I just realized today that in my 2013 rx 350 only the low beams are HID, but the high beams are just plain old halogen. Is that normal for cars, or is this just something cheap we get in our rxs?

 

maybe on the 2013's but my 2010 RX350 has the xenon's both low and high beams.

 

My 2011 RX 350 has HID's both hi and low beams, it's referred to as Bi-xenon,

single HID bulb contains both hi and low beams.

 

Weird. If you have bi-xenon, what is the other light bulb in you assembly for then (the outer one for 2012 and earlier)?

I am pretty sure I have xenon, the light is bright white and moves up and down when I turn the car on. But the high beam is done by the inner bulbs in the assembly, which are halogens.

Did Lexus get rid of the xenon high beams as part of the 2013 headlight changes, when they also dropped the auto high beams and the AFS? Looking at the Lexus website, it only talks about HID headlights, no mention of high beams or bi-xenon.

 

2013 got LED DRLs, so the Bi-Xenon lights are gone. 2010-2012 run HID high-beams as DRLs.
Little need to have HID bulbs for high-beams, as they're rarely used. My IS300 is setup the same way, except it runs DRLs through the halogen high-beams.

 

From 2010 - 2012, there were 3 different headlight designs, 2 for RX350 (with and w/o HID) and 1 additional design with LED exclusively for the RX450h in North America. On those with HID, the inner projector lens houses the bi-xenon HID light and the outer reflector assembly was used purely for DRL purposes.

The 2013 update did take away the AFS but I thought the Auto hi-beam was still there, can anyone confirm?

Both features are very useful if you often drive on unlit roads.

 

No auto-high-beam on mine.

 

Dang Lexus took away such a cool feature. It was advertised quite a lot when it was first introduced too.

At least you got BSM on the 2013, that's a very useful safety feature the pre-2013 didn't have.

 

This is some major disappointment. :-( Lexus managed to get rid of a lot of features they previously provided by changing their lighting assembly on the 2013:
- AFS
- Automatic high-beams
- Bi-xenon

And all we have gained is the LED running lights. I was pretty much assuming that Lexus wouldn't take away so many features on a redesign. I don't really agree with the statement that there is no need for HID high beams. If you are driving on deer infested road at night, it would be nice to be able to see farther. AFS I don't see much value in though.

Lexus is lucky that I didn't realize they took away this feature on the 2013, I may have eliminated them from my list of vehicles we considered otherwise.

Looks like actually lot of people missed this change. I see a lot of 2013s advertised with Bi-Xenon headlights, and also I didn't find any more information on this change in the forum or other website. That's in contrast to the removal of AFS and auto high beams, which has been discussed many times before.

Especially for the price point and reputation of Lexus, I was assuming a proper Bi-Xenon system, especially since all competitors provide this and Lexus provided it on earlier models.

 

Actually, early 2013s didn't get it either. I don't have it on mine, but I was specifically looking for an RX450h with the minimal number of features (they still come fully loaded from the factory).
Although useful, I feel it could be a dangerous feature when switching between cars.

 

I wouldn't be complaining about not having Bi-Xenon headlights. What is much worse is how many RX350s have halogens all around!
Many buyers don't realize that's the case until it is too late.
Product planning doesn't make sense at a lot of times.

 

and here i am complaining about the absence of the sunglass holder ( where the SOS and mike are placed now).

i have said it before and i will say it again..
Everyone who miss the bi-xenon headlights CAN.. replace the OEM with aftermarket ones.
However, WE, who prefers the sunglass holder beside the map lights CANNOT..sigh!

First world problem.. i know.

 

Have you considered changing the halogen bulb? I did for the DRLs and fog lights and am happy with the results. The best part is the bulbs only cost $15.

Here's a picture with the high beams on. Big difference.

 

Ditto! Would prefer sunglasses holder over rather than paying for the SOS module that is pretty useless to me.

 

I'm not sure you're correct, it doesn't make sense they'd do that because it would increase cost and be less effective. In a quiet area (you're garage) have your wife change between low and high beam while you watch and listen. If they're both HID then they're both one bulb with a shutter that you will hear lower as it goes to high beam and raise when back to low beam. If not, then I guess they changed it.

BTW, I have a sun glass holder