Improved Back-up Bulbs For The 2004 Rx330 ?

[RX in NC]

My wife complains that the light cast by the back-up bulbs in her 2004 RX330 is nonexistent compared to her former 2000 RX300. Backing the vehicle up myself the other night, I found out that she is absolutely correct. It appears to be a combination of the bulbs being underpowered and the taillight assembly being too high up on the tailgate along with the bulbs being positioned too close to the center of the tailgate.

What better back-up bulb solutions have some of you found? I thought about halogen bulbs, but they could generate too much heat and create some serious melting problems in the plastic taillight assemblies. What about LED bulbs? Are they available to fit without any modifications and will they throw substantially more light back there?

[wwest]

My wife complains that the light cast by the back-up bulbs in her 2004 RX330 is nonexistent compared to her former 2000 RX300. Backing the vehicle up myself the other night, I found out that she is absolutely correct. It appears to be a combination of the bulbs being underpowered and the taillight assembly being too high up on the tailgate along with the bulbs being positioned too close to the center of the tailgate.

What better back-up bulb solutions have some of you found? I thought about halogen bulbs, but they could generate too much heat and create some serious melting problems in the plastic taillight assemblies. What about LED bulbs? Are they available to fit without any modifications and will they throw substantially more light back there?

I installed a 50 watt bi-pin landscape halogen in mine, driver's side only. Not on ever long enough for heat to be a problem.

LED brightness isn't quite here yet.

[RX in NC]

Interesting solution, wwest. Where did you purchase the bulb, can you provide the part number, and did it fit directly into the socket assembly without any modifications? The vehicle is still under warranty and I do not want to do any modifications.

I wouldn't be surprised if our 2004 RX330 uses a different back-up bulb style than your 2001 RX300. The Japanese manufacturers tend to use different bulbs for different applications as body styles and lamp assemblies change while the U.S. manufacturers tend to stay with the same bulbs for many years....

[Gibbie]

Here's a previous thread...

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=5669

[Rx330driver]

is it really that bad...i guess its easier for me because of the backup camera. i never really relied on the back up light to begin with...theres always a street light near me.