Better replacement headlamp bulbs for RX400H

Tony Friedlander · December 1, 2023

We've had our 2007 RX400H bought off a mate as a punt to replace a wonderful SAAB 9-5 Aero Estate we'd had since new. The Lexus is equally comfortable & safe for occasional long distance visits to see grandchildren. BUT... the standard main & dipped beam headlamp bulbs are pathetic, & now Winter is here we must try something better. Does anyone have experience of any other bulbs, ie better spec replacement Halogens (eg as per Halfords), or Xenon (as standard on our SAAB) or even LED's? If so, what improvements has anyone enjoyed, & are any conversion kits necessary, & what supplier would anyone recommend please. We look forward to any suggestions?

katabrontes · December 1, 2023

I had the same problem with my RX 350. My first effort was an HID conversion which was good and really bright but it had an irritating rather slow warm up so full brightness took a little time to develop when first switched to main beam. Once they were warmed up it was instant. Fitting was a bit complicated as the high voltage supply had to be fitted and secured safely.

This year I changed to a Phillips LED which is excellent. Very bright and instant on. Again a little tricky to fit as you need to set the orientation of the bulb accurately which is quite fiddly and the mounting ring which you have to adjust is quite delicate. Once done however they are very good.

I used these

https://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/hb3-hb4-philips-ultinon-pro9100-led-headlights-pair.html

Good luck.

i think you would do well to use a high output LED for the reversing lights as well. The standard ones are rubbish.

Spock66 · December 1, 2023

I believe upgrade to either HID or LED would potentially result in an MOT failure as they do not comply with the appropriate lighting regulations.

Osram Night-Breaker (in the same fitment as original) is worth trying in my experience, also make sure the alignment is correctly set-up.

Greisingel · December 2, 2023

Good quality 60W XENONS at the 6000 - 6500 kelvins range I find are reasonable. The real problem is that really the car needs 2 dippeds at each side.

Was a hand wrecking job winkling them into place – it's an improvement on the old 4000K faded HIDs that looked like they had been on my 2005 400 since the get go. It is not perfect – when I compare myself with the near blinding LED beams of other new cars (there has been official discussion as I understand it about getting the blinding glare of new car LED systems under some control)

So, to augment, I will be updrading my fogs to very high spec LED HB4s. These do add a sweep of enhancing light to the dipped HIDs.

Main beam – is fine – a yellow but decent glare 400K pair of HB3s.

katabrontes · December 3, 2023

On 12/1/2023 at 9:14 PM, Spock66 said:

I believe upgrade to either HID or LED would potentially result in an MOT failure as they do not comply with the appropriate lighting regulations.

Osram Night-Breaker (in the same fitment as original) is worth trying in my experience, also make sure the alignment is correctly set-up.

I have seen this posted and there is a note on the Philips bulbs that they are ' for off road use only'.

However my RX has passed its MoT every time since I fitted the first conversion to HID and enquiry to my independent garage who does the tests confirmed that they are not a problem with MoT.

The other point that has been raised is on insurance as the change of bulb could be regarded as a modification from standard specification but the same argument could be used if, say, roof bars were fitted to a car supplied without them or even fitting a CAT restraint system or even the recently introduced under wheel arch shields to deafest Canbus theft.

NemesisUK · December 3, 2023

5 minutes ago, katabrontes said:

However my RX has passed its MoT every time since I fitted the first conversion to HID and enquiry to my independent garage who does the tests confirmed that they are not a problem with MoT.

Your independent garage is risking it's MoT testing licence and your road legal status/insurance etc.. by ignoring this 'blindingly' obvious statement in the MoT tester's manual -

Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.

This does not refer to complete replacement headlamp units which may be constructed with HID or LED light sources.

If a complete headlamp unit has been replaced with a unit that was manufactured with HID or LED light sources, it must not be failed for ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ but it must meet all other requirements detailed in section 4 of this manual specific to the type fitted at the time of test.

kenhall · December 3, 2023

This US(?) post on the Facebook RX group may be of interest. According to my RX400h owners manual D2S HID bulbs are used for the headlamp dipped beams.

A quick search shows that D2S and D4S bulbs are interchangeable, with the same light output, but the environmentally friendly mercury free D4S typically costs 3x the cost of the D2S.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/298564897176011/permalink/2016830915349392/?

The other possibility of course is the dazzlingly bright LED option!!

Edited December 3, 2023 by kenhall
Extra text

kenhall · December 3, 2023

Sorry my mistake - should have read further 🙄!
D2S and D4S are NOT interchangeable as they operate at different voltages.

The 3x price factor was for a higher output version of the D2S compared to the standard one.

LenT · December 3, 2023

On 12/1/2023 at 8:14 PM, Spock66 said:

Osram Night-Breaker (in the same fitment as original) is worth trying in my experience, also make sure the alignment is correctly set-up.

I replaced my D4S bulbs with the Osram Xenon Nightbreakers (also from autobulbsdirect) and they have been a great success. The originals were, frankly, inadequate - and far inferior to those of my previous Honda Accord.

For me the brighter main beam, although very welcome, was less useful than the better controlled dipped beam that gave a much better view of the pot-holed verges of our narrow country lanes.

