Daytime Running Lights - Kill Or Change Bulbs?

[AKoos]

Just bought my first ever Lexus - after a Porsche Boxster, BMW 330, and most recently, an Infiniti M35....and I'm pretty convinced that this could be the best car I've ever owned. Just a couple things I'm trying to fix (this is the first of two threads)....

I can't stand how the daytime running lights are a pale yellow. I either want to somehow disable them - or change the bulbs. First off, opinions, anyone?

Secondly, if the answer is to somehow disable them, what's the "how" in somehow?

Thanks in advance....

[1990LS400]

I thought a Lexus dealer could disable the DRL on a GS with a hand held tester but I don't see it in the attached list. You might check your owners manual or ask a dealer -- or maybe another GS owner will respond here to your question.

Did none of the cars you listed have DRL? I know my next door neighbor's Boxter doesn't and I don't think the M35 I rented for 10 days had DRL -- may not be remembering. I don't remember seeing any BMW's with DRL.

I suppose you could put some of those whiter halogen bulbs in the the DRL but those bulbs have a far shorter life.

Or you could get used to it. I certainly don't mind the yellowish tint of the DRL in my 00 LS -- got more important things to think about. I've been a big fan of DRL since the 1960s when I followed the initial DRL tests in northern Europe ... driven with headlights on or DRL during the day ever since.

One handy feature of Lexus DRL is that they provide adequate light to see in covered parking garages and tunnels during the few seconds it takes for the automatic headlights turn on. One of my favorite features of my LS is that I can leave the headlight switch in the "Auto" position and never touch it.

Regardless of what you do with DRL, review the attached list and see if there are any settings you want changed.

GS_LPS.pdf

[cduluk]

That particular halogen tint DRL is a Lexus thing. You can identify a Lexus from a mile away based on the DRL's. I think it's sort of like a signature. There aren't any other cars out there with that DRL color.

You'll get used to them. But if not, you can switch to a whiter bulb like philips xtreme. They're halogen, but produce a whiter light. But during the day, you won't even be able to see them since they're the same color as daylight.

[jcrome04]

Sylvania Silverstar! B)

[cduluk]

Sylvania Silverstar! B)

Eh, the Silverstar's aren't that much whiter than standard halogen's.

Especially because DRL's are regular halogen bulbs run on half the voltage. Silverstar's won't look any different than the standard DRL bulbs in DRL mode. In high beam mode however they will look brighter, but that's not what the OP is concerned about.

If you were concerned about brightness in high beam mode, i would suggest toshiba HIR bulbs. They are MUCH brighter than the standard halogen bulb, but again, at half voltage they'd look the same.

Philips xtreme vision bulbs have a whiter light, and i think t half voltage they'd be a little more white. It's the most 'white' halogen bulb you're ever gonna find without going HID. But that's impossible in a DRL/high beam unit.

[SW03ES]

Changing the bulbs isn't going to make that big a difference. The DRLs are simply the high beams on low power, the reason they are yellowish is because they are depowered. I replaced mine with Silverstars and when the high beams are on I can definately tell the difference...but the DRLs look the same.

You'll get used to them...

[AKoos]

Great help guys - I really appreciate it.

The Boxster didn't have any DRL's. The BMW did, but I had them disabled by the dealership and had them keep the Halo's on. The M35 never had any - not sure why - but I figured they would. Speaking of, I hated that car. Had to add that comment.

I think that I'll wait for a little bit and see if I get sick of the DRL's on the Lexus. If so, I'll just upgrade to whiter bulbs like the ones suggested. But I'd never really thought about the fact that they'd help in parking garages. I noticed it the other day when I was in one - but I guess it just never occurred to me that, if I got rid of them, that I'd end up having a different problem.

Thanks again!

[blake918]

Changing the bulbs isn't going to make that big a difference. The DRLs are simply the high beams on low power, the reason they are yellowish is because they are depowered.

Especially because DRL's are regular halogen bulbs run on half the voltage. Silverstar's won't look any different than the standard DRL bulbs in DRL mode.

