New Led Headlights Install

[wastedagen]

Up until a few days ago I, like many others, upgraded to HID lights via a conversion kit...... I had no problems with this, it passed MOT's fine and improved driving visibility 3-fold. But I did have 2 issues.... 1 being that I couldn't use my Auto lights feature as starting the car with the headlights on would cause the HIDS to go out and then not always come back on. Or just one, the right one, would come back on...... And 2, whenever I flashed anyone I had to flash once and keep the stalk pulled back long enough to get the lights to warm up and come on... Usually about 5 seconds. Cos as you know when you flash your high beams the low beams come on as well..

Well since LED's have come on a long way I decided to upgrade to LED headlights....... I chose a set that doesn't require any external ballast boxes or LED drivers as there built into the unit and also fanless ....... I got mine from http://www.horizonleds.co.uk/headlamp-cree-led/4th-generation-cree-led-kits/h11-cree-led-headlight-kit-g4

These are just plug and play... Took me all of 2 minute to install......

The beam pattern is excellent, but then again the Toyota projectors are pretty good anyway.

These are just as bright as my HIDS and as soon as I can figure out how to add more pics doing an edit of my post I'll show you.... Lol

All in all I throughly recommended these. Just hope they last as long as the HIDS with no problems.....

[wastedagen]

I can now use my auto lights feature, as the LED bulbs don't even flicker when starting the car, and flash people to my hearts content....lol.

P.S. The ballast box in the pic below is from my HID set up..... I haven't removed them yet.... Just in case. I am still in the try out stage... If all goes problem free for a few weeks I will remove all the HID ballasts and control boxes.

[Aidsy1]

From the picture, the leds looks a bit whiter. Is this the case? What is the colour temp of the hids vs the leds?

[wastedagen]

The LEDs are 6500k and the HIDS were 5000k. So in theory the HIDS should be whiter but they're not.

To be honest I was expecting more of a blue tint with the LEDs, but I'm happy to have them look like 5000k. I prefer that temp over 6500k anyhow....

The LEDS out of the box are 6500k, but you have a choice of temperatures by wrapping different films around the lens. I.E. 3000, 4300, 8000, 10000.

I chose the 6500.....

[unclepoo]

I`ve fitted LED H11 too, very similar to yours, all in one design with built in cooling fan....find them very good.

I`ve not had hid`s fitted to the auris, but in previous cars, I found then bright but light output was patchy, but they can be unreliable and the beam pattern poor, throwing light all over.

The LED`s beam pattern is just as controlled as the original H11 bulb, just brighter and whiter.

What power/wattage did you get, mine are 30w and are a great upgrade.

[wastedagen]

I`ve fitted LED H11 too, very similar to yours, all in one design with built in cooling fan....find them very good.

I`ve not had hid`s fitted to the auris, but in previous cars, I found then bright but light output was patchy, but they can be unreliable and the beam pattern poor, throwing light all over.

The LED`s beam pattern is just as controlled as the original H11 bulb, just brighter and whiter.

What power/wattage did you get, mine are 30w and are a great upgrade.

Yes I agree.... The HIDS are great when they behave but a nuisance when they play up.... I've been through a few different conversion kits to find the most reliable one, but they all fail on using the Auto start feature.

I did find the beam pattern OK though, but I'm sure that's down to the Auris's projectors being half decent.

My LEDS are 22w throwing out 3000 lumens...

[Speed_Chaser]

Nice idea and nice write up... Just a thought. Aren't you concerned about what will happen when the dirt will enter the cooling fans and they will get stuck? I'm sure this will happen sooner or later, even in your country...

[wastedagen]

I deliberately went for this model as it is fanless.....Just heatpipes and aluminium housing to keep it cool.

Been using them for 60-90min nighttime driving everyday last week with no issues.... (Touch Wood)

That's not to say the car radiator fan can't blow dirt into the LED bulbs...... So with that said I will periodically check the bulbs and blow out or vacuum out any debris.....

[Speed_Chaser]

Ok that's better, will be interesting to see what will hapen and read some long term experiences. Hope everything will be fine as HIDs have their own issues like you stated :)

[unclepoo]

The fan/dirt issue is a good point....I`ll just have to see how they go.

[Ruadhangm]

Do you reckon these or 9006 would work with the 9012 headlights of a 2014 Auris? Getting tired of the standard headlights on country roads!

[TomdeGuerre]

..... Getting tired of the standard headlights on country roads!

If the issue you're having is complete lack of lateral illumination then try going to http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-hatchback-review and register your complaint. I had the same problem, logged my complaint, they put me onto Toyota GB who gave me a case number and eventually supplied new headlights.

Edit: Better to use http://blog.toyota.co.uk/how-to-contact-toyota-uk

[Ruadhangm]

..... Getting tired of the standard headlights on country roads!

If the issue you're having is complete lack of lateral illumination then try going to http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-hatchback-review and register your complaint. I had the same problem, logged my complaint, they put me onto Toyota GB who gave me a case number and eventually supplied new headlights.

