2005 Toyota Rav4 Replacement Headlights

Would an LED aftermarket unit work?

Just kidding!

Down to business: I picked up a decent seasonal job a couple of weeks ago to work until I start my big-boy job in November, and I thought that I could do my sibling a favor by replacing the opaque headlights on her '05 Rav4 (which has lived its entire life in the hot sun). She'd never do it, plus she's in college, so there's no money anyway.

Checked online dealer-affiliated parts centers (so the actual OE headlights), such as Olathe Toyota and Toyota of Dallas, and I'm seeing ~285 hard earned seasonal dollars per headlight. For what I thought to be simple, halogen units. Darn. Anybody have another source for genuine units?

I checked Google although I didn't want to, and found the expected. I won't go into details, but I barely made it out of there.

Second actual question (sorry people): Wether I get the new units or not, what are some decent quality, longer lasting 9003/HB2/H4 (if your name is Virgil, ignore the H4) bulbs? I'm not after the highest-performance bulbs, because all I'll hear about is the short lifespan... Plus I may not be there to change the bulbs, even though it's not hard to learn how to change the darn things yourself, but I digress. Also, what do you like in H9 and H11 guise? Different car but same parameters - decent quality and decent service life.

My last question is a frivolous one. What's the actual, objective verdict on these headlights? I'm just curious to see how closely (or not) they match up to my subjective impressions.

Thanks in advance for your help and time, I appreciate it.

I found genuine OE NAL (Koito) headlights for my '04 Tacoma a year ago on Amazon for about $200 each. The problem with Amazon is you need the Toyota part number in your search, otherwise you end up in cheap crap knock-off land. As to bulbs, Philips Xtreme Vision all the way for 9003/H4 (also H9 and H11).

Using the Toyota part number doesn't always guarantee you don't get a counterfeit. I'd restrict my orders solely to the parts counter of a local Toyota dealership, or go to parts.olathetoyota.com.

Franco said:

I'm seeing ~285 hard earned seasonal dollars per headlight.

Click to expand...

That's about what they're going to cost.

For what I thought to be simple, halogen units.

Click to expand...

They are simple and they are halogen, but they're also made well using good materials by a reputable company. That costs. I don't necessarily agree that the markup from build cost to retail price is reasonable, but that's a different conversation.

what are some decent quality, longer lasting 9003/HB2/H4 (if your name is Virgil, ignore the H4) bulbs? I'm not after the highest-performance bulbs, because all I'll hear about is the short lifespan

Click to expand...

The Philips Vision Plus gives better performance than a standard bulb with longer life than an Xtreme Vision.

Also, what do you like in H9 and H11 guise? Different car but same parameters - decent quality and decent service life.

Click to expand...

Specific application matters. What car and which lamps on it?

What's the actual, objective verdict on these headlights?

Click to expand...

To answer that would require photometric data.

Alaric Darconville said:

Using the Toyota part number doesn't always guarantee you don't get a counterfeit.

Click to expand...

That is unfortunately true. There are a lot of sellers on Amazon (and Ebay) selling what a reasonable person would conclude, from reading and looking, is genuine headlamps but they aren't.

Lightdoctor said:

I found genuine OE NAL (Koito) headlights for my '04 Tacoma a year ago on Amazon for about $200 each. The problem with Amazon is you need the Toyota part number in your search, otherwise you end up in cheap crap knock-off land.

Click to expand...

Tell me about it. I tried Google Shopping results, and had nothing but counterfeits, "refurbished" units, and an HID kit on the first page!

Alaric Darconville said:

Using the Toyota part number doesn't always guarantee you don't get a counterfeit. I'd restrict my orders solely to the parts counter of a local Toyota dealership, or go to parts.olathetoyota.com.

Click to expand...

I think that I'll just go the safe route to avoid the chance of getting counterfeit units. A few dollars is worth the piece of mind in my book. If I have to bite the bullet, that's one thing; but I really, really, really don't want to pay and get counterfeits.

-Virgil- said:

They are simple and they are halogen, but they're also made well using good materials by a reputable company. That costs. I don't necessarily agree that the markup from build cost to retail price is reasonable, but that's a different conversation.

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I didn't actually think that they would even be under $200 a headlamp; I was just hoping for a slightly lower number than they are.

The Philips Vision Plus gives better performance than a standard bulb with longer life than an Xtreme Vision.

Click to expand...

Perfect, thanks!

Specific application matters. What car and which lamps on it?

Click to expand...

Sure, this is for a 2015 Sentra. The basic, two halogen reflectors set up. H11 for the low beam, and H9 for the high. The high beams especially seem disappointing, as they tend to illuminate the foreground excessively.

To answer that would require photometric data.

Click to expand...

Okay

I didn't know if you had happened to come across any actual data or not.

I have a fairly large amount of headlamp data (some of which is mine to share; much of which I can't), but the lamps you ask about aren't in the library.

As for the Sentra, there's no H9 better than a standard H9 for the high beams. The low beams would benefit from the use of these. I haven't looked at a '15 Sentra to see if the low beams stay on when you go to high beam; if so, you might like the high beams better if you would install a cutout relay to douse the low beams when you switch to high beam. You might try an experiment on a dark, empty road some night where there's plenty of opportunity to use high beams without suddenly needing to use the low beams: unplug the low beam bulbs and try out the high beams and see if they're more to your liking.

-Virgil- said:

I have a fairly large amount of headlamp data (some of which is mine to share; much of which I can't), but the lamps you ask about aren't in the library.

Click to expand...

Is there no interlibrary loan system among automotive lighting experts?

On a more serious note, I do understand that not all the information you possess is for public dissemination; but it is a blessing for those of us that are out of the loop that you (and others on this forum) take the time to share when you can.

Anyway, I don't actually drive the Sentra in question. I'm lucky enough to not need a car at this point in my life, nor the immediate future (not that I don't enjoy automobiles, the involved engineering, or the associated culture). Pedals suffice for now. That being the case, I probably won't be messing with the wiring on that vehicle, though I'll try to keep the suggestion in mind should I need to do so on a future car.