LS430 (2002) dipped headlight problem

[misterarse]

New to LS 430 ownership, my near side dipped beam (xeon) is faulty in as much as it goes out, turns lights off & then straight back on & it works immediately only to go out after a couple minutes, repeat before and it works & then does not. My question is, what needs replacing as I doubt if it is the bulb but then what do I know, is it possibly the ballast?

I doubt if this is a simple fix at Halfords?

[Britprius]

This is typical bulb failure mode for HID bulbs. Make sure you get the correct type for your vehicle. There are 2 different ones D2S and D4S they run at different voltages so they are not interchangeable. Be prepaired for a shock price from the dealers "£98" for genuine Phillips bulbs. You can get cheap bulbs off eBay £12 for two, and quite honestly have not had problems with them. Even if they only last a couple of years they must be worth it.

John

[misterarse]

Hi John,

Thank you for your informative & very helpful reply, much appreciated.

I doubt if I could afford dealer prices for anything, will 'bite the bullet' tho & replace one front speaker c £150 from official Lexus parts org in UK, I saw they quote £60 to replkace key fob Battery, fitted in seconds for a pound.

Thanks once again John...

[Britprius]

1 minute ago, misterarse said:

Hi John,

Thank you for your informative & very helpful reply, much appreciated.

I doubt if I could afford dealer prices for anything, will 'bite the bullet' tho & replace one front speaker c £150 from official Lexus parts org in UK, I saw they quote £60 to replkace key fob battery, fitted in seconds for a pound.

Thanks once again John...

Try a breaker for the speaker replacement. eBay is a good source you will get a full set of speakers for less than that. There is a good breaker in Lithuania that breaks UK cars, and ships parts back here.

John

[misterarse]

20 minutes ago, Britprius said:

Try a breaker for the speaker replacement. Ebay is a good source you will get a full set of speakers for less than that. There is a good breaker in Lithuania that breaks UK cars, and ships parts back here.

John

Nice one again...

[Bigture]

On 09/12/2016 at 4:58 PM, misterarse said:

Hi John,

Thank you for your informative & very helpful reply, much appreciated.

I doubt if I could afford dealer prices for anything, will 'bite the bullet' tho & replace one front speaker c £150 from official Lexus parts org in UK, I saw they quote £60 to replkace key fob battery, fitted in seconds for a pound.

Thanks once again John...

Reference to key fob Battery replacement -----  A few weeks ago I needed a Battery for my key fob, and not knowing any better I decided to replace the Battery in my other key  -  I went into my local Lexus dealers, and they fitted both keys for nothing!  Yes, nothing  -  I even had a cup of rather nice coffee whilst I waited.

Furthermore, when I went into the their car park I asked what type of tyre shine they used, and to my further surprise they gave me a bottle   -   not that bad   -   I suppose it depends which Lexus dealers you use.

Anyway, I hope that you get everything sorted to your satisfaction,

Happy Christmas to one and all.

[brendangeorge]

On 09/12/2016 at 4:34 PM, misterarse said:

New to LS 430 ownership, my near side dipped beam (xeon) is faulty in as much as it goes out, turns lights off & then straight back on & it works immediately only to go out after a couple minutes, repeat before and it works & then does not. My question is, what needs replacing as I doubt if it is the bulb but then what do I know, is it possibly the ballast?

I doubt if this is a simple fix at Halfords?

 

Hi

Could be a problem with the relay - I had this problem.  Although if the relay was duff I'd expect both lamps to go out and then come back on when you cycled the switch.

When I fixed the relay I put Philips Xenon X-treme Vision in and the difference was worth the cost.

Bren

 

[MLW]

Key batteries are funny. On a 'big' Toyota Prius service I misread 'replace key batteries' for 'replace one battery'. I put both in, and was charged £9.50 for the second. I had previously replace them at 4 for £1 at a one pound shop and they lasted for ages. Only did it as I thought it was free and included.

When I got my Lexus 430 the book implied that the 'latest' Lexus key should really be done at a dealer. 25 pence later, job done.

[Cotswold Pete]

I've used autobulbsdirect in past for buy HIDs

Had some in for 4 years now, and though not as cheap as eBay, seemed like a fair deal

I suspect the Philips ones are much better, after 4 years with ones I have, they seem to be still doing the trick.

[The-Acre]

It's very likely you'll have to replace both bulbs.  I changed one of mine and the difference was so noticeable it looked ridiculous.  

[jonthetourist]

1 hour ago, The-Acre said:

It's very likely you'll have to replace both bulbs.  I changed one of mine and the difference was so noticeable it looked ridiculous.  

Does that mean the performance of the bulbs deteriorates over time?

[Cotswold Pete]

11 hours ago, jonthetourist said:

Does that mean the performance of the bulbs deteriorates over time?

The bulbs do deteriorate over time which makes a difference, and also each manufacturer bulb will be slightly different in light colour, so you can end up with different coloured, different brightness bulbs which does look way off (for oncoming drivers) and means you light up the road ahead unevenly.

So always best to replace HIDs in pairs.

[misterarse]

Went for Halfords own, just under £60, not as bright as OEM bulb. They are guarenteed for 3 years by Halfords, so not too bad & price inclded fitting. Apparantly they never just die, they just get a bit intermittent so they get replaced before total failure.

[The-Acre]

I'm surprised Halfords had the knowledge to fit them, they certainly aren't the easiest to get to.  Any idea how long it took them?