Edit: Better to use http://blog.toyota.co.uk/how-to-contact-toyota-uk

Thanks for the info Tom, did they fit better headlights?

R.

[TomdeGuerre]

Yes, they did fit better lights - under warrranty and at no charge. As per i didn't receive any paperwork detailing part numbers, wattage or anything like that but i can tell you they were an improvement.

If you check out that first link i posted that was the blog i originally laid my complaints, along with several other Auris owners. Since then they re-jigged the board and a lot of complaints have disappeared. I can only quote Bob Smart's post which said:

Bob Smart November 24, 2014 at 18:35

I am very very disappointed with the headlights in the current Auris Excel hybrid. I live in a country area where driving at night on either dipped or main beam is actively dangerous. I am forced into (illegally) using the foglights so that I can see the side of the road.

The problem is that there is a very sharp cutoff on thenearside that means you cannot see the kerb on left hand bends. The foglights fill this space.

I have had no problem with any previous car in this way.This includes the last two Prius’s in which I have done around 175,000 miles in the last six years.

​

[Ruadhangm]

Thanks, that's great, I've had a look at the blog and wrote in to the second link so hopefully they'll respond positively.

[Auris2010]

Will be trying to fit some leds on my auris 2014, and see the difference between this leds vs hid that i currently using

[Ruadhangm]

So after my email to that contact customer support team they immediately booked the car in to have the whole headlight assembly replaced under warranty at my local service centre. Took an hour and a half or so but the replacements are much better for lateral illumination. Seems this is a known issue as the booking mentioned a bulletin that toyota must have sent around. I've now replaced the headlights with Leds, similar to wastedagens. Got them from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221917257719?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Auris 1.6 vvt-i]

So after my email to that contact customer support team they immediately booked the car in to have the whole headlight assembly replaced under warranty at my local service centre. Took an hour and a half or so but the replacements are much better for lateral illumination. Seems this is a known issue as the booking mentioned a bulletin that toyota must have sent around. I've now replaced the headlights with Leds, similar to wastedagens. Got them from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221917257719?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hello, Ruadhangm,

did you get the 9006 bulbs from the auction in question or did you get 9012? And if you got 9006, how did you fit them on a headlight with 9012 socket?

[FROSTYBALLS]

I believe that 9006 bulbs will fit 9012 sockets after the removal of a small tab.

[Ruadhangm]

So after my email to that contact customer support team they immediately booked the car in to have the whole headlight assembly replaced under warranty at my local service centre. Took an hour and a half or so but the replacements are much better for lateral illumination. Seems this is a known issue as the booking mentioned a bulletin that toyota must have sent around. I've now replaced the headlights with Leds, similar to wastedagens. Got them from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221917257719?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Hello, Ruadhangm,

did you get the 9006 bulbs from the auction in question or did you get 9012? And if you got 9006, how did you fit them on a headlight with 9012 socket?

Hi, i got the 9006 from the site, they fit in perfect in the 9012 socket. If you are putting 9012 in a 9006 socket that's when you have to remove some extra tabs as the 9012 tabs are slightly wider than the 9006 tabs. Hence the 9006 fit in just fine.

The lights seem much better now after being replaced and having the LED headlamps in too.

[Auris 1.6 vvt-i]

Thank you both for you responses.

@Ruadhangm

Are you sure that the headlight seals just as good as with the 9012 bulb as I don't want to turn it into a fish tank...? :lol2:

[Ruadhangm]

Thank you both for you responses.

@Ruadhangm

Are you sure that the headlight seals just as good as with the 9012 bulb as I don't want to turn it into a fish tank...? :lol2:

Ha, seems solid, had them in for a few weeks now with a good bit of night driving and in the rain and no issues. Took them out before the headlight assembly replacement and they were still solidly in place.

[Auris 1.6 vvt-i]

Thank you! Much appreciated. So how's the light of the LED's compared to the halogen bulbs? I have asked a guy I have purchased HID kits from in the past if he would recommend them as he's selling LED's too now, but he said they weren't bright enough for low beams. They were OK for the high beams but not the low ones.

[Ruadhangm]

They seem great, much brighter than the standard headlights. I find i really notice the difference when its very dark as the light seems to blend in more with daylight being whiter, the yellow of the halogens being more noticeable as the light is dimming. I dont often use high beams due to traffic when I'm driving but the projectors of the auris do good job of spreading the low beam light.

[TomdeGuerre]

So after my email to that contact customer support team they immediately booked the car in to have the whole headlight assembly replaced under warranty at my local service centre. Took an hour and a half or so but the replacements are much better for lateral illumination. Seems this is a known issue as the booking mentioned a bulletin that toyota must have sent around. I've now replaced the headlights with Leds, similar to wastedagens. Got them from here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221917257719?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Was it both headlights you had replaced or just the passengers side? When they did mine it was both - i think. I know in all the correspondence they talked about headlights plural but as I never got any paperwork i couldn't prove anything.