Less Than 2 Year Review: Alpharex NOVA - TL;DR: Get something else

[seatownhokie]

I bought my set from Throtl for $1100 at the time, back in April 2021. Less than two years later my ice cube LEDs on the passenger side completely failed. See pic here: IMG_0809.JPG - Google Drive

Mind you, I don't drive my 4Runner often anymore as it is my secondary car so the LEDs have even less than normal hours of operation which makes this worse.

I reached out directly to Alpharex for support - they told me to go put in a warranty claim through Throtl - fine. They tried to deny me because it was ALMOST 2 years , but the warranty is for 2 years, so they said begrudgingly to help me. I get a return label (great), but I have to return the defective unit FIRST.

If you have installed the headlights before you know you have to take out the entire front bumper for the install, meaning I have to take everything off, and either reinstall with my old stock headlights until I get a replacement, or let it sit in my garage unusable.

I give both companies 1-star for customer service, and a shit product.

I will never buy from either again, and I will be getting the Morimoto's when these fail again.

I hope anyone in the market for LED headlights reads this and avoids the Alpharex and opts for an alternative. I have owned Morimoto's in the past, and they worked well beyond a lame 2 year warranty.

Also for the record, there are no modifications, condensation, or other damage that would lead me to conclude otherwise.

 

[AZ Craig]

Thanks for the update. I've played with the idea of Alpharex or Morimoto headlights since I love the look but have always been worried about the longevity of them (plus I know they are generally thought of as a step backwards versus the stock housings in terms of true down the road light output).

Has anyone had Morimotos in their vehicle for more than 2 years now with no issues (I seem to remember them coming out around 2018 or 2019)?

 

[seatownhokie]

Thanks for the update. I've played with the idea of Alpharex or Morimoto headlights since I love the look but have always been worried about the longevity of them (plus I know they are generally thought of as a step backwards versus the stock housings in terms of true down the road light output).

Has anyone had Morimotos in their vehicle for more than 2 years now with no issues (I seem to remember them coming out around 2018 or 2019)?

I had the same reservations, and just went for it. I obviously regret that decision now. I tried to get some info on where they source their LEDs but they don't say anything on their site which means cheap ass overseas parts.

By the way, Morimoto offers a limited lifetime warranty for electrical failures, which this is, and that alone should be reason enough to get it going forward. Any company who has a SHIT 2 year warranty clearly does not stand behind the quality of their products, and should be priced as such.

 

[Xtremluck]

No surprise here unfortunately. AlphaRex basically white labels cheap Alibaba products. All looks and no performance.

 

[AZ Craig]

I had the same reservations, and just went for it. I obviously regret that decision now. I tried to get some info on where they source their LEDs but they don't say anything on their site which means cheap ass overseas parts.

By the way, Morimoto offers a limited lifetime warranty for electrical failures, which this is, and that alone should be reason enough to get it going forward. Any company who has a SHIT 2 year warranty clearly does not stand behind the quality of their products, and should be priced as such.

Yeah, I went for Morimoto tails when I needed a new set of lights despite liking the looks of some of the other ones on the market due to that warranty. I broke my passenger housing lens wheeling and figured if I had to spend some cash to fix it anyway was worth going to something a bit more unique... I've had them in for about a year now with no issues and they've definitely grown on me.

 

[Pedro367]

Sorry to hear about this. I know two years ago it may have been different when you bought them, but I don't understand why anyone would give Alpharex money for these at this point. I've heard nothing but nonsense and the price is RIDICULOUS.

 

[mrblah]

I’ve had morimoto headlights and taillights since preorder and haven’t had any problems. Some people have had issues but it seems at least morimoto tries to address their issues.

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Sorry to hear. I have a new set sitting in my garage ready to go on. I've seen more issues with Morimoto than Alpharex and I liked the look so I went with them. Seems like the best are OEM LEDs but they were about the same price as the Alpharex ones.

 

[seatownhokie]

Update

I got the right side working, but now, I have an issue with the left side. I checked all wiring connections, fuses, relays. Just won't turn on. The crazy thing is the DRL, and highs all work, but the lows won't turn on UNLESS I turn on the highs. The DRL harness they send with it works fine and is tied to the RH Lows so that isn't the issue.

More issues with AlphaRex within a few years of purchase. I still suggest to stay away.

They also make you go through their reseller (Throtl in my case) to handle warranty issues, and troubleshooting.

Final Verdict: HARD PASS SAVE YOUR MONEY

 

[Ahmad310]

I started having intermittent issues on mine with driver side DRL, when I went to investigate i found that the metal connector on the DRL harness had come off so it was not getting a good connection. I reached out to them, they recommended that I snip the wires on each end and attach them with Butt connector. I did that but it did not resolve the issue. They then said I was out of warranty and they could not help and that my only solution would be to try and find someone selling the first gen version to buy another. So now I dont have DRLs (But they work if you use the parking light setting).

I get that I was just beyond the warranty period that's fine but you would think they would want to stand behind their product a little more. I suspect as time passes we will see more and more failures of these units.

I did see a teaser recently of a new "Evo" version of 5th gen head lights from Morimoto that look really nice. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hY84ZLuPj/?igsh=MThhajF6bWptZ3Qzcg==

 

[seatownhokie]

I started having intermittent issues on mine with driver side DRL, when I went to investigate i found that the metal connector on the DRL harness had come off so it was not getting a good connection. I reached out to them, they recommended that I snip the wires on each end and attach them with Butt connector. I did that but it did not resolve the issue. They then said I was out of warranty and they could not help and that my only solution would be to try and find someone selling the first gen version to buy another. So now I dont have DRLs (But they work if you use the parking light setting).

I get that I was just beyond the warranty period that's fine but you would think they would want to stand behind their product a little more. I suspect as time passes we will see more and more failures of these units.

I did see a teaser recently of a new "Evo" version of 5th gen head lights from Morimoto that look really nice. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hY84ZLuPj/?igsh=MThhajF6bWptZ3Qzcg==

So, I tried their solution of "bending" the connections to get good contact. Tried it. Didn't work. So, I went into full troubleshooting mode. I whipped out the multimeter, and confirmed that I get 12V all the way to the low connector, and then measured on the other side of the connector as well in case it was a bad connector. Still was seeing 12V. So, it's def a bad unit. If they don't warranty this for me I am going to the better business bureau as I was having issues within the 2 years period, and beyond.

 

[seatownhokie]

I started having intermittent issues on mine with driver side DRL, when I went to investigate i found that the metal connector on the DRL harness had come off so it was not getting a good connection. I reached out to them, they recommended that I snip the wires on each end and attach them with Butt connector. I did that but it did not resolve the issue. They then said I was out of warranty and they could not help and that my only solution would be to try and find someone selling the first gen version to buy another. So now I dont have DRLs (But they work if you use the parking light setting).

I get that I was just beyond the warranty period that's fine but you would think they would want to stand behind their product a little more. I suspect as time passes we will see more and more failures of these units.

I did see a teaser recently of a new "Evo" version of 5th gen head lights from Morimoto that look really nice. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2hY84ZLuPj/?igsh=MThhajF6bWptZ3Qzcg==

So, I tried their solution of "bending" the connections to get good contact. Tried it. Didn't work. So, I went into full troubleshooting mode. I whipped out the multimeter, and confirmed that I get 12V all the way to the low connector, and then measured on the other side of the connector as well in case it was a bad connector. Still was seeing 12V. So, it's def a bad unit. If they don't warranty this for me I am going to the better business bureau as I was having issues within the 2 years period, and beyond.