Yesterday the low beam headlight on the driver’s side stopped working. I’ve read all of the previous posts about RX330 headlights but still have a few questions (newbie here):

1) How can I tell if I have HID lights or not? I do have rain-sensing wipers and headlight washers, and when the car is started the lights move up and down.

2) If I have HID, it seems I need to remove the entire headlight assembly before I can replace the bulb. I saw the very helpful post with photos of how to remove the assembly. Question is, once the assembly is out is it easy and obvious for a DIYer to replace the bulb? I could not find any instructions for bulb replacement; most of the posts pertained to condensation removal.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Oh yeah--one more thing. The photo tutorial says "Step 1: Remove Engine Cover 1, same cover when you change your filter."

Exactly where is the cover located? Accessible from the top or bottom? Can you tell I haven't changed a filter yet?

 

You can replace bulbs without taking all the light house out,it will be easier if you have a small hand.first you may swab bulbs to see if the bulb itself is gone or the ballast.search for bulb replacement I think there is one in the light section of the forum.Other is you have to remove the engine cover on the passanger side of the engine so that you can reach the back of the light house itself,you should unscrew the fluid washer container filling part .Take sometime looking and planning,it is easy and can be done,be patient

 

shikbas (or others):
Thank you for the reply. I thought I read here that the HID headlights could only be replaced by removing the entire housing, while the non-HID headlights could be replaced without removing the whole housing. Correct? I looked under the hood with a flashlight the other night and couldn't see any way to access the low beam bulb without removing the assembly.

 

You need to remove the entire light assembly only if you have to replace the ballasts.

 

you can do it without taking all the assembly.you can visit the lighting section in the main forum,search the keyword hid bulb replacement and go through the results and you will have a decent idea

 

Thanks for all the great help. I hope to tackle this project tomorrow.

 

Just replaced the bulb on passenger side without too much difficulty. Thanks again for the help.