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My HID bulb replacement on my 06 prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by windstrings, May 26, 2008.

  1. eefcee

    eefcee New Member

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    Amazon Sylvania D2R

    Any reason to suspect these won't work for 2005 Prius with HID?

    Sylvania-39659-D2S-HID-Intensity from Amazon for $54 ("amazon.com" + "/dp/B00265FXFY", sorry, I'm not allowed to post links yet)

    I was told to look for Osrem Sylvania D2R 35W blubs for my 2005 Prius. Could this be the same thing? I'm told the dealer price at WorldPac (parts wholesaler) is at $57.23 for the Sylvania. Not sure how Amazon gets below this number.

    FYI... Toyota seems to have dropped price on 2006-2009 model HID bulbs to the $160 neighborhood. Not so for my 2005 HID bulb which is still about $390.
     
  2. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),Highlander HYB Plat,B52-D,G,F,H

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    Do you have any long term feedback on these and are they still available?

    Also are all 2006-2009 the same?

    Thanks all!
     
  3. shtirlitz

    shtirlitz New Member

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    Hi Windstring,

    Are the D4S compatible with the D4R, or do I have to use the D4R?

    Thanks!
     
  4. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    I honestly can't remember the difference... seems on has an extra pin or something.. but they are different in respect of what type of housing they belong in.

    Seems I remember reading someone put the "S" in instead of the "R" and got away with it but I can't remember the details.

    Don't they have the "R"s?

    Here is another source
    NEW 4300K HID Xenon Kit Bulbs 2 Bulbs OEM D4R or D4S : eBay Motors (item 350261089755 end time Feb-01-10 14:33:34 PST)

    These are the bulbs I bought... I have over 30K miles on them now..... I know they work.... looks like they are on sale for 49.99
    NEW 4300K HID 35W Xenon OEM Replacement Bulbs D4R : eBay Motors (item 350269182648 end time Jan-21-10 16:19:49 PST)



    Since the price is basically the same, I would stick with the R for the 2006 since I"m not sure..... mine cost 69.00 for both.
     
  5. shtirlitz

    shtirlitz New Member

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    The D4R has been very hard to track down in the Toronto area. Canadian Gen II Prii don't have the HID as an option, and mine is an import from the US. If I had only known how much trouble it would cause me.

    I found some offmarket D4 8000K today. I installed them according to your instructions, except I was too lazy to take out the windshield wiper fluid tank (big mistake).

    I finally got the bulbs in. They seemed okay, although exceptionally bright, and they seemed to be aimed too high. Can that be?

    After about three minutes, the driver side headlight went out again! So it must be a malfunction. I'll have to take it to the dealer tomorrow and hope that they don't give me a hassle.

    On another note: I'm not sure I got the bulb clips back in properly. Is there some trick? One side clipped in okay, but the other half didn't catch on anything.

    This has been very frustrating. Until now, I only had glowing things to say about Toyota. It's hard to believe that they screwed up so much on these HIDs. After reading the forum threads on HIDs, it seems Toyota has almost no regard for its customers in this matter.

    Thanks for your help,

    brian
     
  6. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    the one that was hard to clip.. is that the same one that went out?.... maybe the connection is bad or it was touching something it shouldn't have been.

    the clip gently falls back around the bulb "meaning towards the front of the car", then squeeze together and pull forward "meaning towards the engine" to release "which allows them to spread back out and catch on the catches that hold the bulb in.

    This is going by memory.. so someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    Not sure what happened to have one of the bulbs go out so fast unless it was bad or the connection is poor... If you decide to take the bulb back out.. maybe you can hook it up to the electronics "while out of the reflector housing and turn it on and leave it on for a while to see if it works when you know all the connections are on right.

    if that works, LET IT REST A WHILE so the high voltage drains back out and cools off too and try putting it back in.

    Also, when you get the bulb out.. might take a visual inspection on it to see if there are any obvious issues.

    If the bulb turns off even out of the housing, you could swap bulbs and see if the problem is that one side.. if so, the ballast either doesn't like the bulbs you chose, or you have a bad ballast.
     
  7. nilsboar

    nilsboar Junior Member

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    How about the Halo D4R bulbs offered on Amazon? 95$ for two, not the best price, but I need the fast shipping cause I put off replacing the first bad one and now they're both bad.

    But I'm confused about the voltage, these are listed as being 12 volts, but I thought HID bulbs always used higher. I shouldn't worry, I guess, D4R must replace D4R.

    I replaced a bulb per your excellent instructions at the beginning of this thread a couple of years ago, really not that hard with the instructions--took me maybe two hours and I'm really slow! After you've done three or four and your hand has learned where everything is, I would think it would be a piece of cake, but the dealers tell this story about how hard it is. Maybe all their profit from selling Prius's comes from replacing the bulbs?
     
  8. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Get clarification.... Halogen are 12V... HID are 12V to the ballast that in turn hits the bulb with much higher.
     
