Headlight advice needed

[Steve_789]

So i got a 2nd hand IQ (2009) last year and one thing thats bugged me every since i brought it was the headlights. Last year it didnt bother me as much as i never really drove at night, however this years different .. and i HATE the headlights. I mostly drive on country roads at dawn and dusk, so its not fully dark .. but dark enough to need lights ... and with my IQ its like i dont even have them on, especially when its wet. What doesnt help is that everyone else's headlights drown mine out completely, specially those "daylight" bulbs all the SUVs have these days.

I've done some reading here and i'm guessing these are the bulbs i need http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-bulbs/halfords-9012-hir2-car-bulb-x-1

However .. if they only give out the light output as the ones i have currently ... i'd want brighter ones .. which i dont know enough about cars to find. Halfords weren't much use and the only advise the local Toyota dealership had was "have you cleaned them" 

So .. is it just that my current lights have gotten old and dimmed (i've no idea if there original or have been replaced) and in need of replacement, or am i stuck with what i have?

Also, in case it matters my general DIY skills are pretty high .. car DIY skills are quite low, mostly because i've never had one before! :)

Ta

Steve

[FROSTYBALLS]

Halogen lights do become dimmer with age. HIR2 bulbs are already approx 75-80% brighter than standard halogen, and currently there are no upgrade halogen bulbs (eg Osram Nightbreaker, etc) available in this fitting.

When Osram began manufacture of HIR2 bulbs a couple of years ago, I e-mailed them to ask whether they were planning tyo introduce upgrade bulbs, and because HIR2 bulbs are already brighter than standard halogen, the answer was 'no'.

Aftermarket HID or LED replacements aren't road legal in the UK.

So whether you think it is worth exploring new bulbs, is your choice.

One can probably get HIR2 bulbs cheaper than those at Halfords - have a look at Amazon, Power bulbs, Auto Bulbs Direct, eBay, etc - but go for a recognised make.

[Soeley]

Wow £35 for one bulb! At least ***** Turpin wore a mask. Twice I have bought the iQ spare bulb kit from my Toyota dealer. It includes HIR2 headlight, indicator bulb, sidelight bulb brake light bulb plus fog light bulb (I think) cost about £28 in a nice little box.

[craggle]

New HIR2 bulbs will help

My 2010 iQ had the Toshiba bulbs from new and when one blew I bought two, Philips HIR2 9012 replacements and the difference was quite significant, Whiter and brighter bulbs. 

Coincidence perhaps but last night my partners Yaris Hybrid blew a bulb so I took the bulb out and found another HIR2 bulb in there. Fortunately I carry a spare with me in the iQ so it was quickly replaced but testing the lights on the wall in front of the parking space revealed a whiter light with the new bulb and a slightly yellow colour on the old one. 
I'll now go looking for two Philips replacements for that and get my spare back.

The next hard part is trying to find the bulbs, lots of places advertise them but are out of stock at the moment.

Craig.

[Steve_789]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses :)

I'll try new bulbs first if these HIR2s do dim with age, if there this hard to find i'm guessing they werent much in 09 so they might well be the original bulbs .. and with 74k miles on this car, in this area that very likely meant a fair amount of night driving.

I'm guessing a HIR2 bulb is a HIR2 bulb so i only have to make sure the wattage is the same? (55 for my car going by the manual)

[craggle]

They are pretty much all the same, HIR2 9012 LLC1 bulbs at 55W. I think the only manufacturer is now Philips.

Be aware of cheap ones on eBay that advertise to be 9012 HIR2 bulbs but are just standard halogen lamps in a 9012 base. I bought some of these in a slightly blue colour and used them once, Couldn't see a damn thing! Fortunately they didn't cost too much so dumped them in the garage as emergency spares.

Another thing to check is the headlight level adjustment on the dash to the right of the steering wheel. Park in front of a fence and try the dial to make sure both lights do move up and down and set them somewhere in the middle of the range to start with and adjust from there.

Craig.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Osram began making HIR2 bulbs a couple of years ago.

[craggle]

Went to local Toyota dealer on the way home and ordered a couple of new bulbs for the Yaris. £20 + VAT they quoted so pretty good price I thought. Will see what make they are in a couple of days.

Craig.

[Steve_789]

Quote

Osram began making HIR2 bulbs a couple of years ago

thanks for that! ended up getting a pair from them. Installed them today (leaves in the catch made getting the lid of the fuse box thingy a bit of a struggle!!!) and the difference is massive, much brighter and their also a whiter colour which never hurts. True test will be when i next drive at dawn/dusk, but i noticed a big difference even during the day so i dont think they'll be any issues somehow!

One thing i noticed though about the old bulbs, apart from the fact they looked absolutely knackered at the bases, the tips were covered with what i can best describe as grey paint. The glass was also a completely different shape, instead of being a long cylinder with a tip, its more like a traditional house bulb with a tip, just struck me the difference between the old and the new, but i guess as with anything they've improved them since they first made them.

Thanks for all the helps guys!

[craggle]

Glad the new bulbs helped a bit. I will find out soon hopefully if the new ones I'm getting through Toyota are Philips or Osram I guess.

The original bulbs in my car were made by Toshiba and it sounds like you had the same type, quite a different look to them.

Craig.

[Steve_789]

yup, thats the type! Both of em are now acting as spares

Tested the new lights on the way home yesterday at dusk, way better than the old ones ever were

[PCM]

Resurrecting an old thread...

Can I check my understanding please, of IQ Headlight Levelling.

According to the manual...

The table in the manual suggests that, as it's generally just me driving, I should set the headlight levelling dial at about 0 to 1. But... the associated diagram in the manual shows a downward movement arrow on the dial, which does seem to lower the lights but also makes the number shown on the dial higher?

Is it me being stupid?!

[dash]

Same on all cars with light levelling adjustment. The higher the number, the more the lights are lowered.

 

[PCM]

On 9/16/2022 at 4:48 PM, dash said:

Same on all cars with light levelling adjustment. The higher the number, the more the lights are lowered.

 

Thank you.

Has anyone bought new bulbs for their IQ recently?

I noticed today driving in the dark that the output is not great...

( On a different car the NightBreakers worked well... )

[FROSTYBALLS]

As previously mentioned, halogen bulbs do degrade with age.

You can get upgrade HIR2 bulbs from Philips and Elta - e.g. Philips X-tremevision Pro150 & Elta VisionPro150. Both said to be 150% brighter. Elta also sell their Lucas Lightbooster Ultra 150.

As with any upgrade bulb, the lifespan (quoted in hours) tends to be the trade-off for the brighter bulb. Think Philips may have the best lifespan currently - around 300 hours for the bulb mentioned above.

Both Philips, Elta and Lucas bulbs available on eBay, possibly Amazon and other sites. Shop around.

[PCM]

23 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

As previously mentioned, halogen bulbs do degrade with age.

You can get upgrade HIR2 bulbs from Philips and Elta - e.g. Philips X-tremevision Pro150 & Elta VisionPro150. Both said to be 150% brighter. Elta also sell their Lucas Lightbooster Ultra 150.

As with any upgrade bulb, the lifespan (quoted in hours) tends to be the trade-off for the brighter bulb. Think Philips may have the best lifespan currently - around 300 hours for the bulb mentioned above.

Both Philips, Elta and Lucas bulbs available on eBay, possibly Amazon and other sites. Shop around.

As always, thank you.