2007 ES 350 headlight problem
05-13-13, 08:08 AM
#17
Intermediate
Thanks Dreyfus. Just finished up with changing the bulb and it works fine now.
BTW, your instructions were awesome and without it, i would have been stumped as
the work area is small and the myriad of clips are confusing.
After changing the bulb and engine air filter i have come to the conclusion that
Lexus really does not want DIYers. They make these simple things hard by making
the access cramped.
BTW, your instructions were awesome and without it, i would have been stumped as
the work area is small and the myriad of clips are confusing.
After changing the bulb and engine air filter i have come to the conclusion that
Lexus really does not want DIYers. They make these simple things hard by making
the access cramped.
BTW, Thanks Dreyfus, your instructions are great.
12-28-13, 06:13 AM
#18
Intermediate
If you immediately turn your headlights off and back on does the passenger light come back on? If so, you have a bad bulb. It's easy to replace yourself. The part will set you back $240 though (OEM through the dealer).
1. Remove the plastic HID socket cover by turning it counter-clockwise.
2. Remove the silver metal socket fitting attached to the braided cable by turning counter-clockwise about 45 degrees and pulling towards you.
3. There's a U-shaped set spring retainer that has kind of curled circle ends. This holds the bulb assembly in place by locking into notches on either side at roughly 11:00 & 1:00 on the housing. Pinch those two curled ends towards each other and pull them out and down to clear the notches and swing the retainer downward. This will release the bulb in the very center of the unit.
4. Pull the bulb out by it's base. It's about 3" long and comes straight out. Don't touch the glass if you intend to reuse the bulb.
5. The Toyota HID bulb is part # 90981-20024 (for my 2007 ES350).
6. Holding the new bulb by the base and without touching the glass, push the bulb back into the hole. There are notches & tabs in the base and mount that must match. Just rotate the bulb until it catches.
7. Reset the retaining spring by swinging it up and pushing it in while pinching the curled ends a bit. Release the ends when they lock into the metal notches on the housing. Make sure the retainer is secure before proceeding.
8. Reattach the metal socket fitting by pushing in at and turning clockwise 45 degrees from roughly a 10:00 to a 12:00 position.
9. Reattach the plastic cover by turning it clockwise.
That's all there is to it.
1. Remove the plastic HID socket cover by turning it counter-clockwise.
2. Remove the silver metal socket fitting attached to the braided cable by turning counter-clockwise about 45 degrees and pulling towards you.
3. There's a U-shaped set spring retainer that has kind of curled circle ends. This holds the bulb assembly in place by locking into notches on either side at roughly 11:00 & 1:00 on the housing. Pinch those two curled ends towards each other and pull them out and down to clear the notches and swing the retainer downward. This will release the bulb in the very center of the unit.
4. Pull the bulb out by it's base. It's about 3" long and comes straight out. Don't touch the glass if you intend to reuse the bulb.
5. The Toyota HID bulb is part # 90981-20024 (for my 2007 ES350).
6. Holding the new bulb by the base and without touching the glass, push the bulb back into the hole. There are notches & tabs in the base and mount that must match. Just rotate the bulb until it catches.
7. Reset the retaining spring by swinging it up and pushing it in while pinching the curled ends a bit. Release the ends when they lock into the metal notches on the housing. Make sure the retainer is secure before proceeding.
8. Reattach the metal socket fitting by pushing in at and turning clockwise 45 degrees from roughly a 10:00 to a 12:00 position.
9. Reattach the plastic cover by turning it clockwise.
That's all there is to it.
Just changed both the head lights in my 2007 ES. The driver side was tight to put my hands in so I would recommend you start with passenger side first to get used to it.
Bought bulbs from Amazon, Phillips D4S, $50 each.
01-04-14, 03:23 PM
#19
Philips brand....
Hi RX300MM,
Sorry for the delayed reply. I did order the same philips bulb from amazon. Did a second one for
the passenger side in Dec again. Though this time the bulb looked like a fake but I can't tell for
sure. It is working as expected and matches the color/brightness of the previous one.
Fingers crossed.
Sorry for the delayed reply. I did order the same philips bulb from amazon. Did a second one for
the passenger side in Dec again. Though this time the bulb looked like a fake but I can't tell for
sure. It is working as expected and matches the color/brightness of the previous one.
Fingers crossed.
02-21-14, 12:02 PM
#20
Driver School Candidate
So my car has been having the same problem with the headlight for several months now. I decided to take it to the Toyota dealer (the one I've been using for the regular maintenance, oil, tire changes, etc.) and their diagnostic and after consulting w/Lexus was that not only I would need a new bulb but that they will need to be matched to the computer, which they said I would need to get a new one (about $700). does that sound logical? not to me and I decided not to fix it. Has anyone had this?
