1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

LED lights???

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by dominicIOWA, Jul 11, 2019.

  1. dominicIOWA

    dominicIOWA Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2019
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Iowa
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I have a 2010 and I am consider replacing all exterior and interior bulbs with LED bulbs to run cooler temps and be more energy efficient. Any cons to why not to do this and why didn't Toyota come standard with all led lights?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2012
    1,555
    659
    0
    Location:
    Central MO
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    Buy high quality leds
     
    chinarut and Burna J like this.
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
    6,103
    4,032
    1
    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    They’ll flicker and not last long if buy cheap ones. Not standard because your coming from the future going to back old technology. It’s like Kids asking how come you cant fast forward or jump to the next song quickly on a record like a CD? Because CDs didn’t exist in the 70s.
     
    James Powers likes this.
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,767
    4,369
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I would love to do this on my Gen2... The problem that's always been in the way of it is no one has bothered to put a kit, or even just a list of every bulb that you need to switch. So one bulb at a time you have to figure out how to switch it out without creating problems from a much lower voltage draw that LED have compared to regular.
     
  5. tonynap

    tonynap Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2019
    43
    37
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    page 423 of the online manual has the bulbs. You could also go to sylvania-automotive dot com and use the bulb replacement guide. I used that to find the kind of bulbs I needed, then went online.
     
    Robert Holt, Pluggo, RMB and 2 others like this.
  6. Vman455

    Vman455 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    534
    551
    13
    Location:
    The Middle
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I don't have any incandescent bulbs left on my car. Just make sure you buy quality bulbs (I used Philips replacements for all the 194/wedge base bulbs--dome/map lights, puddle lights, license plate lights, etc., and VLED Tritons for the turn signals and reverse lights) and they should last the life of the car. You'll need to replace the thermal flasher relay with an electronic relay so the turn signals don't hyperflash, but that's straightforward and cheap; there are a few threads on here that go over the process of swapping it out.
     
    Robert Holt and James Powers like this.
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
  8. Dylan Doxey

    Dylan Doxey Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2013
    1,389
    3,455
    92
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    High prices don't guarantee long lasting LEDs. I'm particularly burned out (pun intended) on LED license plate lights that start flickering and burning out in less than a year. They go from awesome to embarrassing and you don't even notice until you happen to walk around behind the car while the lights are on at night.

    For lights that are not on constantly (i.e. signals, interior illumination) I'm perfectly happy.

    But I ended up putting the incandescents back in the license plate because I don't want to be seen on the road flickering like some kind of chump.
     
    James Powers likes this.
  9. tonynap

    tonynap Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2019
    43
    37
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Two

    I bought a complete LED set online for the interior and learned a good lesson or two.

    First, the dome and trunk are different sizes, so the trunk light was useless.
    Second, the door lights are not enclosed . . . so they blow the fuse when you try to install them in the door. Useless.

    For those, and the license plates, I went higher cost sylvania.

    I am super happy with the result.
     
    Dylan Doxey likes this.
  10. Dylan Doxey

    Dylan Doxey Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2013
    1,389
    3,455
    92
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I'll be interested to know if your Sylvania plate lights stand the test of time. (y)
     
  11. 04priusnow

    04priusnow Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2013
    345
    200
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I replaced all of mine with vled LEDs. no issues with interior lights other than they are really bright. also did switchbacks in the front blinker. headlight is his. I still need to do the running lights. oh and bought led fog lights that came with housing.

    Pixel 3a XL ?
     
    James Powers likes this.
  12. Vman455

    Vman455 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    534
    551
    13
    Location:
    The Middle
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yep, learned this the hard way on my last car where I replaced the parking lights/turn signals with expensive VLEDs that still burned out in a couple years. The always-on lamps on the Prius (license plate, side markers) I'm using name-brand Philips, so far so good a few years in.
     
    Dylan Doxey likes this.
  13. James Powers

    James Powers Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2017
    396
    555
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I also have a combo of Philips and VLEDs. So far, no issues either. I did have issues when I bought that crappy kit from iJDM.. Dont get their LEDs.. awful.

    Toyota doesnt do it from the factory because its expensive. Which is why most cars offer and LED upgrade package.
     
    Dylan Doxey likes this.
  14. marvingloria2011

    marvingloria2011 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2012
    109
    162
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I tried the LED's from eBay (supposedly white but they lit up blue) and they ended up burning out right away and flickering all the time. I swapped out to the Philips ones from Walmart. Definitely worth the extra few dollars as they were way brighter and actually lit up white.
     