  9. jim2005

    jim2005 New Member

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    I tried changing out the passenger side HID on my '05 Prius this weekend. It was intermittant and kind of dim. The drivers side one was replaced in 2008 by the dealer at $450+ cost. I purchased some 6000 D2R bulbs online. After replacing the bulb, it turns on for two seconds and then shuts off. If the gas engine is not running, ie. battery only, it stays on longer but shuts down as soon as the engine starts.

    Any ideas from anyone? Should I have purchased the 4300 bulbs? Do I now maybe need to replace the ballast or something else? Should I punt and bring it to the dealer to get reemed again?
     
  10. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Jim, I know this is tedious but if you still have one of your OEM bulbs that "worked still" you could try that... if it works, you just have new bulbs that don't like your ballasts, if it doesn't, you ballast is bad.

    Seems all bulbs are not friendly to all ballasts.

    In fact, I strongly suspect this is our major issue in the first place.

    If the old bulb works, I would see if you can return the bulbs you bought unless you want to haggle with toyota.... if you do, just make sure your old oem bulbs are in place... "so don't throw them away".
     
  11. eefcee

    eefcee New Member

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    Re: Amazon Sylvania D2R

    Just to follow up. I bought this bulb from Amazon. On the base it said:

    OSRAM XENARC
    E1 03X DOT GERMANY
    D2R 35W 66050

    When I removed my factory bulb from the car it had the EXACT SAME text on the base. The Amazon bulb is the D2R that came with the 2005 Prius. Toyota is still charging about $390, Amazon is charging $54.

    The bulb has the same color as the Toyota part I still have in the other headlight. No difference that I can see.
     
  12. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Yep, and Toyota with all their influence, power, and sway, I"m sure are getting them for even less than what you did on ebay.

    NIce of Toyota to do us a favor and give us a discount eh?

    Funny how once something starts stinking, it starts stinking!

    Toyota better act quicker to turn sentiment around because this new president that's in charge must be an idiot..... "yes you can quote me on that!"

    What used to be a rock solid company is lately turning south in many ways.
     
  13. rightclick

    rightclick Junior Member

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    With all this press surrounding Toyota right now, please email your Congressmen as well as your local newspapers to start asking Toyota why they are not replacing obviously defective bulbs.
     
  14. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Did you say Congress?.... LOOOOOLLLL! :pound:

    They don't care about anything unless it has something to do with them getting re-elected.....

    I somehow don't think they have an interest in it so it won't happen through them.......

    Remember Congress is not interested in your interest.... only theirs.......

    and the Party goes on!.... bring out another keg and the dancing girls! :cheer2:

    Oh and print some more money while your at it.... we need another vacation and more HOokers!
     
  15. sambojoho

    sambojoho Proud conservative

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    My HID bulb replacement was so easy. I bought the d4r bulbs for $19.99 a pair (included shipping) from "autoluminate" on ebay. They work great.

    My method:
    1. remove the black plastic cover under the hood.
    2. remove the 5 fasteners at the top of the bumper.
    3. remove the two bolt for the bumper under the wheel well on each side.
    4. Pull the top half of the bumper free and let it hang down.
    5. Remove both of the headlight assemblies (three bolts each side, and disconnecting a few wiring harnesses).

    This allows you to hold the assembly in your lap while you change the bulbs, which is super easy and intuitive when you have easy view of everything. This job took me about 30 minutes, but will go quicker next time. Only needed a philips and flat screwdriver, and a ratchet with a 10mm socket. Piece of cake, very easy job.

    Also, there has been some discussion about replacing the coolant recovery pump on the 2nd gen models. If you do this same method of pulling off the bumper and remove the drivers side headlight assembly, access to that coolant pump is extremely easy.
     
  16. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),Highlander HYB Plat,B52-D,G,F,H

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    That is cheap! Do those bulbs work on a 2009?
     
  17. sambojoho

    sambojoho Proud conservative

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    I think so. Check in your owner's manual and make sure it says D4R.
     
  18. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    If they don't there will be some just as cheap that do.
     
  19. Technogeek

    Technogeek New Member

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    I just replaced my 2006 driver's side HID bulb using Sambojoho's method (remove headlight pod), which was much easier than the method I used to replace the passenger side HID bulb (leave the headlight pod in place and use mirror, prayers, The FORCE, contortions.) I'm hoping the new bulbs are good for another 4 years.
     
  20. jonjonbear

    jonjonbear New Member

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    hey guys, I just found this thread and read it front to back. I have a question, those of you who have the newer D4R bulbs, are the replacements you are getting on Ebay from the suggested vendors, actual D4R with the black band, or are they some sort of substitution and if substitution, do they change the way they work, such as the line across the road projected by the bulbs? I have a 2008 with nearly 52K so am wanting to be proactive and getting some before they poop out..Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thanks, John