I'll try to get the bulbs off of the internet (Harison Toshiba 06-13 Lexus ES350 ES 350 Xenon D4S HID BULBS LIGHTS) which Amazon has them for $147.67 + tax.
I'll try to get the bulbs off of the internet (Harison Toshiba 06-13 Lexus ES350 ES 350 Xenon D4S HID BULBS LIGHTS) which Amazon has them for $147.67 + tax.
Last edited by bujan350; 02-21-14 at 12:06 PM.
02-21-14, 12:44 PM
#21
Here's the deal. If you spend $80-$100 online for a single D4S bulb; or worse yet, $175-$200 from Autozone/Advanced Auto; or even worse yet $300+ each from the Lexus dealer, then you are not trying. The fact that you're on a forum means that you do want to learn about your car.
At the very most, you should only have to pay around $75-$100 for a PAIR of replacement bulbs. They are available online from many sources. This is one of those times where Autozone, Oreily, Napa, etc... is not the right answer. If you spend the $300+ each from the dealer, they are also going to charge about $120 PER HOUR for labor charges. So at the very low end, it would cost about $350. They'll tell you that you MUST have a pair done. I definitely suggest this too, but it's not mandatory.
The whole thing about matching the bulb to the car's computer sounds like a COS. "Crock of XXXX". The car and battery produce "X" amount of voltage. The Ballast/lighting system requires "X" amount of current and will take what it needs. It converts the voltage and fires up the bulbs. If you get a standard D4S bulb, there isn't anything that needs to be matched to a computer. I don't buy that for a second.
Now, if you've actually got a "Problem" with the lighting system, and it's not just the bulb, then that's a totally different issue. But if you're just wanting to replace the bulb, you can get quality bulbs: philips and sylvania for $50-$75 each. You can get 3rd party (Quality) bulbs (Which many are OEM like OSRAM, for even less money.
At the very most, you should only have to pay around $75-$100 for a PAIR of replacement bulbs. They are available online from many sources. This is one of those times where Autozone, Oreily, Napa, etc... is not the right answer. If you spend the $300+ each from the dealer, they are also going to charge about $120 PER HOUR for labor charges. So at the very low end, it would cost about $350. They'll tell you that you MUST have a pair done. I definitely suggest this too, but it's not mandatory.
The whole thing about matching the bulb to the car's computer sounds like a COS. "Crock of XXXX". The car and battery produce "X" amount of voltage. The Ballast/lighting system requires "X" amount of current and will take what it needs. It converts the voltage and fires up the bulbs. If you get a standard D4S bulb, there isn't anything that needs to be matched to a computer. I don't buy that for a second.
Now, if you've actually got a "Problem" with the lighting system, and it's not just the bulb, then that's a totally different issue. But if you're just wanting to replace the bulb, you can get quality bulbs: philips and sylvania for $50-$75 each. You can get 3rd party (Quality) bulbs (Which many are OEM like OSRAM, for even less money.
02-21-14, 12:53 PM
#22
Driver School Candidate
Christcorp, I totally agree and I didn't buy the story about matching computers w/bulbs. when I'll pick up my car this evening, I'll get more details about this computer thing and I'll update after replacing the bulbs. I'll order the bulbs tonight and give it a try. Trying it for $160, is not going to break my account.
the one other fact the service guy mentioned was that Prius has a similar setup with their bulbs, I'm not a prius guy so I have no comments.
Thanks for the reply.
the one other fact the service guy mentioned was that Prius has a similar setup with their bulbs, I'm not a prius guy so I have no comments.
Thanks for the reply.
03-07-14, 02:04 PM
#23
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I have a Lexus 2007 350 ES. The driver side head lamp was going out intermittantly . I switched the bulbs and the problem has gotten worse.
The driver side still goes out intermittantly but now occasionally both sides while driving will just go out at the same time.
To me this does not sound like a bulb issue since both sides will go off simultaneously.
If I turn the lights off then back on both lights will come back on.
Also, I've noticed that when just sitting parked with the headlights on. They occassionally flicker .
Any idea ?
The driver side still goes out intermittantly but now occasionally both sides while driving will just go out at the same time.
To me this does not sound like a bulb issue since both sides will go off simultaneously.
If I turn the lights off then back on both lights will come back on.
Also, I've noticed that when just sitting parked with the headlights on. They occassionally flicker .
Any idea ?
Any thoughts?
03-11-14, 05:29 AM
#24
Driver School Candidate
I have the same problem with my 2007 ES350. A couple of times my dimmed headlights have both shut down but the high beams continue to work. I also had the passenger dimmed headlight shut down but the driver side was fine. When I turn the switch off and back on again all is usually well for a while. I was thinking the problem may be the switch rather than the bulb.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts?
The other alternative is to see if you can run diagnostics on the lighting module to see if it has any fault codes associated with the switch or circuit.
