Are LED headlights worth the trouble

A while ago, I was at a Toyota dealer one night getting my Taco out of the shop and I noticed a salesman was demo-ing the LED headlights to a Tacoma shopper. The LED headlights appear to be far better than the projector headlights. Now I am in the market for a new Tacoma. Using sites like Cars.com or Autotrader, I am not finding a whole lot of Tacos with the LED headlights installed. LED DRLs/fogs, yeah but just a few with LED headlights. If Tacomas rarely come with the LED headlights, is it better to swap out the projector beam bulbs with LED bulbs or should I just go with OEM LED headlights to begin with. Looking for input from both sides.

 

100%

Go OEM LED.

literally the best option/usable option imho. At less than $500, its a life saver.


(this is someone who has lived with the 2018 Candelight OEM headlights for 3 years)

 

If you have the projector headlights a HID headlight is a huge upgrade. LED bulbs perform extremely poorly according to crashnburn. Swapping to the LED headlight would however offer a significant benefit.

Give this thread a read it has an answer to everything and more. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-hid-vs-led-vs-halogen-h11-projector-headlights.589465/

This is the HID kit I'm running. I personally like the non-LED headlights because the DRLs look sick. I paid around $250 https://www.xenondepot.com/16-21-Tacoma-Low-Beam-HID?quantity=1

 

Certain ones are extremely poor and some are not if you read the whole thing. But OEM LEDs are the best

 

OEM LED headlights, but not an LED bulb in the older projector housing

 

NO,more problems than they are worth.

 

I like the OEM LED quite a bit. Big upgrade over my 17. Happy with both form and function

 

Correct, I am running the suggested (in that thread) Hikari Eye of Megatron LED bulbs in the projector housing and have lost nothing to the H11 or modified H9 bulbs in low beam. I still plan on upgrading to the OEM LED headlights eventually, but just a reminder everything in that linked thread is not the end-all-be-all for Tacoma headlights. YMMV.

 

I dont think there is any evidence to suggest this is the true of the 2020+ OEM LED headlights. I cant defend aftermarket options though.

OP: if its an option for you I think OEM LED headlights on the 2020+ are maybe the best selling point for that model year.

 

halellulah!

 

I'm perfectly happy and impressed with the Diode Dynamics LEDs as they are far superior in performance than stock halogens in my 2018. I see better and further now than ever before in my Tacoma and I have been driving these dark roads for years!

 

OEM headlights were the only option I wanted on my truck. They look badass, and you don't have to worry about wiring LED bulbs/HID kits later on. Plus, its a steal at only $485. If you were to buy those OEM LED lights I think I read somewhere they are $1300... plus you gotta get a new wiring harness and deal with that!

TLDR: GET THE LED OEM HEADLIGHTS.

 

PREACH
PREACH
PREACH

Getting a Tacoma now without OEM $485 LED, is like dating a guy without his third leg = useless

 

My ‘20 came with OEM LED Headlights and these are hands-down the best headlights I’ve ever used! Get them, never look-back.

 

You've been staring at farm animals too long.

 

IF You want white LED headlights, not getting the 485$ OEM option is silliness. PLUS they have something like a 10 year warranty behind them, so if they die, chances are Toyota will replace it.

That said -- the only reason I did not want the white LED lights from Toyota, I run yellow in the winter in the snow. 3500K used to be HID, now is halogen H9s with a pigtail converter from the H11 low beam.

Point is - white reflecting off the snow sucks. I really like the yellow. It paid off already on one trip where I was driving home 3+ hours in the snow at night, oncoming traffic's white lights were glaring enough that they would reflect off MY housings, then back off the snow in front of me, and be too bright on the snow in front of me for me....let alone if I was the driver of the car myself! Plus all the shenanigans of high beams

If I was down south where it snows once every 10 years, I'd be with them for sure. For me though, in the snow, I'm all for the yellow lights.

 

Where did you find them for $500? Are they new? Is this price for a pair?

 

Dealer add on

 

This is truth. Getting them as an upgrade for $500 with the truck is a steal, because yes buying them after the fact is ~$1500. And you do have to source a different harness, which can easily add another $100.