Are the LED Headlights Really Bright or Something?

Yep, happens to me all the time too...

 

Ditto.

 

Although it doesn't seem likely, one thought though - I know the LED's should be auto leveling - is it working properly? Do you have something heavy in the rear or any mods that will change the angle of the headlights? I converted my halogens to HID's couple months ago. Headlights are much brighter and they seem to shine farther down the road, although the cutoff is more pronounced. I've only been flashed once when I had passengers in the back causing the rear to sit a little lower.

 

Way back with the HID lights, the too-bright flashing happened from time to time with me. Then, people were not use to the whiteness of the illumination itself. It wasn't actually bright, it simply wasn't the yellowish tint they expect. Later on, that flashing ended.

Now with the LED lights, which clearly provide even better road illumination, nothing. I've even had a compliment from a neighbor about how well they project without being blinding.

Since they are projector-beams, checking the aim is simple... due to the light being so well definied. Just pull up a few car lengths behind a car in a parking lot. If the light shines above their trunk, the aim is incorrect. If not, they are fine.

 

I have the standard headlamps and I get flashed. I've also gotten flashed with the DRL's on.

 

I wouldnt worry about it if they're your low beams, maybe compare them to a lot car to see if they're aimed too high to begin with.

 

I've gotten flashed a few times. I simply flash them back with the ACTUAL high beams, to let them know they're wrong.

 

They are the best illuminating headlights I have ever used. I do the same as Ken so they don't keep their high beams on.

 

Indeed they are, unless you're the unlucky person driving towards you. What's the point of having bright headlights if it just causes problems to the car in front and the car coming towards you? The trouble about using your high beams is that you might do it to a truck with a row of spots on the top of his cab

I'm glad someone's brought this subject up. These new LED lights from all manufacturers are just too bright. They're ultra white and too harsh, almost dazzling. The worst I've found are Audi's and Mercedes and I also notice that the Merc ones flicker and make it difficult to judge their distance as they're driving towards you on a dark road. I find if you glance away, you get almost a strobe effect as your eye moves from them. Same happens with Merc and Volvo rear lights when following on dark roads. What was wrong with the warmer, more orange, less harsh light of normal headlights? Why do they now have to be ultra perfect white?

I'm waiting for the day when a lawyer catches on to this led flicker being a cause of accidents if someone pulls out in front of someone with these led lights. What is the legal flicker rate of a cars headlight or side marker light? If it flickers at 50 times a second, who can answer what distance the car travels between each flicker when travelling at 60 mph? Surely that will cause issues judging distance? What is the legal minimum flicker for led lights on a car?

 

Guys, if its several people flashing u then it sounds like the aim might be off. Maybe the leveling motors or the sensor on the rear axle has failed.

HIDs have been out for too long so people are use to the color output & brightness......which the LEDs replicate pretty good.

 

The DRL's seem brighter. I haven't noticed oncoming LED prius low-beams being too bright, but I have noticed the new DRL's are pretty bright and angled slightly upwards. Maybe the lights are pointed too far forward as sean suggested.

 

DRL's shouldnt make a difference seeing as they're usually on during the daylight unless modified. They do work well for visibility when in EV

 

Did you adjust the aim of the LED headlights? Many people have found that the LED headlights are aimed too low from the factory, so it shouldn't be blinding oncoming traffic. I have adjusted mine up and got some flashing and then adjusted them down and haven't had a problem since. Maybe your auto leveling is broken or something. If you have another car, leave your headlights on your Prius and then drive towards it. Make sure both cars are on level surfaces.

 

"Flicker" (and chromatic aberration) is usually the observer moving across the edge of a moving, sharp, projector lamp cut-off.

Actual "flicker" is the strobing of very high power law enforcement vehicle LED light arrays, which are so dazzling that they effectively obscure everything in the near-field between LED and observer. We have had several LEO, first responder and pedestrian deaths from what I suspect is this exact effect.

 

We had similar issues. Ok during the daytime but at night they were horrendous. New emergency vehicles seem to have adjusted them so they flash twice quickly on each side, then alternate, rather than how they were a few years ago. If they'd only reduce the brightness at night, that would solve most of the problems.

Crazy that the emergency lights actually draw your attention to them too much like a moth to a flame.

 

Exactly. Unintended Consequences 101

 

I just give them a quick flash of the high beams, so they realize I didn't have them on.

The actual brightness, measured in lumens, is actually no more than equivalent halogen bulbs produce. Brightness in lumens is strictly regulated by the U.S. DOT. These lights should be easier on oncoming traffic, since they have a nice clean cutoff, with virtually no "scatter" above the cutoff line, unlike conventional bulbs. The human eye is designed to see well in sunlight. Most OEM HID and LED bulbs are designed to emit light in the same color temperature as sunlight, thus improving visibility without being brighter.[/quote]

 

It's the sharp cutoff that makes them appear to "flicker" and produce chromatic aberrations as the observer moves across the edge of the moving, sharp cutoff.