03-17-14, 07:13 AM
#25
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Failing light bulbs on 2007 ES350
:Sounds like it is indeed the bulb (or both bulbs) - intermittent dimming or turning-off are typical symptoms of an HID bulb that's going out. So that's the first thing I'd replace. You can even go with cheap no-brand bulbs for a test... and they usually work fine. They probably don't last as long as Philips or other brand-name ones, but for that price, you can probably buy 3 sets
The other alternative is to see if you can run diagnostics on the lighting module to see if it has any fault codes associated with the switch or circuit.
The other alternative is to see if you can run diagnostics on the lighting module to see if it has any fault codes associated with the switch or circuit.
Thank you for the very good advice. I ran the diagonostic and found no faults. I then changed both bulbs and have not had any problem since. I have never seen bulbs fail this way before. Usually they are either on or off so this was quite unusual. Thanks again for your very worthwhile advice.
03-18-14, 06:53 PM
#26
Driver School Candidate
: Thank you for the very good advice. I ran the diagonostic and found no faults. I then changed both bulbs and have not had any problem since. I have never seen bulbs fail this way before. Usually they are either on or off so this was quite unusual. Thanks again for your very worthwhile advice.P.S. yeah, HID bulbs have very different symptoms of going out, compared to regular halogen bulbs.
03-22-14, 06:43 AM
#27
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I had the same headlight problems for a while with one bulb going off for no apparent reason. I would turn off the lights momentarily, then turn it back on for a fix but that was temporary as that would happen again after a while or the next time headlights are used. Then I had one incident when both headlights went off and that was scarry esp living in a rural area, so a permanent fix was researched. I read a lot of threads in the forum - from bad ballasts to bad connections to bad switches to bad headlights. I paid $80 for a pair of garax bulbs and that fixed the problem for me. Installation is less than an hour and involved removing the bolt to the washer fluid filler to gain access to a round clear twist plate on one side and the other side was easy. BTW, the bulbs go in sideways(just like home tube lights) unlike conventional bulbs, so logically looking at the headlights' placement will screw your thought process that perhaps access would be from behind the HID light mounting. The headlights have been installed now for over 3 months without a problem. Changing headlights will take anywhere from 15mins to 1 hour, depending on the size of you hands and your luck in seating the bulb correctly. Some threads suggest taking off the wheel dirt cover, etc. to gain access and that is not necessary. The old Philips bulbs still look good when I removed them, with the filament that lights up still firmly attached (blown bulbs would have that filament hanging loose inside the bulb and/or a black area showing blown carbon); so essentially there is a problem with the bulb itself - probably poor manufacturing. Hope you find this useful.
Last edited by jlopes888; 03-22-14 at 06:48 AM.
04-14-14, 07:56 AM
#28
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I've had the same problem with my headlights going out intermittently. I took it into my local auto repair shop and was told that there are two parts to the headlight. One part is $250 and the other is $750! They did not want to change anything until we knew for sure which part was defective.
It has been both sides going out and on 1-2 occasions they both went out at the same time. Fortunately, my brights are not affected, so I was not driving blind (could they be the $750 bulb?). It also seems that the cold weather was adversely effecting them, as I am not noticing them going out now that the temperatures are warmer. A friend suggested that perhaps moisture got into the housing?
In any event, these are obscene prices for light bulbs.
It has been both sides going out and on 1-2 occasions they both went out at the same time. Fortunately, my brights are not affected, so I was not driving blind (could they be the $750 bulb?). It also seems that the cold weather was adversely effecting them, as I am not noticing them going out now that the temperatures are warmer. A friend suggested that perhaps moisture got into the housing?
In any event, these are obscene prices for light bulbs.
04-14-14, 02:26 PM
#29
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I've had the same problem with my headlights going out intermittently. I took it into my local auto repair shop and was told that there are two parts to the headlight. One part is $250 and the other is $750! They did not want to change anything until we knew for sure which part was defective.
It has been both sides going out and on 1-2 occasions they both went out at the same time. Fortunately, my brights are not affected, so I was not driving blind (could they be the $750 bulb?). It also seems that the cold weather was adversely effecting them, as I am not noticing them going out now that the temperatures are warmer. A friend suggested that perhaps moisture got into the housing?
In any event, these are obscene prices for light bulbs.
It has been both sides going out and on 1-2 occasions they both went out at the same time. Fortunately, my brights are not affected, so I was not driving blind (could they be the $750 bulb?). It also seems that the cold weather was adversely effecting them, as I am not noticing them going out now that the temperatures are warmer. A friend suggested that perhaps moisture got into the housing?
In any event, these are obscene prices for light bulbs.
ETA - here's a link of a example from amazon
Last edited by chbow; 04-14-14 at 02:29 PM. Reason: Added link
04-20-14, 03:16 PM
#30
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Thx.
Bwong