Bought car 11/30/2023. I am rather disapointed in all of the lighting except headlights and personal mirror lamps.
There are no approach lights or exterior puddle lights. My car is black on black on black and those little lites in the door handles are useless. If you can't see the handles being that close, you have bigger issues. The interior "dome" light and map lights weak. Anyone know a good replacement lamp for the front center dome light?
The dashboard brightness is OK at night but can get washed out from sunlight. The ambient lighting should have a separate control, be brighter and have more items highlighted like the cup holders and the glove box button. I actually have a small flashlight so I can find that button and see what's in the glove box.
Finally the trunk light. I fix that issue today. These work great and attach magnetically to the top of the trunk near opening. Not the trunk lid.
Your opinions are appreciated!

 

I’m surprised, I find that the downward facing LED lights in the outside door handles work great as approach lights.

Im pretty pleased with all the lighting except that the ambient light strips aren’t separately adjustable and are tied to the instrument binnacle which I keep one click above the lowest setting at night.

 

What color is your car and you must have owl eyes. Just kidding.

 

are you talking about the ambient lighting should be brighter when driving at night? it dims at night for a purpose. too bright and you’ll see the light glare on the window. also it effects your forward vision. eyes will be adjusting from light to dark. not good.

have you adjusted the dashboard light switch? it controls not just the gauge cluster but all the interior lights like the light on the buttons and whatnot.

i have black interior in mine and the lighting is just fine. not too bright and not too dim.

 

Caveat about turning interior lights all the way up. This can cause shorter life of the led bulbs and they are miniature soldered in place. Near impossible to replace without a microscopic device. Seriously. Turn 'em all the way up and then back a tiny bit. Good luck.

 

The interior lighting isn't the best, especially with a black interior. I installed custom ambient lights, check my signature for the link to details. I love my ambient lighting now, the stock stuff is useless and a waste of time.

 

"The interior lighting isn't the best, especially with a black interior. I installed custom ambient lights, check my signature for the link to details. I love my ambient lighting now, the stock stuff is useless and a waste of time."

Yes - I have seen the custom interior ambient lighting. Impressive.
Did you know there is also a full rear light bar kit?

 

I believe all the lighting is now LED. Brightness should have no effect on life span. I need more info on what is used. The manual is not very useful.

 

I'm not sure if it's a trim or year issue. I've seen a youtube video on a 2022 that has approach and puddle lights.
I hope this video will help.

 

Thank you for your concern over my eye health. Yes - I know how to adjust the lighting. It might be a year or trim issue. As you can see in this video the issue with 2023-2024.

 

Everything dies faster when you drive it hard. Auto leds are different from home LED. They all produce heat, home bulbs are more heat resistant because they aren't so delicate. There's a documented history of LS bulbs dying. I've read many threads. Let us know if you find out different.

 

Sorry but nope. LEDS have been around since the 70's. I have a degree in electronic and worked in the field for 30 years. They are solid state devices and if the light housing and components are not cheaply designed, they should last the lifetime of the car.
You can see poorly vented or heatsinked lights (mostly headlights) fail early. The dome and ambient lighting have very low current draw and heat dissipation. Thus cooler to the touch.

 

I'd like to replace the bulb lighting my trunk with a brighter bulb. (2021 ES 350). Is that a big deal? Is it possible and safe for the car? What watt, etc. would be recommended?

 

Yes I installed that also, I have a video on it.

 

I'm jealous!