Headlights

Comments on halogen vs led headlights? Looking at 2020 SR5 /Limited but the only thing I really want is the LEDs. How bad are the halogens??

 

Well I mean you have been at a red light at night, and notice the yellow, dim headlights off some vehicles? Those are not LED. Good LEDs will have a correct color balance, not too yellow not too blue. I'd pay the extra for LED, plus they ususally use less energy and for sure generate far less heat which is easier on the plastic lenses...

 

I get the difference. My wife has a 19 Camry XSE V6 which has leds. They are awesome at night. I currently drive a 2017 F150 w/halogen. They totally suck big time. AT night in town where there are street lights and store lights and not totally dark I swear I can't tell if my headlights are on or not lol. Just curious if the Tundra halogens are any better than some or if they suck to . Plan on driving both Tundras this weekend and compare the lights. Just looking for comments for Tundra halogen owners. Thanks

 

You're not really comparing apples to apples here. I've upgraded to "better" halogen bulbs on a number of vehicles and they're just a marginal upgrade. However, upgrading the headlights to quality LED (b'c not all LED headlights are created equal) is a MASSIVE upgrade in light output and safety. Going full LED headlights is actually the first mod I recommend if you're still running halogens. Again, buy quality, not the cheap Chinese crap on Amazon/Ebay.

 

I have LEDs on mine and they are really nice and I really like the look when just the outline running lights are on. That said I wouldn't let headlights make the decision on the model I wanted, they just happened to be on the model I wanted.

 

In terms of brightness, I have OEM LED headlights and LED fog lights and to be honest they're not as bright as I would have imagined, especially considering the price of everything.

But it does look really nice.

 

I've got a 2017 Limited which came with halogen headlights. There is no comparison between those and the LED headlights. I just upgraded mine to LED that came off a 2018 Platinum with the harness from @iHacker. If you want the SR5 or Limited go for it. You can always upgrade the headlights to OEM LED's with the harness, not a big job and you will love the output over halogen.

 

If you wanted to buy the halogen version of the tundra you could always upgrade to LED bulbs. For LED bulb upgrades I suggest GTRlighting.com. I ran GTR Gen 3 Ultra Series LED bulbs on my 2006 tundra for years and never had any issues. To be honest I currently own a 2020 tundra with the factory LEDs and the GTR Gen 3 bulbs were brighter than the 2020s factory LEDs. I was just about to upgrade my bulbs in my 2006 tundra again for GTR lighting Ultra 2 bulbs for fun, but decided to trade in for the 2020. The GTR lighting Ultra 2 is the newest version of the Gen 3 and is supposed to be even brighter. My 2020 lights are still bright, especially the highbeams. The LED highbeams on the 2020 tundras are the brightest I have seen on factory LED set ups on any vehicle. My friend drives the new 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500 LT Trailboss and has the Factory LEDs and my 2020 Tundras LEDs are brighter for low beam, high beam, and fogs. LEDs do not produce forward heat. So if you live somewhere where it snows, LEDs will not melt the snow. You will have to get out and wipe off the snow on your headlights very often or risk not seeing the road.

 

I upgraded to OEM LEDs and agree they are much better than the halogens but that isn’t saying much as the halogens were terrible. The LEDs are still sub par IMO. Our X5 has adaptive LEDs which blow the Tundras LEDs away. After driving that when I’m back in the tundra at night I sometimes have to check if the lights are even on lol.

 

I came from a 17’ with halogens to a 20’ with LED’s and love them. I think LED’s are worth the $$$ for the upgrades.

 

I got 17 pro housing and should be getting my v4 soon from headlights rev I’ll post pics for yah

 

Couple of negatives you might want to consider:
1. LED's are irritating. To me, sun bright white equals harsh. And to other drivers - especially in small cars we approach or come up behind. Being constantly blinded creates more pissed-off drivers (something our roads don't need)
2. Lack of dispersion. Sure - what they are aimed at is lit up, but outside of that focus things are hard if not impossible to see. When I drive hilly country roads and am heading down into a swale, I cannot see anything of the road on the opposite uphill. That part of road is not lit until the truck is pointing up. Not so good if there's a moose standing there...
The hi beams are great tho. Best setup for me would be standard low beams and LED hi's.

