Low beams too dim

I just got my Gen III and the previous owner changed the factory halogens to HID using an aftermarket kit. I have since bought replacement bulbs in a warmer color and am very impressed with the low price ($12 for TWO) and the poor quality (artifacts in the beam and they're wormy - sometimes fail to come on). But the illumination and clean upper break in the light are fantastic. Looks like Sliderider's parking garage pic but less white. Some of the best lighting I've ever had, even with the poor continuity of image. I'm wondering if the original bulbs on Maddie's car are halogen and have poor output? (Of course halogens used to be considered good lighting.) This is not a terribly expensive project even assuming you spend more than I did and get better stuff. I've seen plug-in LED's available also. The transformer and fan are all built-in to the rear of the bulb assembly. Just throwing out alternatives to parking or disposing of an otherwise excellent car.

I am seeing and reading about a lot of lighting issues in modern cars. One is the proliferation of plastic lenses. They deteriorate, fog, blur, and the light goes everywhere, which turns out to be similar to NOWHERE. Also, it seems that more people drive with full-time high beams than I've ever seen before (Georgia in my case). Consumer Reports has stated that many modern vehicles are sub-par in this area. We keep re-inventing stuff that used to work fine. Not that I expect to see glass sealed beams return.

 

Very cool, Kurz. Have a link or brand name? When first addressing this, I bought a $63 set and was not impressed. Turned out the majority of the problem in my case was the aim.

Update on that. Heightened them again to max. Used just a Philips head screwdriver. You folks were right and it is a lot easier.

I am thrilled with the results. Although I would prefer them a little brighter. They are a hundred times better.

Really Hope Maddie see this and it is of some help.

 

Adjusted to max? I hope you have checked the cutoffs against a wall while parked about 20-30 ft away and ensured that they do not rise above the height of the center of headlight lenses. In fact, they should be a few inches lower.

If your headlight beams are rising, then you are literally blinding oncoming drivers and causing glare to drivers you are following, in their rearview mirrors.

 

Absolutely, X. I would not ever endanger others.

In fact, I've not gotten one flash indicating I am blinding anyone.

And very cool of you to verify!

 

Nobody should be stuffing cheap no name HID kits into the stock Toyota projector housings. or Any HID kit in stock housings for that matter. Same goes for those plug in LED bulbs. Not for headlight applications anyway.

Either stay stock or do HID the right way: Prius Gen 3 HID Retrofit -- The Right Way. Lexus RX350 Bi-Xenon, German Osram, Denso | PriusChat

I've done this RX350 conversion 3x on three Toyota/Lexus vehicles. Full professional big budget big ticket items. Fully OEM!

My motto is never stuff! Proper conversion only.

I can write literally pages on this. Pages.

Stuffing isn't as bad on the Prius as it is on other applications but still it's not ideal. Excessive glare and poor pattern/light distribution. You also have to wire it up right or you'll burn your wiring over time.

 

So many condescending dbags on this site. Gen ii low and high brands are weak. Just try another car it's easy to see

 

This is a Gen3 forum, not Gen2.