Avensis headlights a bit dim?

[sproutdreamer]

My 08 T25 Avensis headlights do not seem to be as bright as when I got the car 19 months ago. Is it a known thing that these headlight units deteriorate within 8 years?

I am minded to fit new headlight bulbs but am I wasting my time? There are a bewildering number of makes and choices available and I would welcome recommendation of any make/type that are thought to be good.

thanks

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think the performance of halogen bulbs does deteriorate with age. Have as look at upgrade bulbs such as Philips X-treme Vision bulbs or Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Philips+x-treme+vision+bulbs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Osram+nightbreaker+unlimited&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AOsram+nightbreaker+unlimited

[gazza1286]

Have accidentally altered the beam adjuster from 0? 

[Taxi501]

I've gone through lots of bulbs as a taxi driver, the osram night breakers gave good light but didn't last very long, the best I've found for good light and longetivity are Bosch purelight ( only place I could get them is on eBay from 2mm services Berlin) and they are half the price of the  osrams .

if you're keeping the car long enough it might be worth replacing the projectors, have a look at  theretrofitsource.com , they have some good deals if it's worth spending money to fix yours instead of replacing complete headlight .

[Ian Harley]

Sorry to hijack the thread a little, but is there a way of telling whether I have HID or Halogen without taking out the bulbs? I have a 53 plate T25 Estate.

[gazza1286]

HID were never fitted as standard on your car. If someone retro-fitted them you would notice a very slight delay in the lights illuminating after switching them on. 

[Ian Harley]

Thanks gazza. I thought they were only an option, not standard equipment.

[sproutdreamer]

Thanks for replies-I got some Osram Nightbreakers as I really want the best lights and I can live with them only lasting a few years. I will fit them tomorrow and report back.

[Greydog]

The lights on the Avensis were terrible when I first got it like driving on side lights only, so after fixing the heater I turned my attention to the lights.

Firstly what a total FAF getting them off the car was !! Front bumper off and lights out (god bless you tube) there was condensation inside both lights so I stripped the lens off and cleaned inside and out. I also polished the lens's with a Headlight cleaning kit from eBay Lights back together and sealed I changed the main beam bulbs to Night-breaker's and the Dip beams to LED just had to drill a hole and fit a Grommet to allow the cables for the ballast's, the LED's give a nice hard white light similar to HID's.

Where the condensation had been inside the units the amount of dirt on the lens was surprising. So if your  lights are poor (I have noticed a few Toyota's with condensation in the lights) a good strip and clean will work wonders. I chose LED bulbs over HID as I didn't want to fall foul of construction and use lighting regs at MOT time. HID's require self leveling and/or a Headlamp cleaning system. 

Now my X5 is back as my daily drive the Avensis is a spare car for use by family and friends who visit, it still doesn't lose drip or use any vital fluids on the drive. Friends up from NZ in March put 3k on the clock visiting family around the UK it didn't miss a beat so I am still mighty pleased with my Avensis. Still a long list of jobs to do mainly cosmetic but hey its a 10 year old ex taxi.

[Heidfirst]

4 hours ago, Greydog said:

I chose LED bulbs over HID as I didn't want to fall foul of construction and use lighting regs at MOT time.

Strictly speaking LEDs don't meet Construction & Use Regs. either unless Type Approved.

Apparently an insurance company has turned down a claim because a number plate light had been replaced by an LED one. 

[Greydog]

The LED lamps I brought are fully EU type approved and as they are a bulb they are a direct replacement so should be fine.

HID replacement would require some modification to the bulb holder plus to comply with the letter of the law they should have automatic self leveling plus a headlamp cleaning system (friends son had his Civic failed in March due to having a HID kit fitted) hence my comment.

[Greydog]

This is from the MOT revised advice to testers.

"Section 1.7 – Headlamps To keep the test up to date with modern technology, new checks have been added in respect of High Intensity Discharge (HID) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. HID lamps use a gas discharge system and require a ballast, igniter and special high voltage circuitry. They do not use a filament in the bulb, but have two electrodes in a glass tube filled with xenon gas and metal salts. 2 A high voltage is applied between the electrodes causing an arc to form which ionizes the xenon atoms, vaporises the metallic salts and creates light. A high voltage, typically up to 20,000 volts, is required to strike and maintain the arc. Compared with halogen headlamps, HID lamps are more efficient, have a longer service life and are much brighter; up to three times brighter in fact. The benefit of this extra brightness is that it enables drivers using HID lights to see approximately 30% further up the road ahead than for a halogen system. The downside of this extra brightness is the potential to cause excessive dazzle to oncoming traffic. To combat this, HID headlamps often have advanced electronics that control the shape of the headlamp beam to avoid dazzle when the car climbs or descends hills and likewise when the vehicle is accelerating or braking. Dazzle can also be caused if the lamps are dirty or aimed too high due to, for example, carrying rear seat passengers and/or heavy items in the boot. Vehicles with HID headlamps are therefore required to have a headlamp washing system (a wiper is not required) and be self levelling, which may be achieved either by the use of either headlamp or suspension levelling systems. The presence and operation of these headlamp cleaning and levelling devices has been added to the test. Therefore, if a mandatory headlamp levelling or cleaning device is missing, inoperative or otherwise obviously defective, the vehicle will fail. This raises the question of whether these checks apply to vehicles fitted with after-market HID lighting kits. These kits convert conventional halogen headlamps to HID xenon and they are widely sold and fitted to vehicles used on the road. The Department for Transport considers that after-market systems should be required to meet the same safety standards as that applied in respect of these lamps at vehicle Type Approval. Therefore, in order to pass the MOT test, vehicles fitted with after-market HID systems would also need to be fitted with headlamp cleaning and self-levelling systems. Some high specification estate cars are fitted with a self levelling suspension system and this would be considered as adequate for the purpose. "

[FROSTYBALLS]

23 minutes ago, Greydog said:

The LED lamps I brought are fully EU type approved and as they are a bulb they are a direct replacement so should be fine.

.... but are they road legal?

Example: Osram sell LED W5W bulbs which they state are road legal when used in the interior of a vehicle, but not road legal for exterior use.

[Greydog]

Hmmn you got me thinking now? H7 and H1 lamps would be difficult to fit in the dash though, I will know in August when its due for MOT

[Heidfirst]

To be fair I can't see too many MOT testing stations being that nit-picking (particularly on an Avensis where the bulbs are not the easiest to get at) but you never know.

Do you have a link to the particular LED bulbs that you bought?

[sproutdreamer]

Fitted the Osram Nightbreaker to dip beam and they were noticeably whiter and brighter so much so that I will replace the high beam bulbs as well. What a fiddly job though to get at the drivers side low beam with the screen wash reservoir filler tube nicely in the way. thanks.

[sproutdreamer]

Now fitted the Osram Nightbreakers hi beam and they are noticeably whiter and brighter also so pleased with all the new bulbs. A question though - the old bulbs were fitted one with the filament at the top side and the other with the filament on the bottom. The owners handbook has nothing to say about this and the headlamp test at MOT did not throw up any queries, can I assume it does not matter?