Pros and Cons of Installing LED Lights on Your Toyota

Headlights are absolutely important for any vehicle, which is why they’re included in every single one. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be improved at all because the technology behind the basic headlight is kind of old by now. Not that LED lights are new by any stretch of the imagination but they are significantly better in a few aspects. Of course, there are also a few cons to using them. Luckily, there are plenty of headlight brands to choose from that are all of high quality.

Pros

Like with pretty much all products of this type, there are several pros that you should be aware of. Some are more important than others, but they’re all positive points.

Lifespan

A problem with most types of lighting is usually the lifespan. Very few types of lights, let alone headlights, tend to last long. However, that is not at all the case with LED headlights, especially on the Toyota, as they last an enormous amount of time longer than the other common type of headlight, which is the halogen light. On average, people spend somewhere around 18,000 minutes in a car per year, whereas LED headlights are known to last upwards of 20,000 hours. That’s a huge difference, meaning when you get high quality LED Toyota headlights, you get them for life. That’s a good investment considering the amount of time you’re most likely spending in your car on a yearly basis.

Efficiency

Efficiency in the case of lighting is how much electricity they waste over time. Halogen lights are very inefficient because the amount they waste is very significant, and considering they’re quite ubiquitous, they are a big reason for all the wasted electricity in not only Australia but also the world. The reason they waste so much is that they also produce a lot of heat, which also causes the halogen lights to put more strain on the car’s battery. Unlike halogen lights, LEDs produce almost no heat at all, and they also require less power in general. That means that your car’s battery won’t spend more electricity to power them on, meaning they’re significantly more efficient at spending power.

Brightness

When you’re driving out at night, the last thing you want to do is not be able to see something. Driving in the dark is generally a big problem, which is why headlights are installed by default in all vehicles. Even if your headlights do work, it could be a problem if they’re not bright enough. Halogen lights are usually bright enough so as to illuminate the road ahead of you, they’re not exactly ideal lighting. LEDs, while not the brightest type of lighting you can use, are a massive improvement over halogens. They’re as much as 270% brighter than halogens, so you can be sure that you’re always going to be able to see the road ahead. Even though HID lights are even brighter than LEDs, you won’t really always need lights with the brightness of floodlights on your car.

Customisability

Most car owners tend to want to customise their vehicles so as to make them more personable. Giving your car more character should be somewhat of a priority to most people who own cars, for at least to make them feel more comfortable. Luckily, LED lights, in general, are very customisable, and that goes for LED headlights for Toyota, as well. You can easily alter the look and feel of the lights according to your wants, so can make your Toyota vehicle feel that much more distinguished from other Toyotas. This is usually something that most people don’t think of at first, but when you want to add another dimension to how your car looks and feels, you can easily make them change their brightness and colour at a moment’s notice.

Cons

Even though the pros are great positives that illustrate just how good headlight LEDs are, there are also a few cons to be aware of. Though not huge cons, they are still there.

Extra Component

Even though LEDs don’t emit heat, they do produce a small amount of heat at the emitter where electricity passes through. This means they require an extra cooling component to protect the other parts and assemblies. Sometimes, this may add a bit of a price increase on LEDs rarely.

Variance in Quality

Halogen lights, like with most other older types of lighting, tend to be created according to a set standard, at least most of the time. However, LED lights are still considered newer technology, so they aren’t a lot of set standards in place, at least considered with other types of lighting. That means that the quality between LED manufacturers could potentially change with different manufacturers. There’s not usually a huge discrepancy, but things like lifespan, brightness, and even efficiency can be affected if you’re not using a trusted LED Toyota headlights brand. That’s why you should always make sure to get LED headlights from manufacturers that you trust.

Difficult to Design

Even though this isn’t exactly a con that should affect you as a user, it’s still important to point out. Up until relatively recently, LEDs have been quite difficult to manufacture and design because they have one very specific flaw. That flaw is that it needs one extra cooling component, and that component can restrict the location where LEDs can be housed. That’s why manufacturers sometimes need to get creative when it comes to using LEDs.