Sports Luxury Headlight Replacement

[mister_david]

Hi Folks,

I've generally had a very disappointing ownership experience with my 2008 SL - a myriad of faults and problems most of which have been "repaired" under warranty (I gave up trying to get two of the issues "repaired" since Lexus didn't seem to be able to fix the two remaining problems).

Since the warranty expired in May, I've had two component failures that have required repair, the latest of which is the low beam HID headlight. The first instance of this was the central locking actuator on the rear passenger side door failed: that cost me $220 after Lexus said that they would cover half of the cost of the repair (the driver side rear actuator had failed as well, but was replaced under warranty).

The second instance was the failure of the low beam HID headlight. I am totally astonished at the cost: $500 to replace a bulb! What I'm particularly ticked off at is that this has happened *immediately* after the car had been to Lexus to fix the door actuator, and I can't help but draw a conclusion that something happened during the repair process. The repair happened on a Thursday and I noticed the failed headlight on the Friday (at night): I know power was disconnected during this repair as all my seat/mirror settings were cleared, and Lexus left a notice on the rear vision mirror to warn me that this was the case.

Anyway, I contacted my Lexus dealer about this. They explained that these lights fail without warning, but asked Lexus to help contribute to the cost of the bulb ... they declined. The car has only just done 43k, which is really low mileage so if you took the view that average mileage is 25k per annum, my car should have had a theoretical mileage of over 100k ... hence the lamps have lasted less than half what they should. And I note here that there is an implied (but incorrect) assumption here that Lexus engineers the lamps to fail at the end of the warranty: so realistically, my lamp got (maybe) 10-20% of its expected lifespan.

Before I go ahead and get the bulb replaced, I thought that I'd throw it open to folks here for suggestions. I had thought of writing to consumer affairs about it: $500 for a bulb seems over the top, especially since you'd anticipate it lasting for many years given the price ...

Thoughts folks..?

Cheers,

David

[Zed_IS250]

sad to hear you long run of endless issues :(

sounds like a bmw 3 series i had once!

i know you can get oem style (pair) of replacement xenon bulbs from US for $70 or so

might be time to think after market and also with actuators im sure you can get them cheap from US or with recent race car build that ilv has done he might have some to sell?

best of luck

Z

[coconut2001]

Which lexus dealer/service is this at?

[mister_david]

Hi Z,

sad to hear you long run of endless issues :(

sounds like a bmw 3 series i had once!

i know you can get oem style (pair) of replacement xenon bulbs from US for $70 or so

might be time to think after market and also with actuators im sure you can get them cheap from US or with recent race car build that ilv has done he might have some to sell?

best of luck

Z

My last car, a BMW X5, was actually cheaper to service than the IS250. And it had a whole lot less faults. The only "mistake" that I consider I made in the process was buying an ex-dealer car (you know, one of those that they use as a staff car). Maybe it was abused before I got it ..?

I've ordered some from eBay for a fraction of the cost ($66 delivered for two lights, as opposed to $485 + installation for the one from Lexus)

Which lexus dealer/service is this at?

Hi coconut2001,

The service folks at the dealer actually look after me pretty well. While I'm inclined to accept their assurance about the cause, I'm not happy with the way Lexus has engaged.

I'd actually considered looking at the new GS250 to replace the IS250, but that idea is now (permanently) scratched. The part must cost Lexus all of $20 (or less) ... not really a great way to sell your brand I would have thought.

Cheers

David

[samsung001]

that's ridiculous. Is it called warranty and good service by Lexus? I wouldn't even pay a cent for any repairing cost if the car is under factory warranty. Maybe writing to consumer affairs would force them to face the issue.

[ilv1004s]

genuine set of globes will cost your arond 150 bucks from the US

[sherlockyou]

did you get your car from brand new??? that sounds not really like a lexus.. endless problems...

[mister_david]

Hi samsung001,

that's ridiculous. Is it called warranty and good service by Lexus? I wouldn't even pay a cent for any repairing cost if the car is under factory warranty. Maybe writing to consumer affairs would force them to face the issue.

The car is just out of warranty, but I suspect that their response would have been the same even if it had still been under warranty as headlights are considered a "consumable" (like brakes, tyres, wiper blades etc).

Hi sherlockyou,

did you get your car from brand new??? that sounds not really like a lexus.. endless problems...

The car was about 14 months "old" when I bought it: it was a Lexus fleet car, and the story I was told was that the dealer principal's wife had been driving it (it had only about 7,500Kms on the clock). It meant that I didn't wear the heavy initial depreciation on the car, but I'm not happy about the number of problems we've had with it.

Cheers,

David

[samsung001]

Hi David, sorry to hear that. However, like others said, its not expensive to purchase a new set. Change to 8000k one to make it looks nicer :)

[mister_david]

Hi samsung001,

Hi David, sorry to hear that. However, like others said, its not expensive to purchase a new set. Change to 8000k one to make it looks nicer :)

Thanks for the tip: I was wondering what type to get. I've been looking at the 6000k or 8000k globes ... less than $70 for a set. I'm still gobsmacked that Lexus want $485 for a single globe ... and I appreciate the suggestion of others to look online as I was about to pay that price!

Cheers,

David

[Atlantis]

If you buy 8000k ones and drive anywhere near me, expect a punch in the face.

If you have to ask why, keep researching.

[ilv1004s]

Hi samsung001,

Hi David, sorry to hear that. However, like others said, its not expensive to purchase a new set. Change to 8000k one to make it looks nicer :)

Thanks for the tip: I was wondering what type to get. I've been looking at the 6000k or 8000k globes ... less than $70 for a set. I'm still gobsmacked that Lexus want $485 for a single globe ... and I appreciate the suggestion of others to look online as I was about to pay that price!

Cheers,

David

is this your first luxury car?

485 is cheap for a set of genuine HID bulbs

as my above statement

150 bucks for genuine set from the US

ROFL 8000?

you'll be hated by alot of people

[mister_david]

Hi ilv1004s,

is this your first luxury car?

485 is cheap for a set of genuine HID bulbs

as my above statement

150 bucks for genuine set from the US

ROFL 8000?

you'll be hated by alot of people

Not my first luxury car, but my third. And by quite a large margin, its easily the worst for reliability. I've been completely let down in the ownership experience, and turned off Lexus as a brand. I'd planned on keeping the car for a while, and mean to continue doing so, but if this fault rate keeps up it'll soon make sense to cut my losses and ditch the car.

That said, the folks at the service centre are really very good - they could not be more helpful (and unlike the BMW folks). BTW, the $485 wasn't for a set, it was for a single globe.

Hi Atlantis,

If you buy 8000k ones and drive anywhere near me, expect a punch in the face.

If you have to ask why, keep researching.

Well, I did actually research and I found objections to the 6000K units - apparently they are "aggressive"..? However I believe that this is what is in the car right now (according to my research, the 6000K are the default installation from 2009 onwards).

Cheers,

David

[samsung001]

Hi David, the after market one should cost around $50-80. Its not that expensive, and i believe they last long as well.

Hi Atlantis,

As for the k thing, (correct me if i'm wrong), the difference between 8000k and 6000k basically is the colour. Blue Vs White.

[Atlantis]

Even 6000k isn't correct/legal, although they can look nice depending on how the headlights are aimed.

Factory beams are 4300k which emulate sunlight as closely as possible. 4300k provides more visible light than other colours (eg. 6000k or above).

8000k and they are well into the blue, getting close to looking purple.

[samsung001]

I believe David's car is sports luxury, so Bi-Xenon lights are standard. I would presume they should aim properly rite ?