Riceater

Okay so my mom is the original owner of an 07 IS350, it has about 46,000 miles on it and is really only driven to work and back. Recently she has been having issues with the driver side HID not wanting to kick on.. a problem I have noticed around town as well from other 06+ IS's. Now her passenger HID is doing the same thing.. IMO this is a bit ridiculous that a 3-4y/o car with factory HIDs and ballasts should be having this issue. Our family has had several cars with OEM HIDs and not one has ever had issues with them. It would seem to me that if she's one of about 3 other people just in our town that are having this issue, I wonder if it's just something faulty with the ballasts themselves? Eventually these will be going out and I know OEM equipment is expensive in terms of headlights.

How many of you guys have had HID bulbs flicker and/or go out on you since you bought your car and have any of you tried getting it warrantied? I imagine Lexus will tell us we're SOL and to spend $1000 on new ballasts and bulbs but that's definitely not good enough when it's obvious this is a design flaw.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I've actually seen quite a few people post about getting their HIDs replaced free under warranty, so I'd suggest you go that route.

pfdaxe

iTrader: (8)

Lexus will warranty the ballast but not the bulb. I just had my pass. side replaced under warranty. The dealer actually replaces the entire headlight assembly when the ballast goes bad.

JoeCombs

iTrader: (3)

hey i have some HID OEM bulbs i just put up for sale if you need them

kikkomanrj

Take it to the dealer ASAP cuz a bulb is included in the factory warranty. I bought a CPO'd 07 last September and after a couple weeks one of the HIDs would go out. Since I was under 50k miles I waited until I brought it in for an oil change. Although I was within mileage the factory warranty expired via time a couple weeks beforehand. Luckily they didn't charge me for a new bulb.

Swap bulbs to make sure it's the bulb not the ballast. If it's the bulb buy a replacement elsewere. Sewell charges $150 vs the $300+ dealers have asked for.

Riceater

It just blows my mind that I'm even having to do this.. I've seen aftermarket setups for $200 that last longer than these have. I'll try and get the car into the dealer tomorrow to have them take a look. I'm fairly sure it's the ballast but I could be wrong I suppose. Hopefully it's still under warranty.. It's an 07 as well : / I know as far as mileage it is.

Riceater

If they try and tell me it's the bulbs I'll be contacting you as long as they aren't already sold.

Thanks!

SILVRLININ

iTrader: (5)

Have you ever changed the bulbs? If so, is the connection to the bulb secured properly?

At one point, my driver side had the same problem. I ended up buying bulb after bulb. Turns out, the metal connectors inside the ballast was loose, causing the metal terminals inside the ballast to slightly burn (faulty connection). I simply sanded the connectors down and tightened the connection to the bulb. Been 18 months, no issues.


I don't know the technical terms , so I hope the above makes sense.

iboon

iTrader: (2)

my driver side headlights flickers / dies sometimes i havent taken it in to the dealership yet but I will. it works currently but flickers each time its on quite often. mines 06 with 36k miles.

5ohIS350

My '07 IS350's driver side bulb stays on for about 1 second when I turn it on. However yesterday it stayed on after I flicked off and than back on again. Today back to the one second deal. The car is going into Lexus on Wednesday for recall work, hopefully this issue gets taken care of under warranty also.

Riceater

I definitely haven't replaced or touched anything myself in this car. My mom just had it in for recall work a couple months ago when we got the letter about all of that stuff. I really feel that this is a common enough problem that it should be a recall as well. What happens in another 2-3 years after they replace these? I get to pay out of pocket for new ballasts and $300 bulbs? Seems kinda ****ty to me if this is the lifespan of these parts.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Hmmmm I got 50k on my 350 not one issue with my HID ever.

RRUBI1

Mine just started acting up tonight (passenger side). But when I switch off the headlights and turn it back on it works again. Mine has 51000 miles, I didn't buy it as CPO. You guys think the dealer will charge me even though it seems like a common issue?

iboon

iTrader: (2)

wonder if mine will be covered under warranty

dgsvt

I had my drivers side bulb go after 3 years, but was at 57K so it was out of warranty. Paid $250 to have it replaced at the dealership. Didn't want to go aftermarket since it was only 1 bulb. Two weeks later the passenger side bulb went and paid another $250 to have it replaced. Man I wish I had just replaced both bulbs with aftermarket the first time. After reading this thread it seems that the HID bulbs are a problem in the IS.