View Poll Results: What type of headlights will arrive on this RX450h?

LED

70.59%

HID

23.53%

Standard

It's a crap shoot -- I don't know!

5.88%

Voters: 17. You may not vote on this poll

The RX450h Headlight Guessing Game

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06-10-12, 07:26 AM

#31

billy44bo

Lexus Test Driver

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Well how do you like your new RX ?

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06-10-12, 09:20 AM

#32

BertL

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Quote:

Originally Posted by billy44bo

Well how do you like your new RX ?

Simply LOVE this ride. Check out my post from earlier this morning here for more details.

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08-19-15, 06:12 AM

#33

rxgs2011

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Luxury PKG = L.E.D. Headlamps

Quote:

Originally Posted by BertL

As some of you may know from other posts, I have a special ordered 2013 RX450h which is built and will be leaving Fukuoka on Friday, for delivery to me by mid-June. Monday evening, I received a copy of the "Vehicle Inventory Report" with the VIN for this truck, but what's not specified is the type of headlights that have been installed. (DRLs of course are LEDs for all 2013 RX.) As of this moment, my dealer isn't sure what type of headlights I'm getting either, but is working to figure it out before it arrives if they can.

Configuration:

2013 RX450h AWD
Major Options: Comfort Package, Luxury Package, Nav, HUD, Mark Levinson, Intuitive Parking Assist, PCS, Towing Prep Pkg and Hitch

Note: The brief description of the Luxury Package components on the Inventory Report indicate "Headlight Cleaners" are included -- no mention of the headlights themselves

Facts:

Lexus.com 2013 RX450h Options and Pricing Information is inconclusive. Interacting with Lexus.com Chat yesterday, they suspect "standard" headlights are the answer, as HID and LED show as independent options on the website and I don't have the line items in my order.
2013 RX450h Product Information on the Lexus Newsroom Site was initially available in conjunction with the Geneva Auto Show and last updated 4/24. It calls out LED Headlights are part of the Luxury Package (which I will have).
My dealer tried yesterday ordering a new 2013 RX450h with the Luxury Package and found that he is not allowed to then add either the independent HID or LED Headlight options. Their present opinion is therefore, one or the other will be installed as part of the vehicle I'll have.
As a side note, my previous 2012 RX450h special order forced the addition of LED Headlights (which showed as a separate line item option) when the Luxury Package was ordered.

My personal hope, desire and thought is LED Headlights will arrive, but I'd feel a lot better after all this time and being so close to delivery, knowing for sure. What type of headlights do you think will arrive on my new 2013 RX450h?

I'll update this thread with the answer as soon as I have official Lexus confirmation or the vehicle arrives. Until then, folks placing special orders and desiring HID or LED headlights may want to be sure you call them out to your dealer so they can help ensure you receive what you're expecting.

(You guys that buy base models off the lot have a leg up on folks like me, knowing what you're getting I suppose. As many positive things as I have to say for this brand over 17 years of ownership, I'm increasingly frustrated with Lexus failures not providing more precise detail on the rollout of the new 2013s. As much as I hated doing it being 7 months into this ordering process, I told my dealer yesterday I won't compromise and take the vehicle if it has only standard headlights. Even my to-be-traded 2006 RX400h has HIDs. My countdown to arrival has begun, and despite this blip, I'm excited. The story continues... )

Having just taken delivery of a new 2015 RX450h I can confirm, when you order the "Luxury" package, you get L.E.D. headlamps and fog lamps. You also have headlamp washers. AFS (Adaptive Front Lighting System) no longer is part of the RX options list. Lexus eliminated that in 2013. The L.E.D. lighting does have the dynamic Auto-leveling system, which tilts the lights up and down. You can see it work when it initializes at engine start-up. The L.E.D. headlamps, I can report, are great! There are actually 4 headlamps, which distribute the light more evenly in front of the car. You don't see the distinctive twin beam light, evident with older Quartz or H.I.D. lamp systems. The 4 beams spread an almost continuous blaze of blue/white light in front of the vehicle. It appears to me to be brighter than H.I.D., or at least more successful at lighting the space in front of the vehicle. I do miss the "AFS" panning headlamps on sharp curves, but everywhere else, the L.E.D.s are superior. Surprisingly, the High beam headlamps on the H.I.D. or L.E.D. headlamp option on RX are now just the quartz lamps used pre-2013 for Daytime running lamps. Since the 2013, 2014, & 2015 models have L.E.D. DRL's, the lamps used for high beams in the standard Quartz/Halogen lamp configuration have been pushed back into service. The only downside is, they are a warmer color temperature, and an incandescent bulb, in the age of L.E.D.'s. That has been addressed in the 2016 RX. I liked the mechanical damper present in the earlier RX H.I.D. headlamp system that provided high-beam (Full beam for you Brit's), or low beam (Dipped Beam). There is one benefit to using a conventional quartz/halogen lamp for the high beam instead of demanding the H.I.D. headlamp turn on for high beam. When using the "Flash-to pass" lever while driving, turning on the H.I.D. lamp briefly and repeatedly puts extra wear on the bulb, since stiking the arc is the most damaging on bulb life. When turning on an H.I.D. a high voltage is used to jump the gap between the arc tips. The lightning strike, is then followed by a lower voltage, higher amperage electrical current. The wear on the bulb is from the start-up more than the hours of on-time. It's also a characteristic of H.I.D.'s that the halide metal compounds present in the bulb, that must evaporate to reach full brightness, take 5 or more seconds to take effect. This reduces the brightness of a momentarily turned on lamp, as in "Flash-to-pass".