LED upgrade?

[Wooster]

My Auris is fitted with halogen HIR2 bulbs. The headlamp assembly uses a projector lens.  For some reason they are incredibly weak and make night driving difficult, especially in the rain.  (I had projector lenses and H11 bulbs in a 2010 Prius and they were fine.)  I know I can buy 'extra bright' halogen bulbs but these all have a limited life expectancy.  So, several people have suggested an LED upgrade. 

I realise that if LEDs were fitted, the car would technically be illegal as it was approved ('e' marked) with halogen bulbs and not LEDs.  However, web searches say that LEDs will work correctly with projector lenses and not dazzle anyone.  The supplier report that "96% of buyers report no CANBUS errors".  (The higher spec' Auris models have LEDs fitted as standard although the headlamp is a sealed unit.)

My questions are:  1) Can anyone see any reason a good quality (Osram / Philips) pair of LEDs wouldn't work?  2) If I take the 'halogen' stickers off the headlamp assembly. do you think the MOT tester will care - assuming the headlamp aim is correct? 

 

[Motheo]

I totally agree that the halogen bulbs are horrible.

I am based in south Africa and fitted HID kit 6000k bulbs which improved lighting a lot.

 

Maybe look at halogen bulbs from Osram it phillips which provide better lighting.

[TonyHSD]

I don’t think is a good idea to convert a non led to led unless replacing the whole light units, I think also it’s illegal and can cause issues. Another reason not to do ot just with bulbs is because they will be brighter but not provide a good light projection as those lenses are very different from the led one, best to buy best possible bulbs for direct replacement, brighter the bulbs are the shorter the life is. I am using only Philips eco vision which are the longest life one and light is just fine, perhaps you need something like Osram night breaker. Amazon is good place to look as there are some good reviews and pics. 
Good luck 👍

[FROSTYBALLS]

The MOT was revised in 2021. LED bulbs fitted to a headlight unit designed for halogen bulbs is now an MOT fail - so now illegal.

[Wooster]

1 hour ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The MOT was revised in 2021. LED bulbs fitted to a headlight unit designed for halogen bulbs is now an MOT fail

Yes, i know what the law says.  But would the MOT tester know my car was not fitted with LEDs from the factory?  It's an Auris and some came with LEDs fitted as standard.  There is this OEM halogen unit:  autopartspro.co.uk/valeo   And this is the LED unit:  autopartspro.co.uk/valeo

 

3 hours ago, Motheo said:

Maybe look at halogen bulbs from Osram it phillips

Philips bulbs are fitted as standard from the factory.

2 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

...because they will be brighter but not provide a good light projection as those lenses are very different from the led one

Tony - my research has shown that LEDs in a reflector headlight are a disaster, but LEDs do work well with projector units.  This site  https://lampslab.com/led-bulbs-projector-headlights/  says what a lot say:   "...LED bulbs are designed to be in projector headlight because it has a shutter that controls the direction of the light..."

 

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 minutes ago, Wooster said:

But would the MOT tester know my car was not fitted with LEDs from the factory?

That's the MOT Tester's issue, but it is part of the MOT test - see

If you fit HID's or LED's, it is your risk

[Rosgoe]

Yes I had a 2015 auris with those headlights and they are not brilliant I read an email from Toyota that they were offering some bulbs called super white or something like that maybe try those I used to switch the fog lights on when it was raining made a difference.

[FROSTYBALLS]

You can get various halogen upgrade bulbs in HIR2 fitting - Toyota Optiwhites (made by Philips), Elta VisionPro 150, Lucas Light Booster +150 (Lucas is an Elta brand), Philips Xtreme Vison Pro150, PIAA Hyper Arros, and so on .......

Branded bulbs available from Amazon, eBay, etc, etc.

[Rosgoe]

1 hour ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

You can get various halogen upgrade bulbs in HIR2 fitting - Toyota Optiwhites (made by Philips), Elta VisionPro 150, Lucas Light Booster +150 (Lucas is an Elta brand), Philips Xtreme Vison Pro150, PIAA Hyper Arros, and so on .......

Branded bulbs available from Amazon, eBay, etc, etc.

Thats what I was thinking of optiwhites