 

I assume, LED burn out eventually. What is the replacement cost?

 

The OEM headlamps do not have serviceable bulbs. Apparently they are attached to a circuit board and the entire headlamp needs to be replaced.

 

OUCH

 

This is going to be generally true for all LED headlights. That being said, you COULD try to replace the LED(s) yourself. But you'd have to know which LED's were used, break the seal on the headlight housing, disconnect the circuit board the housing itself and any wiring (which is likely soldered onto the circuit board), unsolder the bad LED(s) from the circuit board, solder on the new one(s), reassemble the components and reseal the headlight housing. Not impossible, but not exactly an easy job for someone who doesn't do that sort of work on a regular basis.

 

Unfortunately, true. But, I was told they SHOULD last the life of the vehicle. I’m not holding my breath..

 

I'm basically looking at it like a 300 dollar bulb, unfortunately.

 

Yeah, pretty much. The good thing is (as you said) they typically last a really long time. I'm not really worried about the OEM ones going out, but I would be on the cheapo-depot ones being peddled on the entairvebz.

 

A lifetime? A Toyota lifetime is a long time. Hope they last, $600 to change both (not mentioning the LED Fog Lights) will be expensive.

 

That’s why I went with the old pro blacked out headlights and good bulbs. Plus I can’t spend around 1100 on lights that’s triple bypass and leafs.

 

My experience:

I have a 2014.

The halogens suck. We had a 2011 Sienna that had better halogens.

I went with a retrofit with Morimoto projectors and HID. Those were really bright. But the build quality of the retrofits was not good, and they needed repairs a couple of times. I got sick of doing that so I went with the OEM Led's when they came out.

The OEM Led's are brighter than the halogens but not as bright as the HID retrofits. The cut off is pretty good. It is in my mind, what every Tundra should have as standard.

You cannot compare the OEM Led's with ones from BMW or other luxury makes. Those cost several thousands of dollars to replace and the Tundra's cost about $700.

An LED replacement bulb is cheaper, but it does scatter light more and doesn't focus it onto the road as well (I've been down this road also).

So take it from someone that has thrown away money trying to get better lighting. Go with the OEM Led's and spare yourself the time, aggravation, and money. I tried better halogen bulbs, then 2 kinds of led bulbs, then the retrofits (along with all the money I had to pay to send the retrofits back for repairs multiple times) which cost me over $1400. $1400 that I did not need to spend only to spend $700 to get the OEM Led's that have worked flawlessly and effectively.

 

I went down a similar albeit less expensive path and I agree completely with this statement.

 

That’s how it was explained to me. I was told Toyota tested these lights for the amount of hours equivalent to 15 years or so without failure. I was told the one year warranty is there to basically weed out any possible lemons. I don’t know how true that is but, I feel fairly confident they will last a long time.

 

Either way, the stock halogens were bunk. I’m getting older and my night vision isn’t what it used to be. I had to drop the money for better light.

 

Exactly the same with me. Plus night time in the rain....it just sucks.

 

Do it, buy the upgraded lights...the stock halogens are as good as a AA Maglight...best upgrade I've done by far!

 

So you just buy the OEM LEDs from your dealership, Roman or Sparks? Sorry to ask a dumb question. Do all models need a harness? My truck is a 2020. Thanks!

 

Go through either Sparks or Roman at Cool Springs Toyota...depending on the type of housing you want (chrome, black chrome, black) and connect with @iHacker on this forum (https://www.tundras.com/threads/201...lay-harness-for-2014-2020-models-v-2-0.24416/) for the harness...you will NOT be disappointed at all...if you have a few extra shilings to throw at your lighting, then consider the Morimoto XB version for another touch of personal customization (https://hidkitpros.com/shop/2014-2019-toyota-tundra-xb-led-headlights/)

 

If you just want the LED headlights, I will sell you mine. I just bought a 2020 Tundra Platinum(actually still waiting to take delivery) and I am switching out the LED Platinum headlights for the LED TRD Pro headlights. I am going for a black and white "Stormtrooper" theme and wanted the black TRD Pro lights. The headlights have 7 miles on them currently. I will give you a great deal, let me know if interested.