iKon_RX

im not sure if your saying the bulb doesn't work even if its new or the projector isn't adjusting... but if bulb doesn't work,its the hid ballast thats not working. you can buy them online for about $150 all day long.
part# is 85967-0E020. if your rx isn't under any warranty don't take it to a dealer. they will overcharge and bs you. $1,000 they quoted you LOL. labor at a private shop is about $95/hr. doing this job will only take 30minutes, for me at least

Occam

I just got an estimate for $1000+ to fix the AFS on my wife's RX330. It seems like there may be several headlight-related problems that can cause repair bills in the thousand dollar range - at least at a dealership. $1000 to fix a bad headlight is insane.

Not terribly relevant to the problem at hand, though, since both her headlights work. They can also swivel, as evidenced by the startup self-test - they just don't.

The G Man

I always thought that these adaptive headlights are more trouble than they are worth.

Occam

Anyone got one they don't want? (Damaged/defective). I'd like to crack it open and see just what we're paying $1000+ for, and if I can engineer a repair.

JacCi

I understand that the moisture inside may disappear for a while, however, it does not really happen for my car. The moisture seems staying inside and are not evaporated. Now, I am thinking to get rid of the moisture by using some kinds of silica packs and see if it is going back to normal.

BTW, for my light problem is kinda weird. The light is on once a while, so I know the bulb is still working fine. However, when I need to manually turn it on (e.g. nighttime), it won't work. You never know when it will work or not. T_T

Does anyone have any ideas what's behind the remote/micro computer part? Since the dealer people kept mentioning the microcomputer parts, I am so frustrating to hear their explanations. That's nonsense for me to pay for an expensive part! Anyway, if you know how this things work, can you post it out. I think everyone will be happy with it. Sigh~

malice9999

Having just taken my headlights apart today, I can tell you exactly what is happening. The condensation you see on the lens of your headlight is pooling at the bottom of the headlight causing your ballast to short out. I have the same problem in my passenger side headlight. The headlight "computer" that your dealer is referring to is actually a HID ballast w/integrated ignitor. Lexus conveniently mounted the most important (and expensive) part of your lighting system where water can pool with no drainage ports.

When I took them apart, there was corrosion all inside the "computer". I cleaned it up the best I could and dried it with a blow-dryer. After putting it back together there was an improvement - I could tell the bulb was trying to ignite from the flickering, but it was too late; the damage had been done. If you search on ebay, you can find an rx330 ballast for about $50-$100. These ballasts are manufactured by Denso and are actually very high quality, compared to some of the aftermarket stuff on the market. Unfortunately, they don't like water... go figure!

I tried sealing the headlights with some flowable RTV silicone, but I won't know for another week if they're still leaking. Luckily, I live in Seattle where it's either raining, or about to rain. My current plan is to purchase new ballasts on ebay, new lamp housings from Lexus ($440 ea.), and then transfer the "guts" (Projectors, AFS motor, bulbs, and of course the new ballasts) to the new housings. When all is said and done, I should be able to get away with new headlights for under $1000, which isn't bad compared to the $2400 I was quoted for two new complete headlights (parts only). Figure half of that for you since you only have one affected headlight.

arima

is this only happening to the 330s? I thought lexus removed the ballast from the headlight, because of theft.

hothanh

My 06 RX330 also has the condensation problem on the passenger side. Sometimes on and off by itself while light is on. It has only 22K miles on it.

Wonder if dealer will take care of this as it is still under warranty? Thx.

Occam

Any pictures? Pics of the disassembly/reassembly? Pics of the guts of the headlight?

I really, really want to know how they're controlling the motors. There's a small chance I can clone or repair the controller circuitry.

sail7seas

Some wiring.

sail7seas

More wiring

mmlex1987

So after looking at the wiring it appears there are two separate relays for the low beam HID headlights and one relay for the high beams. Is that correct? I am confused as I was under the impression it was just the opposite. I am quite frusterated as I have tried sevreal bulbs in my left front HID and no light up? Thanks, Mike

lexus114

but these lights need some sort of ballast/igniter

mmlex1987

I just finished taking apart my left front headlight, which after looking at another posters very helpful colored pictures of the bumper/wheel well and headlight, was quite simple. Sure enough the ballast was sitting in rusty water. I picked up an oem Denzo ballast on Ebay for about $110.00 shipped and all worked well. I found a trick to clean the inside of the headlight. Remove all bulbs, drill a small drain hole at the lower right and pour a few onces of glass cleaner through the high beam bulb socket. Holding the light above you, you can move all of the glass cleaner around and it does a fantastic job of cleaning and with the alchohol on the cleaner left no residue and required no wiping, which you can't do anyways. I did this several times before letting it sit and completely drain and dry. I also resealed the top and will hope for the best. Just to be safe I removed the passenger side headlamp to inspect the ballast...it was perfectly fine without a hint of moisture so I left alone. Model: 04 RX 330. Thanks for all the input from all of the posters in this forum as well as a few other forums pertaining to the same issue.
Mike

osserman

Hi, anyone know that if I have HID lights on my 04 RX 330 -- does that mean they lights are adaptative as well??? (I just bought the car!)_ Thanks.