Short & sweet (02 SR5 Sport)…….driver’s side burnt out last night.
Presently running Eiko 9003 hb2 60/55w.
Replace with same?
No issue replacing both rt & lt side bulbs.
Anybody have a solid simple bulb recommendation that doesn’t involve spending big $$ and lots of work as not looking to upgrade entire system right now.

Look at the wattage of each bulb. I was running Phillips Xtreme vision or something like that which was a 67W/60W bulb so roughly 10% more wattage compared to standard 60W/55W bulbs. I did notice the difference and the small increase in wattage doesn't comprimise any wiring or fuses. Should be less than $30 on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Philips 9003 X-tremeVision Upgrade Headlight Bulb (Pack of 2) : Automotive

Last time I bought these (from this seller) the bulbs delivered were regular 60/55. I have used the real 67/60 bulbs in the past, and they were noticeably brighter.

Oem are plenty bright and can beat their longevity.

Just had the same drives headlight out and looked into replacements. Apparently over-watt bulbs have essentially died out, now you see them as 60/55 +120 or +150, to show they're brighter (but have a shorter life).

Anyway, as for brands, I tend to trust this guy:

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

He's been a voice of reason in a marketing-driven industry for a long, LONG time. most the way down the page you'll see his recommendations for H4/9003. None are easily gotten from the normal places (well, ebay from the UK). So I opted for:

Amazon.com: PHILIPS X-treme Vision +130% Headlight Bulbs (Pack of 2) (H4 60/55W) : Automotive


Swapped out some German bulbs I have as spares for my '66 Beetle (has an H4 upgrade), I'll probably swap back once these come in.


Hope you have tiny hands or are willing to pull the battery and airbox for access. I just barely managed with my meat mitts and not removing anything, but the connectors were fused to the bulbs and the rain cover was stuck to Both the bulb and the housing, making it extra work for me.

Thanks for recommendations guys. I’ll go with one of the Philips products mentioned above as they seem to be easily available through Amazon with quick delivery.
Who knew buying replacement H/L bulbs is now like buying OJ in the supermarket, a billion choices and probably mostly the same results!

I went to the local autoparts store and bought silver stars.


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What do you mean oem are plenty bright? The 4Runner headlights are terrible, one cannot even consider them safe. Am I crazy? Am I the only one?

Yes, the OEM halogens suck. The OEM LEDs are a ton better. The problem is not the bulb though. It's the housing and optics. No bulb (Halogen, HID or LED) is going to fix that. A better halogen bulb will make it somewhat better though.

Depends 100% on use. 45mph and under, the lights are plenty fine ~ you're not going to out drive them. 55 and you'd better damn well be paying attention to driving/the road. 65 maybe if you've a ton of high performance driving under your belt. Perhaps those speeds are different for someone with younger eyes than mine, I'm over the hill.

Around me, the trees and hills mean that even top of the line LED lighting isn't any better than the 4runner stock headlights. You simply are not able to see as far as the better lights can project due to obstructions.


If the projector retrofits weren't so god-awful ugly, I'd consider them just for the extra margin of safety... but since we don't drive faster than 55 and can't really take advantage of longer throw, it's cosmetics that win out.

Out in Maine. Very dark around here, I wish bx built wasn’t six months out for headlights.

Oh, I sure hope they weren't discontinued as they were good bulbs. Now that you say that the new Phillips bulbs do indeed look to be 60/55W now.

Toyota never made LED headlights for our 3rd gens. If its an LED its not OEM. Your correct about the headlight housings being incompatible with modern lighting types.

I've gone with silver stars, they're fine. I have feelings against halogens that try to appear whiter by using blue tinting on the bulb to filter out useable yellow light. Apart from that the only thing that makes an actual difference is the wattage rating. You can buy bulbs that exceed the 60 watt rating, but its not street legal and more importantly there isn't a guarantee that our wiring and light housings can handle the additional power.

20-year old OEM 4Runner headlight housings with 20 years of dust and tarnish deposited on the delicate aluminum reflector (that cannot be cleaned) ARE pretty bad. However, even in their current diminished state they are usually better than the old halogen sealed beams that came on my 1991 Toyota truck(and millions of other vehicles).
I got new housings (OEM), which was a nice improvement over the old dirty ones.

I agree, new housings are by far the best thing that can be done. I tried several bulbs before just buying TYC headlights and over-wattage bulbs and I never wished for brighter headlights after that. Unfortunately though TYC caught on. They used to be $35 each and now are $110 so after taxes and shipping they are $250. OEM's are worse and can cost over $400 after taxes and shipping. I bought my bulbs and housings for $85 total just a few years ago.

1998 TOYOTA 4RUNNER 3.4L V6 Headlamp Assembly | RockAuto