My HID bulb replacement on my 06 prius

[windstrings]

IMO.. HID's are only practicle if you don't mind using the cheap ebay bulbs..... IMO I think they are just as good.... I bought 4 of them and did have problems with one after about 10K miles but the other 3 are still kickin after about 30K.... they only cost 69.00 bucks for two..... I can live with that.

[magruder]

Originally Posted by windstrings

IMO.. HID's are only practicle if you don't mind using the cheap ebay bulbs..... IMO I think they are just as good.... I bought 4 of them and did have problems with one after about 10K miles but the other 3 are still kickin after about 30K.... they only cost 69.00 bucks for two..... I can live with that.

I bought mine on ebay for 29.99 for two from xhidoutlet. I've only had them a week, so I don't know how long they'll last. They appear to be of reasonable quality though. I don't see the d4r that the 2006+ Prius requires from xhidoutlet. However, they claim to be able to cover 99.9% of applications. They say to contact them if you don't see the bulb you need.

[windstrings]

Wow!.. you'll have to provide a link.. I couldn't find them for that cheap... at least not HID's... they are now nearly the price of Halogen!

[magruder]

If you do an advanced search in ebay and specify to only include items from seller xhidoutlet, then you'll see their bulbs.

[cgates30]

I had this problem in Jan '08, the dealer replaced both bulbs for free, and now 14 months later I'm having the same problem on the passenger side. I called the dealer and they said I'd have to pay a minimum shop charge for them to look at it. I figure I'll use your instructions, move the good bulb to the passenger side (verify its the bulb), and then order the bulbs on eBay.

Can anybody vouch for the $30 hid bulbs on ebay from seller xhidoutlet?

Thanks

[magruder]

Originally Posted by cgates30

I had this problem in Jan '08, the dealer replaced both bulbs for free, and now 14 months later I'm having the same problem on the passenger side. I called the dealer and they said I'd have to pay a minimum shop charge for them to look at it. I figure I'll use your instructions, move the good bulb to the passenger side (verify its the bulb), and then order the bulbs on eBay.

Can anybody vouch for the $30 hid bulbs on ebay from seller xhidoutlet?

Thanks

Mine are still working great after a couple of weeks, and I use the lights every morning going to work. I will post more info if they give me any problems.

Dave

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by cgates30

I had this problem in Jan '08, the dealer replaced both bulbs for free, and now 14 months later I'm having the same problem on the passenger side. I called the dealer and they said I'd have to pay a minimum shop charge for them to look at it. I figure I'll use your instructions, move the good bulb to the passenger side (verify its the bulb), and then order the bulbs on eBay.

Can anybody vouch for the $30 hid bulbs on ebay from seller xhidoutlet?

Thanks

At worst, you may be a bad bulb out of 10... but considering the alternatives...........

I'm good about 6 months or so now of 4 bulbs.. one went bad right off... I replaced it with one of the old bulbs that never went bad and it still works to this day.... slightly different colors though...

The stock one is a bit greener than the new ebay bulbs that tend to have just a tiny bit of blue hue "4500K".

I think stock is about "4300K"

[cgates30]

I just switched bulbs from one side to the other and they are now both working. I don't know if maybe one had a bad connection or not. I could definitely hear the hum/buz of the inverter (or whatever) before hand and then it would go silent when the light went out. Now just a constant hum/buz. Maybe after a couple of days I'll get the same behavior. I might go ahead and buy the replacement lamps as a backup...

[cgates30]

Originally Posted by windstrings

At worst, you may be a bad bulb out of 10... but considering the alternatives...........

I guess that's the risk you take. At that price it doesn't make bad sense to buy 4 and have a couple of spares.

A couple of tabs on one of the plastic covers that encloses the lamp in the light assembly broke off. It was on really tight and as I was trying to twist it off, some of the tabs broke. I should probably get a new cover, but I might just monitor the cover to see if it loosens up over time of if it's okay the way it is.

I've had the car for 3 years and in general I've been happy with it, but the issues I've had with the lights has been very irritating. In addition to the headlights, the parking lights and one of the tail lights has come lose and led to me getting pulled over. It seems like Toyota would have a better quality system than what I'm seeing with this car.

[windstrings]

Originally Posted by cgates30

I guess that's the risk you take. At that price it doesn't make bad sense to buy 4 and have a couple of spares.

They were only 69.00 for two.. but I have two cars so need 4 as the symptom was occurring on both 2006 cars.

Originally Posted by cgates30

A couple of tabs on one of the plastic covers that encloses the lamp in the light assembly broke off. It was on really tight and as I was trying to twist it off, some of the tabs broke. I should probably get a new cover, but I might just monitor the cover to see if it loosens up over time of if it's okay the way it is.

The tabs don't matter, other than it may be harder to get it off next time since there is little grip.. but now that you know how to do it, maybe not. Seems the rubber seal has a bit a grease and the friction between the two takes time to free. Seems slow and steady torque does the trick and it moves the same way "very slow".

Originally Posted by cgates30

I just switched bulbs from one side to the other and they are now both working. I don't know if maybe one had a bad connection or not.

Thats the test they like you to do to rule out whether its really a bulb or an inverter issue, but chances are you will see the symptom on the opposite side now.
Whatever the original problem was, didn't magically go away just because the bulbs are reversed unless like you say it was connection issues.

If the problem was other than the bulb, the problem should stay with that side, if it was the bulb, it should move to the other.. so thats what I expect it to do.. it may take a few days.

But we are dealing with very good connections here and very high voltages.... true the voltage drops after initial fireup but as discussed in the previous posts, turning off the lights and then back on doesn't make a physical connection get better.

The only time that happens is when we are dealing with a resistance point problems where the resistance raises higher and higher with heat until its finally blocked enough amperage so that current is blocked and the bulb fails.
Whether this is occurring outside the bulb or inside is unclear, but my bet is that its on the inside.
Especially based on how mine have worked.... replacing the bulbs is all I needed to do to fix the problem on both of my rigs.