2007 Headlight dead even after OEM replacement

Does it turn on and then die or not come on at all? The car is not throwing any codes, correct? I would think if the ECU needed replacement, there should be some kind of code registered. Is it possible to switch the bulbs on the front to confirm that the bulb on the passenger side has not died prematurely? What voltage are you getting from the ballast to prove that it is not at fault?

 

I'd be a little suspicious of anything that dealership told you, especially if they said it was a Toyota bulb (to the best of my knowledge, they were all manufactured by someone other than Toyota), and if they are suggesting you replace the ECU without telling you how that could cause your problem. I believe others have had varying experiences with the longevity of replacement bulbs. It should not be a big job to pull the bulb out of the passenger side to see what you've got. I've had good luck with the Philips bulbs I ordered from Amazon so far (

), but it's only been about 3 months since I put them in.

I would suspect the bulb more than the ballast if it will not turn on at all.

 

You will need to get a multi-meter (about $20), if you don't already have one and get access to a repair manual (obsidiancorp.com has some links, I expect there will be a nominal fee to use most of them, I have used alldatadiy.com and found it to be useful) to check whether the ballast voltage is within range or look for possible wiring problems. I could tell you to check the continuity of various connections, but I believe you may be exposing yourself to high voltage if you are not sure what you are doing, so it's better to follow the instructions in the repair manual to diagnose the issue. Also, be careful not to touch the glass part of the bulbs when you are handling them. The oil that may be on your fingers will shorten the life of the bulb (hard to believe, I know). Good luck, and let us know what you find.

 

I just had the dealer tell me that they needed to remove the front bumper ('05

 

Reference this link to learn more what is needed to replace the headlight bulbs.
Light Bulbs - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists

 

if the mechanic has fat hands, he would need to remove the bumper. But that would only slow down his work a few minutes

 

That may be what the "book" says. For the passenger side, removing the bumper (cover) is definitely not necessary. For the driver side, I was able to pull the headlight assembly out after removing the bumper cover attachments on that side and bending it (the cover) slightly. (The cover is flexible plastic, it won't lose its shape or break with the small amount of bending that is necessary.) If you are lucky, the plastic ring holding the headlight assembly together can be rotated slightly counter-clockwise by reaching through the gap behind the headlight on the driver side. In that case, it really is a 5 minute job without removing anything, as the woman from Luscious Garage demonstrates on YouTube.

 

The bumper cover slides right off. 4 bolts in the front, 1 bolts on each fender. Easy 5 minute job....or less.

that's how I replace my headlights. I slide the bumper cover off....it's so easy

 

>The bumper cover slides right off. 4 bolts in the front, 1 bolts on each fender. Easy 5 minute job....or less.

that's how I replace my headlights. I slide the bumper cover off....it's so easy

Unfortunately, I was having trouble removing some of the bolts on the front of my cover, which is why I opted to not remove all of them. Even with that, it took me much longer than 5 minutes. In the end, I was just happy I was able to get the job done in my own unconventional way.

 

Partially removing the bumper cover sense for most folks.
All parts are easily accessible and easily viewable. Nearly eliminates common errors like improperly reattach ingredients the wire holder, or inadvertently touching the glass part of the bulb.

If doing diagnostic work yourself you could swap a know good bulb into the cfailing" fixture. Or swap the possible bad bulb into a known good fixture.

Could also swap the known good ballast with the possibly bad ballast.

If you have to pay for the labor each time this may not be cost effective.

I'd be curious to hear how they ruled out the ballast.

And are they saying the ballast is a different component than the ECU? Just want to be sure if terms being used here.

 

what brand of bulb is best for hid? mine is starting to flicker and I want to replace it before it fails completely.

bumper does come off pretty easy, especially if you have a helper.

 

Just to be clear, what folks call the HID ballast, the dealer often calls the "headlight light control ECU sub- assembly".

So perhaps they feel the bulb is good and the ballast is actually the issue.

I would say that is likely since you have had the issue for some time and the turn light off/on tricked worked for a while.

A failing ballast can unfortunately also damage a good bulb. So replacing the bulb but not replacing the ballast leads to damaging the good bulb. Problem won't be resolved until you replace the ballast. And possibly the newly damaged, previously good, bulb.

 

> And are they saying the ballast is a different component than the ECU? Just want to be sure if terms being used here.

I never considered the possibility that by the term "ECU" the dealer meant "ballast". That would make more sense. Maybe the dealer's advice was less nonsensical than it seemed to me.

 

It's been 9 months now and we are having no issue at all with the 2 Philips bulbs I bought from Amazon (link in my post above), and we leave the headlight switch permanently in the "on" position. (I wish the 2007 had DRLs that we could use instead.)

 

Interesting. Others always make sure to turn off their lights before shutting down the car.
The theory was that it would prevent a surge of power on startup.

 

> Interesting. Others always make sure to turn off their lights before shutting down the car.
The theory was that it would prevent a surge of power on startup.

If that's a known fact, I guess we may have to change our normal practice. Since the wife mainly drives that car now, and she is still not familiar with all the controls, I thought it would be easier just to leave the lights on all the time. On the other hand, I may still continue to do what we've been doing, given that I didn't expect the car to last this long anyway. (With 253k miles, it will be given to charity as soon as we have a major problem with it.)

Would the same thing apply to the DRLs on the 2017 Prius? I may need to start turning the switch off for them. I don't want to have to mess with anything on that car for a good long time.

 

On the 2017 the lights are LED and draw much less current. They would not cause a surge.