Headlight Bulb Replacement - Sylvania vs Phillips

[westwind77]

What do the stock replacements cost at the dealership?

From what I see on Toyota's official parts web-site they run between $22 & $25. However, it is not clear if that is per bulb or for the pair. I plan on calling on Monday with my VIN to get details. I have a feeling that I might just go the OEM route and I would hate to be a 5 hour return ski trip and have one, or both, light hit that special magic hour mark and fail!

 

[1000MPH]

Seems people complain more about the later 5th gen projectors than the early reflectors. I’m still happy with the Phillips X-treme vision I installed last year. I kept the OEMs as backups. I’d just buy the standard Sylvanias instead of buying them through Toyota. $9 ea at Wallyworlds and the X-tremes for the highbeams.

 

[00Sebby]

Because of the poor brightness of the H11s, I was going to go the Phillips Extreme/Sylvania Ultra route but the price and longevity of the bulbs was a concern. So, instead I did the H9 conversion using the Sylvania basic H9 bulbs... cheap. The difference was night and day and I feel no need to upgrade to anything else for night driving. Below is a pic of mine in the daytime when I was installing the H9s (driver side H9, OEM H11 on the passenger side). As you can see, the driver side is definitely brighter and not nearly as yellow. I took this pic in March of 2016 and have not had to replace a bulb yet.

 

[Tib30015]

Because of the poor brightness of the H11s, I was going to go the Phillips Extreme/Sylvania Ultra route but the price and longevity of the bulbs was a concern. So, instead I did the H9 conversion using the Sylvania basic H9 bulbs... cheap. The difference was night and day and I feel no need to upgrade to anything else for night driving. Below is a pic of mine in the daytime when I was installing the H9s (driver side H9, OEM H11 on the passenger side). As you can see, the driver side is definitely brighter and not nearly as yellow. I took this pic in March of 2016 and have not had to replace a bulb yet.

Thanks for sharing, i'm pretty sure this is what i'm going to be doing this weekend.

 

[00Sebby]

Thanks for sharing, i'm pretty sure this is what i'm going to be doing this weekend.

You will definitely see a difference. Even more so with some high-end H9s if you can find them. I could only find the basic ones but they are good enough.

 

[blwatson]

I've used AUXBEAM LED headlights in my previous vehicle and just recently upgraded to a 2013 SR5. Have you considered going this route?

 

[Tib30015]

You will definitely see a difference. Even more so with some high-end H9s if you can find them. I could only find the basic ones but they are good enough.

So I did end up doing them tonight, it was pretty straight forward of course, simple mod. You can tell a difference in overall light output. I didn't adjust or change anything else but you can certainly see more output.

Thanks everyone.

 

[rushrunner]

I did the H9 upgrade and could not get the bulbs to fit correctly. Terrible results. I went with the Sylvania Ultra's. Way better. Very happy with the output.

 

[Decipher]

I’ve read and personally seen enough difference in light dispersement to conclude that, surprisingly, the 2010-13 standard reflector housings do a far better job at lighting than the projectors on the later models.

I’ve used Phillips Crystal Vision bulbs with great results. They’re closer to true white so you ditch the yellow appearance and therefore receive better perception of light (since it’s truer white) and they’ll be brighter than stock worn bulbs. This is the only halogen bulb I’ll buy...and they’ve lasted a much longer time than advertised.


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[LimeLED]

Does anyone know what oem bulb manufacture is in Toyota 4Runners from the factory?

I just put the Philips H11 X-tremeVision in my 2018 (bulbs marked Made in Germany).

The stock/OEM ones that came out were Phillips Long Life (Made in China).

 

[War Eagle]

I did the H9 upgrade and could not get the bulbs to fit correctly. Terrible results. I went with the Sylvania Ultra's. Way better. Very happy with the output.

I had some trouble too. You need to trim the plastic mount and center metal tab. See YouTube. Fit and output is great once you trim correctly.

 

[War Eagle]

neither.. retrofit a h9 by simply cutting a small part of the tab and cleanng the glass throughly w/ alcohol. OEM H11's put out about 1300lumens vs h9's around 2000 lumens. Yes the h9's burn out faster than h11 just as the silverstars and xtremevision will burn out quicker as well. However h9's wil cost you a fraction of what you'd pay for those fancy bulbs.

If you're not keeping your car for that much longer, then just go with H11's again. Bulbs lose light output efficiency after a couple years of use and bulb makers recommend replacement. I find their claim to be very true. Take out your h11 and look at the filament. If it looks a bit burnt or ashy then you've lost some light output over time. Compare to a new h11 bulb and the filament is bright and shiny.

Thanks. I did mine today. $3/bulb at amazon. Due to low lifespan, I bought 4 bulbs. Less than $16 shipped.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003YMPN3A/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

 

[rushrunner]

I had some trouble too. You need to trim the plastic mount and center metal tab. See YouTube. Fit and output is great once you trim correctly.

I probably messed the trimming up and got some bad bulbs. Anyways, the ultra's are pretty nice.

 

[00Sebby]

I did the H9 upgrade and could not get the bulbs to fit correctly. Terrible results. I went with the Sylvania Ultra's. Way better. Very happy with the output.

They fit just like the H11 as long as you remove the little tab at the top of the plug. Other than the tab, they are the same shape. But yeah, it's easier to just buy an H11.

 

[War Eagle]

They fit just like the H11 as long as you remove the little tab at the top of the plug. Other than the tab, they are the same shape. But yeah, it's easier to just buy an H11.

Actually, there’s a difference in metal tabs too, I had to trim center tab by 3 mm.

 

[00Sebby]

Actually, there’s a difference in metal tabs too, I had to trim center tab by 3 mm.

Oops. I forgot about that metal tab part since it's been almost 3 yrs ago.:redface: I used a little pair of side clippers (like those used for circuit board assembly) to cut the plastic tab and the metal tab. It probably took about 5 mins a bulb and they both fit perfectly. I just didn't want to spend $40 to $60 bucks for a couple of short-life bulbs. I've ran Sylvania Ultras and Phillips Extreme in other vehicles and even though they last a year or so it seemed like I was always replacing them. Good luck with yours. :thumb:

 

[1000MPH]

Thanks. I did mine today. $3/bulb at amazon. Due to low lifespan, I bought 4 bulbs. Less than $16 shipped.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003YMPN3A/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Is this place for real? That's crazy cheap compared to all other sellers.

 

[War Eagle]

Is this place for real? That's crazy cheap compared to all other sellers.

Worked for me.

 

[00Sebby]

So after bragging about how long the H9s lasted (about 3 yrs), I had one go out a couple of days ago. I bought two more Phillips H9s, the "OEM quality" ones, did the modification and installed them. The modification literally took about 1-2 minutes per bulb. Now, I've got 65W of brightness to last hopefully another 3 years. And I also pulled this nail out of my tire... luckily not deep enough to leak.

 

[rmbertoldi]

New lights AND a nail removed..now that's a productive day! lol


Anyone in on the Diode Dynamics LED upgrade, looks about as high-quality as one could expect from a headlight upgrade, and LED lifespan has yet to not-impress me?

Low Beam LED Headlight for 2006-2013 Toyota 4Runner | Diode Dynamics