    Dylan Doxey likes this.
  15. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Or...you could enjoy the reliability and inexpensive operational cost, of the original OEM incandescent and halogen lights, and NOT go through the expense and hoops of adapting a system to accept something it was not designed to operate with in the first place. Which is really going to do nothing much but offer you the relatively hollow "panache" of being able to say you have LED lights.
     
  16. Vman455

    Vman455 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    534
    551
    13
    Location:
    The Middle
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    12V LED bulbs are designed to be direct replacements. And they don't "do nothing"; with the different available color temperatures, they completely change the look of interior and exterior lights and allow for a degree of customization; they draw a fraction of the current of incandescent bulbs; they light much more quickly, which completely changes how turn signals and flashers look; and quality LEDs have a lifespan an order of magnitude longer than an incandescent. And in the world of modifying cars, there's not much "expense and hoops" to swapping out a few bulbs unless you're not mechanically inclined at all.
     
  17. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Color temperatures mean very little to me. In the end, light is light, I want enough light to see safely. I want enough light to illuminate my interior.
    As far as LED's lighting "much more quickly"...I've never found myself waiting for an incandescent or halogen bulb. If LED's are quicker to light, I think we are talking about nano-fractions of a second, so minimal as to be a non-factor.
    I'm also not that concerned about the electric "draw". Again the car came from the factory with the bulbs and electrical system it has, it's designed to handle the electric draw.

    LED's are the higher end option. I think they are the future. On more and more vehicles LED lights are what comes from the factory. But for me? I'm perfectly OK with the lighting as factory equipped.

    If you want to go to the trouble and expense of switching it all out, more power to you. For me personally, it's not a modification that interests me, or that I find is enough of total end value to justify the trouble.

    Someday probably relatively soon, we may not have the option, that is....cars will have LED lighting by factory default. But until then, I'm OK with incandescent and halogen. Which I think given reliability and relative economical cost, are maligned unfairly. As a lighting option...it's worked for decades and IMO continues to work.
     
  18. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2006
    6,057
    388
    0
    Location:
    Northern CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    As long as you're fine with replacing them in sometimes awkward positions.... and the dangerous heat they produce... incandescents are still the cheaper option. But wow. LEDs are not the lights of the future. They're the lights of now. In fact they're the lights of the past, but today we're solidly in the LED now.
     
  19. Vman455

    Vman455 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2014
    534
    551
    13
    Location:
    The Middle
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Cadillac was the first OEM to use LED brake lights back in the late 90s; one of their stated reasons for doing so was the faster light time. Also why the Gen 2 Prius has LED brake lights, but incandescent tails--a fraction of a second in response time by a following car can mean the difference between a close call and a rear ender.

    It isn't about the wiring not being able to handle the current of incandescent bulbs; it's about using less energy for the lights, energy which ultimately comes from gasoline. Take LED headlights for instance--55 watts for a halogen lowbeam vs. 11 watts for a Koito single-LED emitter. The better distance lighting of the LEDs is a nice side benefit, and as LEDs have come down in price we've seen LED headlights come standard on lots of cars, the first being the 2014 Corolla.

    Lots of cars already do, e.g. the Prius Prime's exterior lights are all LED, and the 86, and the Honda CR-V, and the new Ram, and the Mustang, and most Audis, and....

    To each his own.
     
    RMB likes this.
  20. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    9,083
    5,795
    0
    Location:
    Undisclosed Location
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    As you say, to each their own.
    And this is a thread about LED lighting and LED lighting options, so I shouldn't be surprised to find people that have done it, and support the modification.

    But I'm not buying this.

    I've never read, or heard of any evidence or study that would suggest LED tail lights are safer than incandescent tail lights because of some unproven nano-second response time.
    I mean come on, before LED technology existed and moved into vogue, everyone had tail lights based on bulb technology. You press your brake...they nearly instantaneously light up, whether that's LED or Incandescent.
    I'm simply not buying that LED's are appreciably "safer" in that situation or application.

    I've never heard a rear end accident defended because a driver said they pushed their brakes but their incandescent tail light was too slow to light.

    Even though incandescent bulbs are the older technology, and I believe probably on the way out, even a incandescent bulb tail light is not a radio tube that needs to warm up, nor is it a whale oil lamp.

    I'm just not buying the premise that LED tail lights are safer, because of what I would believe MIGHT be a nearly imperceptible difference in response time. It's the HUMAN response time, both in pressing the brakes and reacting that matters.
    If there is a difference in response time for the LED's vs. Bulbs , it has to be so minimal as to be a non-factor.
     
    Ed Beaty likes this.