ChrisColt

To answer your question regarding how to tell if your RX400h has just halogen (low & high beams) headlights or HID (low beams) & Halogen (High Beams). The answer is in my description of the 2 possible factory headlight configuration options with the HID being extremely more expensive when new as an option. If the high and low beams (pick a side drivers or passenger and look closely at the headlight) There is a left and right-side bulb assembly housed in one overall assembly. I have the HID low Beam option and my headlight assembly has 4 bulbs per side (driver & passenger) - a Daytime running light & amber turn signal (low wattage, I think 3 watts halogen mounted higher up in the fixture for the white daytime bulb) and on the outside edges for the amber turn signal bulbs. Then there are 2 main bulbs centered in the left & right-side compartments of each fixture - if the two bulbs look identical - then you have the standard dual Halogen set-up. If one of the bulbs has a "fisheye" Lens over the bulb - looks like a sub=assembly inside the overall fixture housing - it is a round fisheye lens cover that is approximately 3 inches in diameter - whereas the high beams in both options are standard bright Halogen Bulbs with no additional lens cover inside the main fixture housing. To verify which bulbs are the high beams - turn on car/headlights (switch to manual ON instead of "auto" on the headlight control stick on steering wheel if it is daytime - otherwise your low wattage running lights will come on rather than your low beam headlights - note which bulbs are lit inside headlight fixture - these are your low beams - then flip your headlight stick to high beams on - now you will see your halogen high beams on along with your low beams - the HID low beams look completely different than your halogen high beams - if you can't see any difference between the two then it is safe to bet you have the standard halogen high/low beam headlight package. Another surefire way to tell is have someone sit in driver's seat with ignition off, keys out. Then with you standing in front of car have the other person start the car while you are watching one of the headlight assemblies and turn on regular low beam headlights - if they are HID you will see the headlight move up and down quickly as soon as they are turned on = this is the auto-leveling system/motor running its self-check start-up procedure = it looks like the headlights are nodding up and down for a second or two before stabilizing in the center. The Lexus self-leveling HID headlight system automatically levels headlights while driving to adjust vertically as car load changes (rear passenger and cargo weight changes) and left to right - horizontally - as you are driving around major road curves = the sharper the turn, the hillier the road surface and the more weight that may shift in rear passenger and cargo area, the more the headlights automatically move to track the road and attempt to stay perfectly centered on their "X and "Y" Horizontal & Vertical axes. So, the huge expense of the HID headlights in a Lexus is not just the cost of the bulbs and high voltage ballast needed for HID Xenon lamps, but also the processor/gimbal sensors/motors needed to move these HID sub-assemblies in 4 directions. The Outer main lamps (not the turn signal lamps on outer edges) are the low beams while the inner main centered lamps are the for the High Beams. You can Google or Ebay Pictures of the Standard 4 bulb all Halogens vs the HID/Halogen upgrade. For NEW Standard Halogen complete fixture assemblies Lexus RX (Hybris and regular gas RXs) 2004-2009 (driver & passenger side assemblies) are selling for around $300 - $400 with bulbs included. For USED/Refurbished Xenon HID/Halogen for 2004-2009 Lexus RX (hybrids & regular gas RXs) between $300 to $900 EACH/per side or $600-$1,800 for a pair - with bulbs and ballasts - price differences are typically related to condition, appearance, warranty, complete or small parts missing etc... Replacing burnt out HID bulbs used to be a very expensive proposition but the price of these bulbs have come down dramatically over the years as many are now made in China whereas back in 2004 - 2010 they were made in Germany and patented. Mine are 15 years old original set, some are saying the new replacements @$15-30 a pair last only 2-5 years (life rating 3,000-5,000 hours) very limited warranty, can still buy German brand at $30-$50 each. The shift is LED replacement for these HID high voltage (hence the ballasts needed) bulbs- they run $49 - $100 a pair with a 30,000 hour life / 2 year warranty, higher lumen output (brighter/less power consumption) and a choice of color rendition (from stock - HID equivalent of 4,300K to as high as I found 8,000K) the higher the Kelvin (K) rating = the more blue the white light will look, the lower the Kelvin rating - the more yellow/red the lamp looks - daylight is considered 5000-6000K warm white is 2500-4000K, cool white is 6500 - 7500K.