Sorry to revive and old thread but I’m shopping for a used RX of this generation. I need to have hid lighting, I can’t deal with halogen bulbs anymore. On the 2010 face it’s easy to tell which ones have hids and it’s bundled with the gps package as well. I found a 2014 I like that doesn’t have gps but it has projectors in the headlight. I can’t tell for 2014 did they make hids standard or is it simply a halogen projector in there. Thanks guys!

 

Halogen projector was standard.

Enter the VIN here https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrive.../vehicle-specs

This will specifically tell you if the vehicle was equipped with HIDs from the factory.

 

I'm not sure what a halogen projector is. A halogen bulb has a filament. Projector bulbs do not. They use an arc like in the HID bulbs.

 

now you know.

 

Huh?? Not sure that clears it up. What does the reflector have to do with it? That looks like a HID set up. Are you saying that it is a combination of halogen bulb for the high beam and HID for the low beam?

 

No. That is a Scion xB, HID was not offered from the factory. It is halogen projector low beam and halogen reflector high beam.

 

Sorry, I have never heard of a halogen projector bulb. It is two different technologies.

 

Ok. Well now you've heard of it.

 

From HID Planet
“halogen projectors usually dont have alot of r&d into them, since it doesnt matter. There is not enough light to really warrant the need for excessive optic positioning or lens distances. With hid projector, there is alot more light that needs to be spread evenly. Hid projectors are designed specifically for hid bulbs.”

Basically Toyota/Lexus use both halogen and HID projectors. From the outside all you see is the shroud and the lens which look identical hid or halogen. Where the big difference lies is in the reflector. You can put a hid bulb in a halogen projector but the light will just go everywhere and blind everyone on the road.