Lexus newbie questions
 

Hey guys, I'm proud to say that I am now the owner of a 2013 Lexus es350! Purchased from park place Lexus in Plano, certified pre-owned with 15k miles on it. It's the first Lexus I've owned and I am truly excited to be a first time owner and have a few questions for you veterans out there.

1) I bought the car without Nav and didn't even realize till I left the showroom that it does not have xenon lights but rather just the halogen bulbs. Honestly it didn't even cross my mind that it would have anything other than xenons as its a 2013 car with the premium package. I have already purchased and installed silver star zxe lights in hopes of getting the light to match the light from the LEDs but I am not satisfied. Does anyone have any bulb recommendations that really make the light look white?

2) I am thinking of getting a custom grill installed and have only found one style online, if anyone has any recommendations please send them my way!

3) Are there any other mods you guys have made that really enhance the look of the car, and if so what are they and please include the cost as well.

Thanks for all your help in advance guys and am truly looking forward to taking my car to the next level, any and all help would be truly appreciated!

For headlights you'd want a hid conversion kit. The 4300k color would be ideal.

For exterior mods there's tint, wheels, lowering springs, trunk or rear window spoiler, I've seen a few people plastidip the grill.

Congrats on the ES!

Re. bulbs, I'm not sure, I have factory xenons on mine and even those don't really match the LEDs. They're a bit bluish while the LEDs have a slight yellow tint. My pet peeve about the car's lighting is that nothing matches - the fronts don't, the interior lights are yellow bulbs while footwell lights are white LEDs. I would look at changing all interior lights to white LEDs for a more consistent look.

Re. the grill, my dealer bolted on a chrome lower grill facing. It makes the front look a little less Acura-ish but a completely blacked-out grill still looks better. Some plastidip pics on here.

Debadging also cleans up the look of the rear. I kept the hybrid side badges on but the rear is empty except for the big L.

Do s search here for ES350 HID kit.
First hit gets you the info you need.

I changed all interior bulbs and the trunk light from the yellow to pure white LED. Took about 30 minutes and the bulbs were from Ebay. 10 LED T-10 size for about $10.00.

Good Luck with the new car and come back here often with your questions.

Any issues with wiring and warning lights when you swapped out the interior bulbs for LEDs? Do you need CANBUS compliant bulbs? I would love to try this mod because the yellow lighting looks nasty.

Be aware that retro-fit HID headlight kits are technically illegal in all fifty states. Replacement headlight bulbs must be the same type, and emit the same light, as the OEM headlight bulb. The federal regulation is Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) # 108. Every state that gets federal highway money (all of them, I think) have adopted those FMVSS standards, including FMVSS 108, into their state laws.

Of course, few cops actually issue those tickets. If you are unlucky enough to meet one who does, the tickets are not usually very expensive.

But if you get into a collision, the illegal modification may make you liable for the collision.

I also changed out my ES interior lights to LED bulbs. Nothing special required for the LEDs and no issues afterward. There should be some previous threads discussing details on changing these bulbs. I did install a 20" LED light bar in my trunk instead of the single bulb to provide plenty of light.

The LED's (T-10) are direct replacements for the factory bulbs. Pull out the old and insert the new LED's. I don't know what CANBUS bulbs are, but the ones I used from Ebay have been in for 2 years without any problems. Get yourself a set of interior panel removal tools for about $5-7. They are useful in removing the lenses. You can also use a plastic picnic knife. The LED's are good for 10,000 hours according to the manufacturer. I have had no issues at all.
The white light looks beautiful at night.

Thanks!
 

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think my first mod will be making all the interior lights LED. Does anyone have a good kit recommendation? Also has anyone managed to put in LED fog lights like those on the Mercedes e-class?

Regarding the interior LED replacement, there are no kits available to my knowledge. All that you require are the LED's and a tool to remove the various lenses on the doors, mirrors, overhead console, etc. It's a very easy and inexpensive mod - less than $20.00 - that you will enjoy.

There is another thread from a few months ago with details and pictures here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...ior-led-s.html

That's a great thread, thanks. I've got some LEDs in the mail and hope to do the install soon.

I wonder why Toyota and Lexus were so late to switch to LED lighting for DRLs and rear lamps when German carmakers switched years ago. It's also strange that interior lighting still uses bulbs when LEDs are much cooler and look better. The ES still uses bulbs for the turn signals when a LED setup looks much sharper.

Oh and do the footwell lights use LEDs? Can't find anything in the manual about them.

The footwell lighting - on the 2013 - is NOT LED. They were replaced and I also changed the taillights to LED's.

Bob, what led did you use for the tail lights? Did you also change out your puddle lamps?

Art