In September of 2024 I realized that my passenger side headlight was out. After some work I found that the ballast had gone bad. I asked my repair shop to take a look; they told me that the auto-leveling/swivel mechanisms in both headlamp assemblies had failed. The swivel mechanism is integral to the entire headlamp assembly; you have to replace the entire unit. Great. Even worse, the the OEM for the parts was $1,600 per side as of that date. They could not find a decent aftermarket source. They recommended that I buy parts from ROCKAUTO.COM. So I ordered DEPO/Maxone headlamp assemblies for both sides for $634 each. That included the HID lighting ballast.

Driver side: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...=10762&jsn=485
Passenger side: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...=10762&jsn=486

After installation, the lights seemed low. Last month I took the car in for periodic maintenance and asked them to check/aim the headlamps. Guess what! The leveling/aiming components were broken on both sides. I can actually rotate the parts with my fingers; see the attached videos.

I will request my money back. I have to pay half of the shipping. All told, I've paid almost $800 on installation costs and shipping. I now see that there is a site called https://lexus.oempartsonline.com/ selling the components for a slightly higher price. I also know that some people have installed assemblies that lack the auto-leveling system; you just need to pull a fuse to turn off the warning light. Any recommendations on where to buy replacement components?

 

Lexus only sells the AFS motor that sits inside the headlight, the other leveling components no. I don't believe those components can be removed in the first place. Maybe on eBay?

But for OEM parts mylparts.com clublexus code CL5 you get 5% off. Prestige Lexus ships from NJ, low prices, and shipping is free. You can view exploded part diagrams on there too. Discountpartsmonster.com always has good prices too.

 

Thanks. I will take a look.

All kinds of problems looking at replacement assemblies. My car has the headlamp washers. I disabled it. Can I get an assembly without the washers or am I forced to spend the extra money to get the washers? Do the assemblies come with the control modules/ballasts? Don't know. I could call but they may not know. Would not know until the parts arrive.

This is terribly discouraging. I started a job with the federal government last year. I just barely missed being fired; my probationary period ended the week before they started firing the probationary employees. But I had been allowed to tele-work from a home office. For some reason, my physical office is located 110 miles from where I live. So I have to spend 4 nights a week in a hotel. I don't know when I can get this repaired.

 

Yeah that doesn't sound good. If you want AFS your best bet is buying used headlights off car-part.com. I'm seeing $300 each without the washer function.

 

The headlamp assembly is not easily opened up; access to the internal components is not easy. I looked at the old/removed units and found that one of them already had its ballast replaced (that ballast was still functional). I could feel that the mounting for one of the low beams was broken.

It appears that you can replace the headlamp assembly without replacing the headlamp washer system; that is fine with me. I have already disabled the headlamp washer system. I just want to confirm that I could buy the assembly without the washer system since those are priced about 30% more.

Also, it is not clear if the units come with ballasts/control modules. It would be easy enough to tell once I receive the units since the ballasts are visible at the bottom (and I can remove them to make certain they are OEM and not some cheap after market version).

Such much stress.

 

It seems like there could be another problem here? I would make sure to inspect all the components for system, make sure everything is functioning properly and make sure there isn’t something wrong that is damaging the housings. You don’t want a hidden problem ruining a 3rd set of housings in a row.