My mom's front headlight went out the other day so she took it to the dealership to have it looked at. They told her the entire headlight needed to be replace at the cost of $2,000.

Obviously I am little skeptical, but here are the details. It has a little bit of condensation inside the headlight. The high beams, turn signal, and driving lights all still work though. My guess is that either the bulb or ballast went out (due to condensation I do not know...the car is at about 100k Miles). My hope is to dry out the headlight, fix the bulb/ballast, reseal the unit and call it a day. Trouble is that shes taken it to 2 different places, and no one really knows what they are talking about. I'm no pro, but I have a general understanding of how they work and have installed a set before. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

Update: After calling the dealership and finally talking to the tech that looked at it. He back tracked a bit after I suggested replacing just the ballast (he said he tried a new bulb and no luck), but he said that the ballast is located inside the headlight casing. He said he would check on that option and get back to, but still not real confidence inspiring. After the ballast is replaced, I plan on sealing the unit with silicone. Any suggestions or alternative ideas are welcome!

 

Welcome to Club Lexus. Excluding tires this headlight moisture problem is the most discussed topic on this forum. Lexus is aware of the problem but will not replace the headlight assembly if the vehicle is out of warranty. Use the search this forum feature with the keywords "headlight moisture". There is even a DIY to dry out and seal the light so it won't happen in the future. There is also info on replacing the ballast.