2021 OEM LED headlight performance?

Well after trying morimotos and alpharex I'm going back to oem. They arent bright enough.

 

Good move can't go wrong with those SS3 fogs either.

 

They are beasts

 

Wanting to swap out that 9005 hb3 for a white color to match everything. What do yall recommend?

 

The 9005 Bulbs have 2 functions on the non Pro and non Limited:

Dimmed as a DRL or as a High Beam.

On my Venture, one of my first upgrades was to replace the crappy stock 9005 bulbs with Sylvania SilverStar Ultras (1700 lumins). Sure, they probably only last a year, but I am very impressed with the high beams now, both color and distance. I keep a spare bulb in the glovebox. Wallys sells them in singles and doubles, so they are easy to find no matter where you are.

 

Are they white though?

 

Not exactly as white like the LED Low Beams, which are pure LED white, but not too bad either.

The stock 9005's are very yellow and are basically cheap bulbs. When I first tested out the high beams, it was like, where did all that yellow light come from?

The Sylvanias Ultras have a light blue band on the bulb, but they are not those annoying blue or purple bulbs.

I'd suggest buying one 9005 bulb at Wallys then compare them side by side in their parking lot on a side wall. You can always return it (use the wrong size excuse).

They are fairly easy to replace, once you squeeze the retainer clip off the bottom of the bulb, just turn and remove.

 

So should I stay away from led?

 

Was told by another 21 owner that he runs these with no problems.

 

If the LED's can't be dimmed for use also as DRL's, then you will be driving around with your Hi Beams on all the time and blinding everyone.

You could turn off DRL and only use them for Hi Beams, that might be an option if you can't dim them, if you don't mind not having DRL's.

The LED's are mounted on a center post, and you will get a black dead area in the center of the light pattern, which can be annoying. I've tried LEDs before in my RAV4 and went back to using a real bulb.

 

Well wally stop after work then I guess! Thanks

 

Amazon has the singles for $20 each. I've seen them for as much as $65 a pair at auto stores.

Specs are 65W, 1700 Lumens, Legal for Road Use.

You can see there is a thin band of light blue on top and bottom, but not where the light filament is.

 

Please keep in mind that 2021+ have two different headlights- Pro/Limited do NOT use the 9005 bulbs as high beams, only DRL. However, you may not be able to use normal solutions for this, as the method for dimming is different than the standard PWM. Refer to this post here.

 

These are for the non Pro/Limited Hi Beams, my Low Beams are Stock LED. I have a Venture.

 

Got a link for a bulb you recommend to swap out for. I have pro I'm just wanting to match that led color.

 

High beams on TRD Pro are utter useless..!! The stock halogen highbeams on other trims have much better usable light.

Since I drive at night on rural roads on our trips I added a relay circuit and converted the DRLs to a 2nd highbeam with a OEM style switch on dash. Need to post a video explaining I did it.

 

https://www.garagechief.com/best-9005-bulb/

Best 9005 Bulbs

Don't expect to get more than a year out of any of these high performance light bulbs.

 

I found the stock halogens to be terrible, replaced them with HIDs and very happy. My Pro was pre LEDs

 

Yes, I know. The person you are giving advice to has a Pro, so what you have may not work for them. All halogen bulbs glow almost amber when they are dimly lit, so swapping to another halogen bulb probably isn't what he's looking for- he just wants LED white for DRL use.

 

Yes, the bi-LED projector on the Pro/Limited trucks has very disappointing high-beam performance. It would be great if you post up your solution!

High beams are being discussed here, not low beams. HID bulbs are not suitable for high-beam use, as they take several seconds to warm up and quick-toggling them can wear them out prematurely. The low-beam HID kits have problems of their own, which you and I have discussed elsewhere; and that discussion has nothing at all to do with 21+ OEM LED headlights.

 

Looking at the wiring diagram for the Headlight (From Aug. 2019 Production)2021-HL-F and weeding through the 4 headlight and DRL configurations in the way Toyota represents the various options on one diagram, you can see that for the 2021 MY LED HB with halogen DRL the DRL bulbs are connected in series. This would provide the voltage reduction you mentioned.

Kind of a cheapo way to accomplish the task but whatever works. The 12V power is applied through the right hand DRL then is jumpered to the left DRL to supply it. The problem is if the right hand bulb burns out both bulbs will not light. If the LH bulb burns out the RH one will still light. Someone could test this to verify.

EDIT: Correction, if either DRL bulb burns out they both will not light.

 

Interesting. I wonder how @kmeeg was able to return his 9005 bulbs to be triggered into high beams while still retaining DRL function. Or maybe DRL is now disabled.

 

That is correct no more DRL. Now I'm using raptor style grill lights for DRL.

I could not trigger the 9005s with highbeams as well. I could not find any exposed highbeam wire to tap into. 9005s are working using a separate switch on dash. They function just like turning light bar on. No connection to headlight switches. Its a simple relay wire harness left around from my previous HID kit.

It's something like this;

 

What about a fuse tap on the high-beam fuse, does one exist for the 21+ bi-LED? I know that the high beams function differently, as the entire lamp is already lit and the high beams are revealed via a mechanical shutter.

 

The title is talking about headlights no mention of high beams. The stock halogen headlights are terrible on the 4Runner's. HIDs are an awesome upgrade over the halogens

 

This is the first I’ve read that the OEM led high beams are sub-par. Would you guys that have them actually prefer the led low/halogen high combo over all led, if these were the only two OEM options available?

 

Yes, but the person you've quoted in your response (as well as the most recent 2 pages of discussion) is referring to halogen high beams. Also, no one is asking about HID kits or retrofit projectors here, at all. They're asking about the new LED headlights.

So far the consensus is that the bi-LED high beams are very underwhelming. Projector high beams generally are not that great compared to large reflectors. I would say most prefer the original reflector high beams. The rest only care about the color of the light.

 

Very new to this forum. I have a question that I couldn’t find a specific thread for, but has anyone with a 2021 4runner had their OEM low beam LED bulb burn out? Or had any problems with the assembly housing cracking on top just beneath the hood trim? Had this occur this past month. Both assembly units have cracked. The vehicle has not been wrecked, but the dealership keeps asking me that question.

 

That looks like your hood is coming in contact with that plastic radiator cover. When you slam the hood it smashes down on the headlight tops, which hit the headlights, and cracked the plastic.

If you put a heavy piece of paper over a rubber hood bumper and close the hood gently you can pull on it outward to check if there’s any contact. You probably have little or no contact between hood and bumper right now.

Rotate each bumper, counterclockwise I believe, to raise it up. Then test with the paper method for enough contact. Adjust accordingly.

 

I had that same question about the bumpers. The 2 in the center touch the hood and the 2 outer ones that rotate were tightened all the way down, so there is zero contact with the hood. I took this to a Toyota dealer to question if it could lead to the hood cracking the lights and they told me no, absolutely not and that they are only used “if the hood rattles or is uneven”. I received the vehicle this way and have made no changes to it. It only has 34000 miles on it and I don’t even know where to start with fixing it if the dealership won’t help identify the cause. I was hoping the lights would be fixed under warranty and they say because it is cracked that it is not covered under warranty. Thank you for your post and explanation.