Hi, the headlights on my Prius have been slowly going out for a few months now. I’ve had to turn the off and on to get them to work again. Now, I’m at the point where I really need to have them replaced. The dealership is giving me a price of $155 per halogen headlight. I found Sylvania halogen light bulbs on an after market site going for $25 and up. According to the site, these are the lights that would go into my Prius. Am I getting something wrong? Is there really over a $200 difference (for the pair) between the Toyota bulbs and the Sylvania bulbs? Thank you.
Are you sure you don’t have HID lights? $155 is pretty steep even for a dealer.
How would I check that? The Advantage Auto Parts customer service assured me that the lights they are offering would go into my car, but I’m really concerned about the price difference. Thank you.
Halogen’s fail all the way and don’t come back.
HIDs can fail partly and come back if you cycle them on and off.
You have HIDs. You can’t replace HID bulbs with halogen bulbs.
You’re absolutely right. That makes more sense. Do you think I can get HID bulbs after market for less than the $155 per bulb, or should I just take it to the dealer?
Sorry to hear that. That is one more reason I don't want HID lamps in my car.
How does detroit come up with all this stuff and people keep buying into it.Update: I was able to find the appropriate bulb after market for $145 including shipping. So, I’ll be saving about $160. I’m going to try to put it in myself, but I’m sure I’ll wind up taking it to the garage next door after my attempt. Thank you for all the comments.
Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the advantage of these bulbs?
When you get the bulbs, follow the directions on how to handle them VERY carefully. Often, touching the glass with your hands will cause them to break prematurely because of the extremely high temperatures that they reach when lit. Good Luck.
Advantages? None, really. People like the way they look. Theoretically, engineers can “aim” the lights better than standard bulbs. Extra profit for the carmakers and sellers of replacement parts.
Detroit or Tokyo?
It’s the ‘‘oh wow’’ factor that the gotta-have-its sucker into all the time.
I’ve stated here before
"Just because a technology exists, doesn’t mean we need it in our cars."
But if they build it…
Some sucker will by it, often un-knowingly burried in the overall package.