Recommendations for new headlight casings

[Lewis&Clark]

2008 Limited V8 4WD

I am not interested in buying OEM Toyota headlight assemblies. Toyota pricing is $660 for both the left and right. Not going to happen. I'm aware they're probably more reliable than many aftermarket offerings, but at this point, near-term cost is a much more important consideration.

So do you have any preferences or recommendations for aftermarket offerings?

I wouldn't mind a different look than the OEMs, only for some variety for a change, but it's not at all a requirement.

I do want to put LED bulbs in them.

 

[ZLJUANN]

I just installed DT Moto black out headlights on my truck a couple of weeks ago. so far, they are great. I would only run LED bulbs in them as the watt rating for the sockets is low. My standard turn signal bulbs started melting the receptacle.

Details are in my build thread.

 

[Berty_K]

My preference

1. OEM New
2. OEM Used, then refinished yourself
3. Your old OEM headlights with canibalized aftermarket lens (need to buy cheap aftermarket assembly)
4. Aftermarket assembly

If you do end up going aftermarket, some potential downsides to be aware of:

• Seals used for aftermarket assemblies aren't usually great. Many have eventually gotten some moisture in their headlights. They can also be harder to open because they don't use butyl rubber, which becomes soft when heated
• Aftermarket projectors are inferior in quality to OEM. Your headlights won't light the road as well. You can salvage your OEM projectors if you still have them, or take the time to go with a full HID retrofit (I went this route, but also had the luxury of time).

 

[cwilliams563]

2008 Limited V8 4WD

I am not interested in buying OEM Toyota headlight assemblies. Toyota pricing is $660 for both the left and right. Not going to happen. I'm aware they're probably more reliable than many aftermarket offerings, but at this point, near-term cost is a much more important consideration.

So do you have any preferences or recommendations for aftermarket offerings?

I wouldn't mind a different look than the OEMs, only for some variety for a change, but it's not at all a requirement.

I do want to put LED bulbs in them.

I was in the same boat a few months ago. My OEM’s were pretty cloudy and wanted to get new ones. Pricing on the OEM’s were pretty insane so I bought some Arcani headlights from Amazon for my 08. They looked amazing at first!

Within 3 months they were already yellowing. Within 4 months the coatings were delaminating, peeling off, and looking pretty rough. Needed to change my turn signal/DRL bulb but the housing melted and bulb broke off inside and fell into housing. Wasn’t able to put a new bulb in due to the socket being melted and oblong. Warranty on these turds are only 60 days, what a joke! That’s about all the longer they’ll last while looking decent. Lesson learned. Something to consider in advance.

I found some aftermarkets on Carid and they had a 1 or 2 year warranty (I believe) on some of them. Where I’m at now is probably going to restore my original OEM’s, seal them and see how they last this time.

 

[riceandpho]

new oem housings are about 455 from partznet, they only charge 55 for shipping. usually they give coupons off on tuesdays or thursday, when i got my lights done by lightwerkz, i wanted new oem housings, the aftermarket stuff is not that good. some dealers might match that price.

81130-35441
81170-35421

 

[Berty_K]

new oem housings are about 455 from partznet, they only charge 55 for shipping. usually they give coupons off on tuesdays or thursday, when i got my lights done by lightwerkz, i wanted new oem housings, the aftermarket stuff is not that good. some dealers might match that price.

81130-35441
81170-35421

Headlights fall into the "buy nice or buy twice category." If you're willing to do a bit more work, try Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market. You might be able to find some cheaper housings you can refurbish.

 

[riceandpho]

Headlights fall into the "buy nice or buy twice category." If you're willing to do a bit more work, try Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market. You might be able to find some cheaper housings you can refurbish.

i got tired of restoring my orignals, was not going to use aftermarket housing with my retrofit, had so many issues with the lens not lasting like original. im all out for oem housings, but there are good aftermarket ones.

 

[joshik]

I went with used OEM projectors from Ebay. They can be had for $70-$90. I have an 03 so I did the "complete" conversion.

If you go with used OEM projectors, here is what I learned. I went through probably 3-4 housings. I returned several of them.

A. broken tabs when they were advertised as all there or they broke during shipping.
B. if the top "short" tab is broken there is a OEM repair kit 81193-35010 and 81194-35010
C. CHECK the hot spot before completely installing. Try to run a bulb and test the hot spot. Many I got had burned bowls which cause a huge "blank" spot in the hot spot. Light output was HORRIBLE. I went through a few (after several returns) and found some that had no bowl burns.

 

[Terminator03]

As others have already said, steer clear of most aftermarket ones because you WILL end up spending more than OEM ones if you end up replacing the replacements a couple of times like I have to! A couple of years ago, I purchased some aftermarket ones with black reflector area since my truck came with a set that was in poor shape, but I liked the blacked out look. I was fortunate that the previous owner had already retrofitted the ‘06 projector style lights and I definitely wanted to keep that style. I ordered a set from Amazon and they looked awesome for maybe 3 months, then started getting condensation inside like crazy! Not only have I dealt with this every time it rains, or went through the car wash, but now the clear on the inside of the lenses is delaminating!:sniper: I didn’t mention this before, but before I even installed them, I completely sealed them with clear silicone as many recommended doing with aftermarket housings, but to no avail. I’ve had them in and out more times than I care to mention trying to fight the issue, but I’m at the point now where I’m just going to buy ANOTHER set. DT Moto has been highly recommended in many threads discussing aftermarket assemblies, and they have the blackened reflectors, so I’ve been going back and forth between just biting the bullet and getting new OEM sport ones, which have kind of a charcoal reflector (I don’t like the chrome personally), or the DT Moto. I am planning to make this set into range targets! Whatever you do, do your homework and don’t buy ANY aftermarket without reading a lot of reviews, and even then it’s a crapshoot.

 

[hessian]

I just paid 430 for oem for my 07 Sport (reflectors are smoke tinted)

toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com

Idk how much shipping was since I bought a bunch of other stuff too. Best prices I’ve found, and I’ve looked a lot.

I did a lot of research on aftermarket housings. I agree with the other guys... these are worth the extra money.

 

[JH225]

Like others have mentioned, aftermarket can be crap in several ways. Mainly, they don’t seal as well as OEM and the lenses don’t last at all comparatively. This is true not just for Toyota’s but across the board for all manufacturers.

Also like others have mentioned: DT Moto makes a solid alternative, and so does TYC. TYC will be an OEM equivalent that’s better than the other aftermarket options, but still just shy of OEM quality.


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