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Question about headlights

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by doogster, Jun 30, 2012.

  1. doogster

    doogster Junior Member

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    Hi. I just bought my 2nd used Prius today... this one is 2006 with 122K miles. It has bluetooth, the JBL stereo and a few other things my 1st Prius doesn't have. My question is... how do I know if this Prius has the regular light bulbs or the expensive headlight bulbs? Neither is out now, but I want to know what I have so when it does go, I can replace it.

    Also... if they are the expensive headlights... can I replace them both with the cheaper ones? ... or is the connector different so that I can't do that?
     
    #1 doogster, Jun 30, 2012
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    2G Prius (2004-2009) Standard and Optional Equipment (Some Countries) | PriusChat

    People have said that if it has foglights, it has HID lights too. My 06 is package NL which is everything except for leather (and yes, I have foglights and HIDs). HID lights are white/bluish whereas halogens are orange/yellowish.

    When you turn on HIDs, you'll briefly see a color change at startup.

    No, you can't just put in a halogen bulb in an HID equipped car and vice versa. HIDs run at very high voltages and have a ballast. Not all HID Bulbs are created equal | PriusChat discusses HID systems.

    You'll have to do more work and buy a bunch of parts if you want to retrofit.
     
    #2 cwerdna, Jun 30, 2012
  3. doogster

    doogster Junior Member

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    ok... well, this one has the fog lights so looks like I have the expensive ones... figures.
     
    #3 doogster, Jun 30, 2012
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    ^^^
    Another thing to note, on HID equipped Priues, there's no separate filament or bulb or higher/lower brightness level for the high beams. There some sort of mechanism that moves forward/back depending on whether you're in low/high beam mode.

    (This isn't true of all HID equipped cars. My former Nissans w/HIDs had separate halogens for high beams. When in high beam mode, the halogens would turn on in addition to the already running HIDs.)
     
    #4 cwerdna, Jun 30, 2012
  5. doogster

    doogster Junior Member

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    so I see some bulbs out on Amazon.com for the 2006 Prius that say thins like "Xenon" and "Ultra" or "Platinum"... all these bulbs are around $30 each... will these work? Or does it specifically have to say HID?
     
    #5 doogster, Jun 30, 2012
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Assuming Amazon sells genuine Philips D4R bulbs and not counterfeits, I'd stick with Amazon.com: Philips D4R Xenon HID Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive. I'd buy only if sold and shipped by Amazon, not any 3rd party.

    I did buy two of the above (one to replace a failing bulb and another as a spare for the other) from Amazon WAY before 2K1toaster wrote his article. I don't think it's worth the time and money to screw around w/other random Xenon/HID bulbs.
     
    #6 cwerdna, Jun 30, 2012
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Turn on the light. If it's yellow (i.e. familiar looking), it's halogens. If you see a white/bluish white light, it's HIDs.

    And yes, typically HIDs came with foglights so that's a pretty good indicator to use.
     
    #7 Tideland Prius, Jun 30, 2012
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