I'M GLAD I HAVE Halogen AND NOT HID headlights

2004 and a 2005 here. 180,000 miles between them. no HID issues. Love 'em. MUCH better white light output than halogen. YMMV.

Curt

 

I'm thankful for the halogens, because I absolutely HATE the HID lights on oncoming vehicles, and I don't want to be like them!

Worse, is HIDs in my rear-view mirror.

 

but they sure light up the road nicely for me !!!

 

Sadly, some illegally put HIDs in cars never designed for them, so the whole technology gets blamed for the irresponsible few.

In the US, it is always illegal to 'upgrade' to HIDs.

 

When researching, and from this forum, when I looked at 2009 Prius, I specifically looked at a PKG 2 so I wouldn't have HID.

Yep it's hit or miss, but why take the risk? From what I read in this forum, my logic was just to go with the regular halogen.

 

This comes from illegal conversion to HIDs. Properly designed HID headlamps are less objectionable than normal halogen headlamps. The legal OEM HDs have good cutouts and proper aiming.

As for me, I like my HIDs. I will continue to like them so long as they behave themselves.

Tom

 

I love my HIDs.

But I kind of agree with Rae Vynn. I hate to see them in oncoming traffic and the one behind me. But 99% of those are installed as an after market kit and those people dont know how to aim them. Hell about 75% of the trucks around here have at least 1 light pointed straight at the oncoming driver and the other pointed so far down I doubt they can even see the beam on the road. I even seen one truck with a light pointed almost straight up not even hitting the road and the other straight down not even lighting 10 feet in front of the truck. You could tell because it was a little foggy out and you could see the beam in fog.

100% of the cars that have stock HIDs look just fine to me. You can tell the they are on but the beam does not even come close to blinding you. Except when coming over a hill.

 

I like the HIDs because with the Prius' unique design, it looks like lamborghini at night, kind of. If you're a bit blind.

 

Do NOT let Jermey Clarkson and Top Gear hear that! They already think Prius Drivers are insane, confusing a Prius to Lamborghini would only confirm it for them.

 

WHEN you have to change a bulb, It won't matter whether it is HID or halogen, it is still a pain in the butt to do it.... Same procedure and cost of labor.

 

Changing bulbs should be easy. It drives me nuts when designers give in to form at the expense of function. It's not just the Prius; all new cars are like this.

Boats are even worse. One of my friends owns a large cruising sailboat where the engine access is so bad that the manufacturer expects you to pull the engine to replace the water pump impeller. Keep in mind that the water pump impeller is a part that should be replaced every year or two. My friend ended up cutting a new access panel in a bulkhead, which is what the manufacturer should have done in the first place.

Tom

 

I have had HID's for over 14 years now and love them when I drive at night. The only car that ever had an HID issue was my Prius. Toyota ultimately stepped up and paid for my out of pocket costs to replace my light bulbs. I was admittedly out my time to deal with that, but that is the cost of car ownership. I look forward to LED lights in my next Prius.

 

I've got a brand-ole '04 with HIDs, she has an '07 with the standard lights. I think the standard lighting in the '07 is FAR superior to the '04 HIDs. Anyone else have an opinion on this?

Now, I'm coming away from a 99 outback legacy with nearly 300K road miles whose headlights were pretty much unusable due to worn out lenses. I was expecting the '04 with HIDs to be a breath of fresh air, but not so really. I mean, sure, they are much better than what I had, but not nearly as nice as her '07 with the standard lights.

 

Your experience is almost exactly the same as Consumer Reports'.

Consumer Reports rated the standard halogens it tested on a 2004 Prius as average or good, but rated the HIDs it tested on a 2008 Touring Edition Prius very poorly.

But I think this is contrary to the experiences of many here.

I don't know how to explain this discrepancy.

 

I suspect I got HIDs because they use less current. (30 Watts each versus 50 watts each) I bet Toyota was trying to get better gas mileage, I like mine.

I researched here before I bought and have a signed document from the dealership that labor for headlight bulb replacement is free. Now Toyota sent me a letter lowering the parts cost. Life is good.

 

2008 Prius, how do I know if HID or Halogen?

 

HID are bright as heck and have a very white light to them. Halogens give off more of a yellow type of light.

I've seen some running HIDS's and fog lights during the day, using them in auto mode or like DRLs.

I read the Toyota print that explains HID's are not too happy with lots of on / off cycles which shortens the lifespan.

so, with HIDs, use them only when necessary.

Of course, some never read anything and just run the HID's all the time.