night driving.

Now that I'm older and my night vision has declined, I want brighter lights more than ever.

 

yes indeed!.. thats one of the struggles I have having with the new 2010 prius!

 

UPDATE on my Philips X-Treme Power bulbs:

My driver side low-beam bulb just went out -- exactly 9595 miles after installing it. My passenger side bulb is still good.

I'm going to replace these with another pair of the Philips X-Treme Power bulbs. I like the luminosity of these bulbs so much, to me they're worth the $50 cost and the hassle of changing them every 10,000 miles or so.

 

After 115,000 miles +/-..The HIDs finally started to do its wink out and within 4 days, the
passenger side starts to play the game of wink...i guess not bad for 6 years on the 04...and we work night shifts 98% of the time...so tonight we replaced both with 5000K bulbs...bought on line...for about $120.00/pair...took about 2 1/2 hrs of unscrewing bolts/screws(cooking on grill, at same time)...going back and forth......and just unsnapped the bumper cover and lifted the assembly out and within 5 minutes had the new ones in...road tested and very bright...brighter than my 09 prius...it amazing how dim they get as they age and you dont realize it...so after road test...time for the hamburgers and drink....finally....

 

Very impressive write-up! Thanks.The information about Change Halogen Headlamp / Headlight bulb is good enough.

 

You may have had some bulb weakening whereas some of the material in the bulbs got so corrupted that it wouldn't vaporize any more. Or repeated exposures to heat raised internal resistance within the bulb to prevent as much amperage to pass.

Its also possible that some of the "change" you see is the higher Kelvin bulbs "5000K vs. the 4300K OEM".
Sometimes the bluer white will be interpreted by the eye as a hotter, fresher, crisper color and that is very subjective and sometimes a mere subliminal perception.

Taking two brand new bulbs side by side, the 4300K should have a tad more output "like 200lumens" than the 5000K.
Not enough to really make a buying decision by, but I do feel the 4300K is a white that matches closer to daylight.

The only real advantage I see to matching daylight as close as possible is because thats what our eye is used to seeing most of the time so colors from that environment will be accurately interpreted by our brain.

When your driving at 70mph and see a brown object on the road as you come around a corner... subtle shades may help you determine if its a rock that should be avoided verses a small animal thats not worth risking your family over.

disclaimer.....
.. not saying a rock is more important to save, but rather it would most likely knock you off the road or cause loss of control where a small animal would have to be sacrificed.
Some folks might not mind risking their own life, family and car for a small animal, ..... I guess everyone will have to assess on their own who has the cruel heart based on what they are willing to sacrifice or save.

 

Boo have you considered the HID kits?.. they aren't very expensive anymore or do you just prefer to keep things simple or do you actually prefer the Phillips xtreme over HID?

In other words, what you you recommend In your opinion and why vs. HID?

 

I haven't considered the HID kits because (1) I haven't researched whether they're any good, and (2) I have little or no mechanical ability.

 

Here is a discussion I started and Nola_prius provided an excellent video with instructions for the 2010...Its prob pretty similiar in the GenIIs.

Thought you may be interested...