Notices
ES - 1st to 6th Gen (1990-2018) Forum for all 1990 - 2018 ES Models

Help please with headlight issue?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Oct 12, 2012 | 05:15 PM
  #1  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default Help please with headlight issue?

I just got my new 2007 Lexus ES350 today and I noticed something odd.

I noticed when driving at night, when I shut the car off after putting it in park, the driver's side HID headlight is sometimes off and the passenger side HID headlight is on. Is this normal? If not, then what would be the problem?

Both HID headlights are on when the car is on.

Also, when I manually turn the HID lights off and back on, they are both on. I did notice that when I turned off the car once they both stayed on and then the driver's side bulb flickered a bit and then shut off. The passenger light remained on.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Reply
Old Oct 13, 2012 | 06:13 AM
  #2  
RickC5's Avatar
RickC5
Lead Lap
 
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 609
Likes: 21
From: Colorado Western Slope
Default

I don't have HIDs, but IIRC, HID bulbs fail intermittently before finally failing altogether. Likely you need a new bulb on the driver's side. Do a search on this forum for more details--there are some threads about that.
Reply
Old Oct 13, 2012 | 07:03 AM
  #3  
chefchoy's Avatar
chefchoy
Rookie
 
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 50
Likes: 1
From: Kansas
Default

Switch the bulbs and see if you still have the same problem.
Reply
Old Oct 13, 2012 | 09:59 AM
  #4  
jcat_350's Avatar
jcat_350
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
Default

Originally Posted by chefchoy
Switch the bulbs and see if you still have the same problem.
this. If the driver's side still does it, it's the ballast. If the passenger side now does it after the swap, it's the bulb.
Reply
Old Oct 13, 2012 | 04:18 PM
  #5  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

Thank you for your help.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 05:13 PM
  #6  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

I got the driver side HID replaced under warranty (from the place I bought the car) and within about 20 minutes the passenger HID light went out.

Is it normal for both HID lights to burn out almost at the same time?

Thanks.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 05:45 PM
  #7  
jcat_350's Avatar
jcat_350
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
Default

Originally Posted by duffer649
I got the driver side HID replaced under warranty (from the place I bought the car) and within about 20 minutes the passenger HID light went out.

Is it normal for both HID lights to burn out almost at the same time?

Thanks.
Definitely not normal. Swap the bulbs and see if it's actually the bulb. If the Driver's side still lights up after you've swapped them, you have a more serious issue either in the fuses, or in the wiring/ballasts.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 06:17 PM
  #8  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

The driver's side has the new bulb in it and it is working good. The passenger's side bulb comes on when the car is turned on but after about 10 minutes it flickers and goes out. I can turn the lights off manually and back on again and they are both on again.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 06:27 PM
  #9  
jcat_350's Avatar
jcat_350
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
Default

Originally Posted by duffer649
The driver's side has the new bulb in it and it is working good. The passenger's side bulb comes on when the car is turned on but after about 10 minutes it flickers and goes out. I can turn the lights off manually and back on again and they are both on again.
id be surprised to see a perfectly good bulb go bad like that, unless something happened while they were changing the bulb.

If you swap the bulbs and it still happens, it's ballasts and/or wiring/fuses.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 06:49 PM
  #10  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

The driver's side bulb is brand new as of today and it is working perfectly right now. I had it replaced today because it flickered and went out after being on for 10 minutes or so. It did it a few times per day until it got replaced.

The passenger's side bulb is the original 6 year old bulb. It is now doing the same thing as what the driver's side bulb did before I replaced it. I have not replaced the passenger side bulb yet.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 07:33 PM
  #11  
jcat_350's Avatar
jcat_350
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
Default

Originally Posted by duffer649
The driver's side bulb is brand new as of today and it is working perfectly right now. I had it replaced today because it flickered and went out after being on for 10 minutes or so. It did it a few times per day until it got replaced.

The passenger's side bulb is the original 6 year old bulb. It is now doing the same thing as what the driver's side bulb did before I replaced it. I have not replaced the passenger side bulb yet.
you are failing to understand my comment as a means of troubleshooting to eliminate whether the bulb is at fault or something else within the system.
Reply
Old Oct 16, 2012 | 08:04 PM
  #12  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

I will try that, thanks.
Reply
Old Oct 18, 2012 | 07:01 PM
  #13  
duffer649's Avatar
duffer649
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
 
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: New York
Default

Both bulbs ended up being burnt at almost the same time. It's rare but it happened to me.

I now have 2 brand new lights working perfectly.

Thanks.
Reply
Old Oct 19, 2012 | 07:14 AM
  #14  
jcat_350's Avatar
jcat_350
Lexus Champion
 
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,347
Likes: 6
From: RI
Default

Originally Posted by duffer649
Both bulbs ended up being burnt at almost the same time. It's rare but it happened to me.

I now have 2 brand new lights working perfectly.

Thanks.
wow...normally I'd suggest going to play the lottery but I think you need the other kind of luck for that.

Glad you got it patched up
Reply
Old Oct 20, 2012 | 09:21 AM
  #15  
chefchoy's Avatar
chefchoy
Rookie
 
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 50
Likes: 1
From: Kansas
Default

You mind if I ask, how many miles are on the car, and what did you have to pay per bulb?
Reply



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:16 AM.