HID Bulb change on IS300h F-Sport 2014 - can we do it ourselves and can I change bulbs to Night Breakers?

[Ken83]

Hi All,

The passenger dipped beam on my IS300h has stopped working. Lexus has quoted me £125 to change just that one side. They say its not the light unit but the bulb.

Looking online I can get the bulbs for around £40 each. I also found some HID bulbs called 'OSRAM Night Breaker Laser Xenarc' which are £120 for a pair from autobulbsdirect.co.uk. 

Can anyone please advise if its relatively easy to change the bulbs myself or I shouldn't even attempt? Also, does anyone have any experience with these bulbs? I'm thinking if its £120 for 2 and its easy to change I may as well change both myself and get the better performance these bulbs are supposed to provide as TBH the lights aren't currently anything to write home about.

Lastly, if anyone could advise if they've had any issues with error messages after changing bulbs? Funnily enough, I received no error messages after the current bulb failed (which is very strange to me) I only noticed on a reflection. If you have had error codes let me know as if it may be the light unit malfunctioning, I'd rather they change the bulb and see that's the case than I do it and they say its happened because I've used aftermarket bulbs.

Thanks

Ken

 

[wharfhouse]

13 minutes ago, Ken83 said:

Hi All,

The passenger dipped beam on my IS300h has stopped working. Lexus has quoted me £125 to change just that one side. They say its not the light unit but the bulb.

Looking online I can get the bulbs for around £40 each. I also found some HID bulbs called 'OSRAM Night Breaker Laser Xenarc' which are £120 for a pair from autobulbsdirect.co.uk. 

Can anyone please advise if its relatively easy to change the bulbs myself or I shouldn't even attempt? Also, does anyone have any experience with these bulbs? I'm thinking if its £120 for 2 and its easy to change I may as well change both myself and get the better performance these bulbs are supposed to provide as TBH the lights aren't currently anything to write home about.

Lastly, if anyone could advise if they've had any issues with error messages after changing bulbs? Funnily enough, I received no error messages after the current bulb failed (which is very strange to me) I only noticed on a reflection. If you have had error codes let me know as if it may be the light unit malfunctioning, I'd rather they change the bulb and see that's the case than I do it and they say its happened because I've used aftermarket bulbs.

Thanks

Ken

 

Google is your friend as to changing the hid bulbs - two videos - one for drivers side and one for passenger side

 

[Las Palmas]

Lexus have extreme prices for simple things. Maybe they have so few repairs that they need a lot for the ones they get in.

Company I worked in then was selling HID light systems when that was the new thing, and we were promised they would last a very long time, but then again 8 years is pretty long time. A HID is to change like any other bulb. Do not touch the glass! The ballast should not need to be changed.

All HID have very good light output so to increase that would be going too far in my mind. Replace with similar.

[J Henderson]

Looks pretty straightforward, just like the Mk2 IS. I would go the extra step and remove or loosen the airbox to gain more room to work with.

As for error codes because of aftermarket bulbs...Doubtful. In fact, its very possible the OEM bulbs in the car are also OSRAMs.

[wharfhouse]

Lexus Parts Direct HID bulbs

https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/?s=D4s&post_type=product&dgwt_wcas=1

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, Ken83 said:

Can anyone please advise if its relatively easy to change the bulbs myself or I shouldn't even attempt?

Yes very straightforward as long as you can get access to the rear of the headlamp housing, I don't know what that's like on your car. I have used the Osram Night Breaker HIDs on a non Lexus car and they were a worthwhile upgrade.

It's normally recommended to change HIDs in pairs as unlike conventional bulbs which either work of don't work HIDs gradually fail over time so you may end up with one side looking much brighter than the other.

Just be aware HIDs work on high voltage so take care with the electrical connections which may still carry a charge even if turned off.

[agent_dess]

I just replaced my bulbs last week, very easy to do but i struggled little on the driver side due the intake box and my gorilla hands. 

I paid £108 for a pair of OSRAM Xenarc Night Breaker Laser D4S 

Fantastic at night 😁

[j051]

This may have been just me - but when I did this in my old Honda I accidentally put the bulbs upside down which changed the light image on the road. So, that is a lesson learned from my side 😅. Had to take it apart once more to fix and then it was fine.

[LenT]

On 6/28/2022 at 12:25 PM, Ken83 said:

 I also found some HID bulbs called 'OSRAM Night Breaker Laser Xenarc' which are £120 for a pair from autobulbsdirect.co.uk. 

I can only add that I got these very same OSRAM’S from the same supplier and both were excellent.  The Xenarc’s.(D4S in my case) were a dramatic improvement on the original HiD bulbs - especially on the control of the dipped beam, which was particularly useful around our twisty unlit country lanes. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

The Manual was no help on replacing main bulbs, only saying it should be done by a Dealer.  So I simply got them done within a normal service.  It took about 10 minutes and I supplied the bulbs.

But what really surprised me is that, according to the Dealer, both main and dip are the same  bulb.with some form of electromechanical shutter switching the light.  I got the impression that this may only - or mainly - apply to the HiD system on the Premier model of the IS 250.  If right, it works extremely well.

But I could be mistaken!  ☹️

[ColinBarber]

8 hours ago, LenT said:

 I got the impression that this may only - or mainly - apply to the HiD system on the Premier model of the IS 250.

All IS series III with HID lights have a single bulb to provide low and high beams.