Russell Wheeler · December 3, 2023

On 1/29/2023 at 12:40 AM, not impressed said:

Your independent garage is risking it's MoT testing licence and your road legal status/insurance etc.. by ignoring this 'blindingly' obvious statement in the MoT tester's manual -

Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.

This does not refer to complete replacement headlamp units which may be constructed with HID or LED light sources.

If a complete headlamp unit has been replaced with a unit that was manufactured with HID or LED light sources, it must not be failed for ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ but it must meet all other requirements detailed in section 4 of this manual specific to the type fitted at the time of test.

You are correct, it should fail the MOT by converting to HID, however as the RX400h was also available with HID (Mine is) then the MOT inspector is not going to know.

NemesisUK · December 3, 2023

3 minutes ago, Russell Wheeler said:

You are correct, it should fail the MOT by converting to HID, however as the RX400h was also available with HID (Mine is) then the MOT inspector is not going to know.

He should notice the lack of self-levelling and headlamp washers?

Russell Wheeler · December 3, 2023

2 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

He should notice the lack of self-levelling and headlamp washers?

True - I knew about headlight washers - which it may have as standard - Self leveling, my car has conventional springs and shocks.

ColinBarber · December 3, 2023

On 12/1/2023 at 6:18 PM, Tony Friedlander said:

Does anyone have experience of any other bulbs, ie better spec replacement Halogens (eg as per Halfords), or Xenon (as standard on our SAAB) or even LED's?

All UK RX400h (in fact all series II RXs, 300, 350 and 400h) all come standard with HID / Xenon headlights.

Due to age I imagine they have lost brightness and you need to change the lamps and/or make sure the lenses aren't cloudy.

ColinBarber · December 3, 2023

12 minutes ago, Russell Wheeler said:

Self leveling, my car has conventional springs and shocks.

Self levelling lights, not suspension.

All UK series II RXs have self levelling HID lights with washers.

katabrontes · December 4, 2023

Comment by Nemesis is informative. However it seems very strange that it is OK to replace inadequate headlight bulbs on an older car but not on a newer one. Not unusual for unintended consequences to arise from 'official' pronouncements, legislation or regulations but odd that this has persisted for so long without being corrected. I dipped very bright headlights are a problem whatever the age of the car and are a function of a careless driver not a dangerous vehicle.

22 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

Your independent garage is risking it's MoT testing licence and your road legal status/insurance etc.. by ignoring this 'blindingly' obvious statement in the MoT tester's manual -

Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible.

This does not refer to complete replacement headlamp units which may be constructed with HID or LED light sources.

If a complete headlamp unit has been replaced with a unit that was manufactured with HID or LED light sources, it must not be failed for ‘Light source and lamp not compatible’ but it must meet all other requirements detailed in section 4 of this manual specific to the type fitted at the time of test.

katabrontes · December 4, 2023

18 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

He should notice the lack of self-levelling and headlamp washers?

My RX350 has these.

katabrontes · December 4, 2023

15 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Self levelling lights, not suspension.

All UK series II RXs have self levelling HID lights with washers.

My 2006 RX350 has original HID lights on the dipped beam but the main beam was rather poor halogen bulbs which I initially converted to HID and recently swapped these for LED which are much better.

Greisingel · December 5, 2023

Yes, have to say that my new 6000K HIDs dippeds are still pretty crap. Replaced 18 year old rubbish pee stain 4000s.

I wonder if I can use LEDs that would plug into the socket coming out from the ballast box?

katabrontes · December 6, 2023

I have found that the dipped beams are always set much too low. I usually raise them up a bit after the MoT ( they always reset the down when MoT is done!) which improves them a lot. They are adequately bright, just set so low that they only light the road for about 15M in front of the car.

Tony Friedlander · December 6, 2023

Many thanks for all the prompt comments, which are very helpful except that some people recommend switching to LED, some Xenon, some say either of these could fail the MOT, others not. Guess I'll go to my MOT people & ask them before I go ahead. But a VERY useful exercise anyway. No need for anybody else to contribute as I now have a full range of opinions to digest.

The one thing I won't do is buy OEM - it'll have to be a main brand : Phillips, Osram or Bosch, because when I went into Halfords today for something else, they said although they won't be beaten on price (shades of erstwhile John Lewis?), their prices / products are the same online as in store, but they clearly aren't! shows it does pay to do thorough research, IF you've got the time of course!!!

Greisingel · December 7, 2023

On 12/6/2023 at 10:10 AM, katabrontes said:

I have found that the dipped beams are always set much too low. I usually raise them up a bit after the MoT ( they always reset the down when MoT is done!) which improves them a lot. They are adequately bright, just set so low that they only light the road for about 15M in front of the car.

Just out of interest how do you do the adjustment? Assume say on a 400 as a 350.

katabrontes · December 8, 2023

A bit fiddly as you need to remove the large plastic cover on the drivers side. There are a few hex head bolts projecting behind the light assemblies which control the orientation of the headlights. The top one adjusts for the height. I find a small hex socket on a flexible shaft is easiest tool to do this. A small adjustment makes a big difference so make sure you don't raise the beams too much to cause dazzle. I stand in front of the car about 5-10 metres away to check this.