Headlights Need Some Work

[G Alex]

Hey there everyone. I have a 01 430 and it has the xenon lights and the outer casing looks pretty bad considering how nice the rest of the car looks. It has hairline cracks in them and possibly a bit yellowish haze ? I tried a few plastic products to clean them up and no luck. Is there a product that really works or is there an aftermarket company that sells the outer lenses ? I feel I could get the headlight assemblys out and figure out a way to open the casing. If they make an outer case for it, can someone lead me to the site or company that has it ?

The car looks fantastic except the headlight assemblys. :(

Thanks, Alex

[1990LS400]

Here is a link to a recent thread on clublexus where someone used "Crystal View" to refinish the headlight lenses on his 98 LS400: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375156

Here is a link to the Crystal View website: http://www.myheadlight.com/

I've seen a number of threads about Crystal View on car forums with before and after photos. From all reports, it looks like the product works. The main difference seems to be that Crystal View comes with a sealant that prevents headlights from fogging up again.

The headlights on my 00 LS400 are starting to look hazy and I will be trying Crystal View before winter. I noticed last week that Crystal View is available at Advance Auto Parts stores at about $20.

[1990LS400]

Sorry, I did not take "before" and "after" photos but I refinished the headlights on my 2000 LS400 today with a Crystal View kit. I bought the kit at Advance Auto Parts.

At $20, the product seems expensive for what you get. I'd bet that the total manufacturing and packaging cost per unit is less than one dollar.

But the product works as advertised. My previously ratty looking headlight lenses now look like new. I suspect one could find the two grades of fine sandpaper and a similar rubbing compound and sealer at a good hardware store but using the kit means there is go guessing or experimenting.

It was a little scarey going through the procedure since it looked like I had ruined the headlights before the sealer coats were applied.

When they say to take no longer than 20 seconds to apply each sealer coat, they really mean it. Although it isn't noticable I caused a little streaking on a portion of one headlight when I took a little longer than 20 seconds and when I went over an area of the lens with the sealer a second time.

I used painters tape to mask around the headlight lenses and covered the bumper below the headlights with plastic so I wouldn't damage the paint or side marker lights with the sand paper, rubbing compound or sealer. I spent about 30 minutes total on the project.

If your headlights are even a little cruddy, I'd sure recommend you take a few minutes to refinish them with Crystal View.

[G Alex]

Thanks again. I looked at them today and was uh...... I will pick some up tomorrow and try it. I appreciate the tips too as I would have probably messed it up.. Were your lights just a bit scratched, cloudy or what ? Mine look a bit yellowish from heat or something as it reflects into the chrome casing that is under the plastic and it looks yellowish or dull due to the reflection.Mine also seem to have heat cracks, very fine but there just the same. I am only guessing but I believe that the daytime running lights heat the lense covers up and break the lense down faster than usual. I would love to know how to turn them off permanently as I dont like the look. I guess I could disable the bulbs but I am afraid it will set off a code or something.

I hope it works for me as well. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the post !!!!

[1990LS400]

Were your lights just a bit scratched, cloudy or what ?

The top one fourth of each lens on my 00 LS was opaque and the rest of each lens was dull with many small scratches and flaws that were especially noticeable when the headlights were on. I just now went to the garage and turned the headlights on and found that I can not longer see scratches in the lens. Before I used Crystal View, they looked like $#!+ but now they look like new -- at least from a couple feet away.

If I look closely I can still see some tiny nicks in the lens. I suspect these nicks are damage to the lens itself. What the Crystal View sealer does is to provide a new finish on the lens surface. Most of the damage you see on the lenses is likely damage to the original surface finish and not to the lens itself.

It seems odd that my headlights lenses looked so bad while the headlight's on a friends 99 LS look like new even though his car is higher mileage and was manufacturered almost two years earlier.

As you can see in the attached TSIB, the dealer can turn the DRL off on your 2001 LS430 - this was the first year that DRL was a customizable option on the LS. I don't think the DRL has anything to do with your headlights looking bad. As I said, the headlights on my friends higher mileage 99 LS look like new but he hasn't taken a bazillion 600 miles trips to Iowa football games like we have -- on one of these trips I could feel the car being pelted by blowing sand and dust so badly that I slowed down and drove at about 40 mph on I-35 for quite a few miles.