I'm glad yall posted this! I've always thought about changing my highbeams to get whiter DRLs, but now I know not to waste the time or money!

[NicLX470]

Great help guys - I really appreciate it.

The Boxster didn't have any DRL's. The BMW did, but I had them disabled by the dealership and had them keep the Halo's on. The M35 never had any - not sure why - but I figured they would. Speaking of, I hated that car. Had to add that comment.

I think that I'll wait for a little bit and see if I get sick of the DRL's on the Lexus. If so, I'll just upgrade to whiter bulbs like the ones suggested. But I'd never really thought about the fact that they'd help in parking garages. I noticed it the other day when I was in one - but I guess it just never occurred to me that, if I got rid of them, that I'd end up having a different problem.

Thanks again!

I don't like them that much either on my IS350 or LX470. So I roll with the headlights on all the time. My HID lights even look great in broad daylight. They will go off immediately after the car is off and the driver door is opened so you will not have to worry about leaving them on in the day time. Just tell the dealer that and instead of them staying on for a while they can program them to turn off immediately.

[SW03ES]

Thats great until an HID bulb or ballast goes from all the additional use and the bill is several hundred bucks...

[cduluk]

The factory denso ballasts probably woudn't burn out even if you had your headlights on 24/7... The bulbs however will live a sorter life. Not a big deal, you can get a new pair for $50 on ebay, they're so common nowadays... It's the bulbs in the console, parking lights and tail light bulbs that would be costly to have to be replaced...

[Duckman]

The factory denso ballasts probably woudn't burn out even if you had your headlights on 24/7... The bulbs however will live a sorter life. Not a big deal, you can get a new pair for $50 on ebay, they're so common nowadays... It's the bulbs in the console, parking lights and tail light bulbs that would be costly to have to be replaced...

I don't turn on my headlights during the day and still had one of my HID lights burn out before 35,000 miles. My dealer replaced it under warranty, but I had thought the life of the new HID bulbs was supposed to be a lot longer than a standard bulb. It was weird too....got home and the light reflecting off the garage wall seemed a bit "pink" in color. Looked at the light and sure enough....a dark pinkish color. 2 days later...light out.

--Duckman

[NicLX470]

The factory denso ballasts probably woudn't burn out even if you had your headlights on 24/7... The bulbs however will live a sorter life. Not a big deal, you can get a new pair for $50 on ebay, they're so common nowadays... It's the bulbs in the console, parking lights and tail light bulbs that would be costly to have to be replaced...

I don't turn on my headlights during the day and still had one of my HID lights burn out before 35,000 miles. My dealer replaced it under warranty, but I had thought the life of the new HID bulbs was supposed to be a lot longer than a standard bulb. It was weird too....got home and the light reflecting off the garage wall seemed a bit "pink" in color. Looked at the light and sure enough....a dark pinkish color. 2 days later...light out.

--Duckman

They usually do but there is always a bad egg and your car happened to get that one. And yes a xenon bulb will turn from a pinkish to redish color before going out.

[NicLX470]

I thought a Lexus dealer could disable the DRL on a GS with a hand held tester but I don't see it in the attached list. You might check your owners manual or ask a dealer -- or maybe another GS owner will respond here to your question.

Did none of the cars you listed have DRL? I know my next door neighbor's Boxter doesn't and I don't think the M35 I rented for 10 days had DRL -- may not be remembering. I don't remember seeing any BMW's with DRL.

I suppose you could put some of those whiter halogen bulbs in the the DRL but those bulbs have a far shorter life.

Or you could get used to it. I certainly don't mind the yellowish tint of the DRL in my 00 LS -- got more important things to think about. I've been a big fan of DRL since the 1960s when I followed the initial DRL tests in northern Europe ... driven with headlights on or DRL during the day ever since.

One handy feature of Lexus DRL is that they provide adequate light to see in covered parking garages and tunnels during the few seconds it takes for the automatic headlights turn on. One of my favorite features of my LS is that I can leave the headlight switch in the "Auto" position and never touch it.

