Upgrade to LED headlights, 2012 Yaris

[Faramir]

Hi all. My first post here. Happy new owner of a red 2012 Yaris LE 5-door.

Apologies if there are earlier threads on this---could not find them at a quick search---but what are good options to upgrade to LED headlights? Just looking for better and safer night driving vision, not for appearance.

Thanks.

[WeeYari]

Many will consider switching to LED is not an upgrade.

[mitch9521]

If you want better non-halogen lighting, do a projector retrofit. LED/HIDs in halogen reflector housings are a shitshow of bad output and glare, shining light everywhere but on the road where you want it.

I personally run Hella +50 halogens, they are great. The gen 3 factory headlights have probably one of the best halogen beam patterns I have ever experienced on an OEM headlight setup, when aimed correctly of course.

Phillips Xtreme Vision/Racing Vision are probably the best H4 halogen upgrade you can get for readily available bulbs. However they don't last long, I got about 7-8 months out of a pair back when I still had DRLs before I disabled that crap on my 2014 lol

[Faramir]

If you want better non-halogen lighting, do a projector retrofit. LED/HIDs in halogen reflector housings are a shitshow of bad output and glare, shining light everywhere but on the road where you want it.

I personally run Hella +50 halogens, they are great. The gen 3 factory headlights have probably one of the best halogen beam patterns I have ever experienced on an OEM headlight setup, when aimed correctly of course.

Phillips Xtreme Vision/Racing Vision are probably the best H4 halogen upgrade you can get for readily available bulbs. However they don't last long, I got about 7-8 months out of a pair back when I still had DRLs before I disabled that crap on my 2014 lol

Thanks for the advice. I should have explained my situation better:

I am 58 and my night driving vision is poor. I hope to drive during daylight well into old age, but the day will come when I stop driving at night in anything other than ideal conditions.

Been driving cars with halogens for 40 years. The past few years, as my night vision got worse, I tried upgrades such as Silverstars, BriteLite, etc. That helped a little bit, but not much.

Recently I had a chance to drive a '21 Sonata with LED headlights....a revelation. Best nighttime vision of the road, by far, of any car I have driven.

When I bought the Yaris last week, I immediately thought about upgrading to LEDs. And based on my time with the Sonata, I cannot see how anyone could say that is not an upgrade. I know it is technically illegal to switch out halogens for LEDs, at least in PA. I also know several people who have done it, none of whom ever got pulled over.

So I plan to install LEDs in the near future. Been researching the best way to do so without spending a fortune. Opinions vary widely, to say the least....will keep researching.

Thanks again for the advice.

P.S. From limited use thus far, I agree the Yaris headlights are at least as good as any other halogens I have experienced. Have not checked the bulb to see what brand.

[Faramir]

Hi all. My first post here. Happy new owner of a red 2012 Yaris LE 5-door.

Apologies if there are earlier threads on this---could not find them at a quick search---but what are good options to upgrade to LED headlights? Just looking for better and safer night driving vision, not for appearance.

Thanks.

I installed Tiny Monster LED H4 performance bulbs. Definite improvement but did not rock my world the way the LEDs on the '21 Sonata did. Test will be the first rainy, foggy night. (Fog is worse than rain for my aging eyes.)

Might try to polish the lens housing too. It's not bad, but every little bit etc.

[mitch9521]

You aren't gonna get dedicated OEM LED performance from a set of cheap LED replacement bulbs in halogen reflector housings. Sorry to burst your bubble.

[Faramir]

You aren't gonna get dedicated OEM LED performance from a set of cheap LED replacement bulbs in halogen reflector housings. Sorry to burst your bubble.

True, but it's better than the halogens that came stock with the Yaris. As I said, I will take every little bit of help I can get with night driving vision.

The stories I read about "light splayed all over the place" blinding other drivers has not happened. No oncoming vehicle has flashed me, and the LEDs illuminate at least as wide an area as the halogens did.

Will report here if that changes.

[sh0rtlife]

True, but it's better than the halogens that came stock with the Yaris. As I said, I will take every little bit of help I can get with night driving vision.



no ..no it isnt and the "drop off" is a disaster...also any "cheep" LED is going to burn down real fast, while even the cheepest HID will last years

if you want some real "light" go HID...you just cant touch the output with anything else in a "retrofit".....even an HID in an old "sealed beam" style 7 inch glass lens is AMAZING its like having a bunch of KC hilites all focused on the road

[mitch9521]

no ..no it isnt and the "drop off" is a disaster...also any "cheep" LED is going to burn down real fast, while even the cheepest HID will last years

if you want some real "light" go HID

Cheap HIDs are every much of a fire hazard as cheap LED bulbs. Hell, even more so cause HIDs pull a lot more current than LEDs and run considerably hotter. Cheap LEDs with poor cooling properties will also run very hot but HIDs run quite a bit hotter.

you just cant touch the output with anything else in a "retrofit".....even an HID in an old "sealed beam" style 7 inch glass lens is AMAZING its like having a bunch of KC hilites all focused on the road

Lol what, I've built nearly 20 sets of HID projector retrofitted headlights with both aftermarket projectors and OEM projectors from various cars over the years and every single one of them will out perform a set of HID bulbs in a reflector housing in output, cutoff, width and brightness.

[ltwargssf]

Don't get LED headlights, they will start flickering and you won't be able to align them properly. I highly recommend Sylvania zXe halogen bulbs. Very bright and you can align them correctly. There really isn't any other way unless you are ready to do projector housings swap with HID xenons for best light output.

I do a lot of highway nigh driving so lighting was important for me. Personally, the zXe headlight bulbs and my fog lights have intense cool blue OSRAM bulbs are plenty of light output.