I'm a proponent of DRL and have been driving either with headlights on or with DRL since the 1960s after reading about DRL studies conducted on northern Europe. I hope you leave your DRL on so an old !Removed! with limited vision like me can see you coming!

Good luck with your project.

2001_LS430_LPS.pdf

[SW03ES]

Does your car sit outside Jim, or did it sit outside before you bought it?

I think this is the common denomenator. Cars I see that sit outside, especially in the west and south really get that yellowing fast, whereas mine which sits inside 95% of the day has no yellowing at all...

[G Alex]

I guess I will leave my drl on. I have been debating back and forth on it. I just think it looks better w/o them but if it is safer, that is more important.

Thanks for the updates on the lenses. I will def get to work on mine. It sounds like the product is the one to go with. :D

Alex

[1990LS400]

Does your car sit outside Jim, or did it sit outside before you bought it?

I think this is the common denomenator. Cars I see that sit outside, especially in the west and south really get that yellowing fast, whereas mine which sits inside 95% of the day has no yellowing at all...

Hi Steve,

My headlight lenses on my 2000 LS400 were in perfect condition when I bought it in 2003 at 38,000 miles and three years after its in-service date. I know that the person who leased the car for its first three years has a garage but I don't know if he always garaged it. Regardless, the whole car looked like new when I bought it. Since I bought it in 03, the 00 LS has sat outside about 10 hours each week day.

My LS headlights were not yellowed but were instead very cloudy on the top one fourth of the lenses. It looked like the lower portion was worn and scratched and a bit less cloudy. I wondered out loud tonight as we came back from the airport that the cause of the damage might have been from my cleaning the headlights with a gas station window cleaning squeegee or by cleaning the headlights with a clean cotton cloth and water each winter morning before pulling out of the garage.

But I suspect the real cause was related to road debri and dust during the many 600 trips up and down I-35 to football games. My wife's Carmy's headlights look like new and her car has the same mileage as mine but it has never been driven out of the Kansas City metro area. I have always cleaned her plastic headlight lenses each winter morning with a clean soft cloth and water so that can't be the cause of the damage on my LS unless her headlights are more resistant to damage.

It seems odd that the worst damage was towards the top of each lens. It is almost as if the aerodynamic characteristics of the car came into play. We could discuss this all we want but I'd bet that the Lexus people know what causes this.

[SW03ES]

Thats what I meant, the cloudy opaque coating. It gets yellow as it gets worse, my dad's 98 was the same way. Havent seen his 04 in a while so I don't know if it has the same issue. Its up at the top because its UV damage and the top part is most exposed to the sun.

It could also be that the highway sandblasting and cleaning of the lenses over the years using abrasive cleaners has worn away the UV coating. Thats why you don't want to polish headlights with anything abrasive unless they need it...

[G Alex]

Well, I put it down and tried the Crystal View product from Advance. Turns out it seems to be the only place to get it. I must say it cleared the lenses completely. I cannot believe the transformation. It looks perfect from a foot or two and noone would ever mention my lights as being dull or yellowish any longer. This product is fantastic. I appreciate the heads up on this Jim. I am thankful that you knew about it.

Alex

[1990LS400]

That's great news, G Alex. It's nice not to have to buy new headlights, isn't it.

As you may have also found, Crystal View may not make worn headlight lenses look absolutely perfect from closeup, but the flaws that are left are not apparent from a few feet away.

After driving about 200 miles at 70 mph, I noticed some streaks on my passenger side headlight lens that I did not notice immediately after using the Crystal View kit. I may refinish the passenger side lens before winter. The Crystal View rep I spoke with about the streaking said that it is particularly important to use a light touch when applying the two sealer coats and that one should not go over areas of a lens more than once when applying each sealer coat. Maybe I was too aggressive with the sealer applicator.

Regardless, my headlight lenses look incredibly better than before I used Crystal View. I didn't take "before" photos but attached are "after" photos. The streaks I mentioned on the passenger side lens can not be seen from a few feet away.