Regardless of what you do with DRL, review the attached list and see if there are any settings you want changed.

I've heard that the dealer CAN disable the DRL's but I have read on a few forms on here that some dealers will do it with no problems but others say they can't because it's a safety issue. So it's worth a try.

[cduluk]

HID bulbs should last about 3,000 hours before needing to be replaced.

The ballasts however should last forever.

Theoretically you should change your HID bulbs (whether dead or not) every few years, due to the fact that they lose a lot of light as they age.

[AKoos]

Asking the dealer was my first try before he directed me to this forum, actually. They wouldn't do it for <ding> security issues. Way to hit that nail on the head.

[NicLX470]

Asking the dealer was my first try before he directed me to this forum, actually. They wouldn't do it for <ding> security issues. Way to hit that nail on the head.

Haaa sorry that wouldn't do it for you!!

[SW03ES]

Actually the life of an HID bulb is WAY longer than 3,000 hours...they are "supposed" to last the life of the vehicle. No filament to burn out.

The ballasts do fail though, and so do the bulbs.

[cduluk]

Actually the life of an HID bulb is WAY longer than 3,000 hours...they are "supposed" to last the life of the vehicle. No filament to burn out.

The ballasts do fail though, and so do the bulbs.

Yeah, 3,000 hours is a short time but that's the manufacturer's estimate for the lifespan, at least before they should be replaced. HID bulbs lose a LOT of light as they age. After 1,000 hours they've got the intensity of standard halogen bulbs...

I've spent quite a lot of time on hidplanet.com, where they talk about HID retrofits and everything HID. The best ballasts are the denso ballasts used on all of the toyota and lexus models. They're practically impossible to kill. I've heard of maybe one or two cases of them burning out, just anomalies though.

[SW03ES]

You have some sort of source to back that up? I don't buy it. My HIDs are 6 years old and probably have more than 1,000 hours of life on them and are MUCH brighter than halogen bulbs.

1,000hrs is significantly less than the life of a halogen bulb...

[cduluk]

You have some sort of source to back that up? I don't buy it. My HIDs are 6 years old and probably have more than 1,000 hours of life on them and are MUCH brighter than halogen bulbs.

1,000hrs is significantly less than the life of a halogen bulb...

HID bulbs lose brightness and change color over time, it's called color shifting. An HID bulb after 1,000 hours emits the same amount of lumens as a brand new halogen bulb. It's from HIDplanet.com.

There's a graph that shows lumen output over time of the 85122 philips bulb. The curve has the greatest slope from new-1,000 hours and levels off.

[1990LS400]

Osram is quoted in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp as stating that HID bulbs have an average service life of 2,000 hours.

Let's do some math.

The trip computer in my 00 LS400 indicates that my average speed over time is right at 30 mph.

My 00 LS400 just hit 113,000 miles on its original HID bulbs.

I estimate that my HID headlights are on far less than 20% of the time I drive but I will use 20% just to be pessimistic.

((113,000 * .20) / 30 mph) = 753 hours on my original HID bulbs

2,000 hours - 753 hours = 1,247 hours of life left on my HID bulbs

My HID headlamps still put out a very nice amount of light and are pleasantly brighter than the halogen lights in our Camry or the halogen lights in cars we rent. I suspect the original HID bulbs will last the life of the car.

[SW03ES]

And whats the background of HIDplanet.com?

[cduluk]

I've been an active member on HIDplanet for about a year, i've done 3 HID retrofits, used 4 different types of bulbs, i've read enough to know the lumen vs time values of an 85122 philips bulb...

Go find the graph, it' somewhere on there... It shows the curve of the philips 85122, 85122+, 85122WX and halogen bulb lumen values vs time.

[SW03ES]

I've been to the site...I'm just not convinced that its a truly accurate and unbiased source of information...

All light sources dim as they age, but the light output of an HID system being equal to a halogen system at only 1/3 of its predicted life? I just don't buy it.