2021 4Runner Hi/DRL Color

Just bought a 2021 4Runner - my first - and really loving it so far. The only thing I didn’t like immediately is the hi/DRL color temperature. My trim has LED fog and lows, but halogen hi/DRLs. I know I can replace them with whiter LEDs (Xenon Depot seems like a decent choice?), but reading all of the pros and cons of that now.

So I have a dumb question I can’t seem to find an answer to online: are there any street-legal halogen replacement bulbs that just have a whiter temperature, or are they all that stock yellow?

 

No halogen will look like an LED or HID, but yes they can come close-ish. Illuminated next to a true LED, though, the difference will be obvious. Sorry, I can't help with a suggestion as I actually really like my old-school colored driving lights. They make my black Runner look mean!

Also, I'm not sure if you can simply replace that bulb with an LED one. I could be wrong, but I think there is an issue with using LEDs there because of the fact that the bulb doubles as the DRL. I want to say that LED's will not get enough power under DRL operation to illuminate. EDIT: I think this is just the case with the Pro and Limited...

 

I bought a replacement from headlightrevolution.com it has the SV led bulbs and modules that make the leds work as a DRL and as a high beam. Works fantastic and matches the color of the led low beams. I don’t have a picture of the DRL just on but they are nice and bright.

 

Atleast you are lucky to have separate low beam & highbeam bulb so you can upgrade to a better option vs some trims have high beam and low beam on the same.

As far as I've seen Xenon Depot is really good as DRL functionality and decent High beam. Still far better than stock high beam.

The LEDs that are good as High beams may not be good as DRL. Atleast as per my experience. Below is an example I've tested;

https://youtu.be/7W3I3PP0QT8

 

Super helpful. Is street legality ever an issue in the real world with the LEDs?

 

The DRL’s are kinda bright, however I like them bright so people don’t pull out in front of me. The Highbeams are stupid bright at night (I think it tested approx 3500 Lux). There is a video I came across that covers low and high beams. https://youtu.be/ei8rjYejyyg

I’m going to replace my wife’s 2020 low and high beams soon because they are pretty bad compared to my 2021.

I don’t think it’s a legal issue due to the projectors being decent with a nice cutoff, the high beams are great in the woods, if the DRL’s are too bright, just shut them off. Have a good one!

 

i'm feeling the same way too on my 21 4R. I actually pulled them out the order day to see the type of bulb. HB3/9005, I'm wanting to find some LED ones.

 

thanks for sharing.. looking now lol..

 

If the OEM hi/DRL is a 9005, why can't it just be replaced with something like this? https://www.sylvania-automotive.com...ts/silverstar-ultra/9005_silverstar_ultra.jsp

 

I was considering those but could not get pass the blue bulbs.. minor i know..and those are still a halogen bulb..
but I saw some today from this site (LED):

$100 https://allalighting.com/products/9005-hb3-led-kits-bulbs-replacement-6000k-xenon-white

$35 https://allalighting.com/products/6...-9005-led-bulbs-high-low-beam-kit-replacement

might pull the trigger..

 

For all trims besides the Pro/Limited, you can use the Xenon Depot LED bulbs. They have optional drivers that will properly dim the bulbs for DRL use. The Pro/Limited use bi-LED projectors and the leftover DRL bulbs are not as easily swapped (they use the same 9005 bulb but to my knowledge no one is sure how Toyota is dimming them. Unlike the standard high beams that use PWM dimming). I would advice against using the DRLs at full (high beam) brightness, as it is discourteous to other drivers (and possibly illegal).

I ordinarily do not recommend replacing halogen bulbs with drop-in LED bulbs, as their focal point shifts drastically enough to reduce performance. But with high beam reflectors, overall control and pattern intensity is much less critical than low beams. I still no not recommend anyone use drop-in LED bulbs for their halogen projector low beams. If you're curious, information is here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

 

Really helpful. I'll give the Xenon Depot LEDs a shot for the hi/DRLs. Thanks!

 

Just FYI, I had a quick question for Xenon Depot, and they refused to answer a simple question about their product because I bought it off Amazon and not from them directly. Kind of surprisingly petty customer service without any warning beforehand - "we don't support our products bought from third parties".

 

Yes, Xenon Depot/The Retrofit Source/Headlight Revolution (they're all one company now from what I understand) is sort of infamous for their terrible customer service. They're happy enough to fill orders and sell you stuff, but problems down the road will vex you.

I myself had to spend several months communicating with them, trying to get a response, because one of my Morimoto LED bulbs was flaking apart (this was when I was duped by LED bulb marketing, I have since gone back to proper halogen bulbs which work correctly). They instructed me to cut the bulb wiring apart in two places to destroy it and send pictures with the serial number before they would authorize a new replacement. I am assuming this is done because otherwise people might request replacements and sell them off etc. And the bulbs are so cheap compared to their retail price that it doesn't make financial sense to mail them back, process them, diagnose, repair, return. They'll send you a new pair every time. The actual wholesale cost is probably a tenth of the retail price.

Anyway, I cut my bulb apart and sent them pictures to authorize a replacement. Waited... Emailed... Waited... Took nearly 3 months of pestering them before they sent replacements. By then I had switched back to proper halogen, but it was the principle of the thing. That's another reason I don't recommend LED or HID kits... Eventually you will have problems, at a minimum you'll need to wait a few weeks for replacement parts as they are not available on the shelf. Halogen bulbs are at every auto parts store.

High beam bulbs are less critical though, so knock yourself out.

If anyone's interested in lightning recommendations for what I use in my own truck (H9/9011 halogen bulbs), please take a look here:

 

"mynameislightingexpert"

 

I promise I'm not! But I pay attention to those that are and then pass along their recommendations. Crashnburn80 on Tacomaworld is a particularly good resource, as he is a vehicle engineer who tests lighting as a hobby (and he has proper equipment). He doesn't do paid promotions or try to sell you discount codes on YouTube.

Believe me I've created plenty of bad blood on the forums by recommending people to researched solutions (probably because of my attitude and lack of tact). When people spend hundreds of dollars on lighting upgrades, they want to feel good about their purchases. Pointing out that they've wasted money is a hard thing to accept. I've been kicked out of a few Facebook groups for it. Ah well, I'm not on here to make friends.