N70 2008 SR5 Yellowed Headlights. Replace, Polish, Add LED?

[Romsey]

I am completely in the dark on headlights.

My 2008 has badly yellowed headlights and the output is terrible, bordering on unusable.

I am not sure if I should replace them with genuine OEM or aftermarket headlights and stay with the current bulbs or sand and polish mine and coat them with 3M film? Should I replace the exsitng bulbs with something like the Stedi LED's? Or is there a recommended aftermarket headlight unit I should look at? Should I be focused on LED or halogen?

Any recommendations or reputable sellers I could talk to, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[hiluxxury]

I'm looking at the Stedi LED conversions. I've done no more research than look at the stedi website and the offerings from china though.

[Romsey]

I'm looking at the Stedi LED conversions. I've done no more research than look at the stedi website and the offerings from china though.

We are in the same boat. I have done the same. I spoke with a clueless person at Stedi and just hungup, of zero use infowise.

As best I can tell at the moment, I think i should buy 2 new Toyotal Genuine headlights assemblies from a Toyota dealer for what appears to be about $350 for a pair? Then maybe buy the LED's from Stedi for about $149? I probably need to buy parking & indicator LED's from Stedi as well. If I sand and polsih the existing headlights and add Precut 3M film it will cost about $100 saving $250 on new OEM headlights assys from Toyota, I think.

I see on ebay all sorts of headlight assys with Halo rings, they seem to sell for about $400 but may or may not include bulbs? I have found a few sellers online like Mars who seem to have the same for more money with different bulb options.

Just not sure, I think I might try to sand and polish & 3M fim my exsting headlights and see if the exiting bulbs are ok or upgrade to the Stedi LED bulbs?

[Romsey]

I have decided to sand, polish and coat my yellowed lenses. I watched a few Youtube videos comparing the top headlight restoration products. 3M & Sylvania came out on top (Sylvania won as it included a clear coat finish, the basic 3M kit did not). Can't get the Sylvania easily in Oz so went with the 3M product. There are 2 x 3M kits, one includes a clear coat finish with an estimated 2 year clear lense life. I went with that one. It has to be delivered from Amazon US so takes a little longer.

https://www.amazon.com.au/3M-39195-Head ... 5K56G?th=1

$48 inc shipping, est delivery 24 May.

Here is a Youtube video showing the product use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWOX4Dgj8Jg

I looked at all the other kits avail from local suppiers like Supercheap but they were double the price and most did not include a clear coat finish so the lenses would start to fade again in a few months.

I will report back once I have the product and have completed the resto.

[hiluxxury]

Yes I was in the circle of cleaning the lenses with my lux. The clear coat is the best option for the long term or getting 2nd hand headlights from a wrecker as I did thanks to a roo.

I think I'll go with stedi unless I find something similar and cheaper. My rangers lights a canbus controlled so I have to get something that sorts that out as well - stedi is the only option I can find at this time (noting the weak research I've carried out).

[Romsey]

Yes I was in the circle of cleaning the lenses with my lux. The clear coat is the best option for the long term or getting 2nd hand headlights from a wrecker as I did thanks to a roo.

I think I'll go with stedi unless I find something similar and cheaper. My rangers lights a canbus controlled so I have to get something that sorts that out as well - stedi is the only option I can find at this time (noting the weak research I've carried out).

I like the Stedi story and that it is a very Oz company with a quality story.

I look forward to your review of the Stedi's as I will likely not test them until near the end of May after I have received my 3M resto kit and done the deed, cheers.

[kickinback]

I’m about to pull both lights out of my 2012. Going to hit them with wet and dry up to 2000 grit then polish. I’m going to try some clear vinyl car wrapping sheet on them.


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[Romsey]

Got my 3M Headlight polishing kit with UV juice today. 6 day delivery from Amazon US.

Now got to get off my arse and do the job. I also received many other parts like tonneau cover, need to remove the tub hard cover, new rear tailgate damped struts, more parking sensors and more bits like TPMS sensors, etc, so will have to figure out what gets done first.

Also building up a new Honda CRF300L and have a shit ton of parts to fit to that with more incoming in the next week.

Will see how much I can squeeze into this weekend.

I will report my headlight resto progress once I do the job. I can then make a decision on what new bulbs I will be adding if required once I polish up the lenses and actually see some light coming out of the stock lights.

[Romsey]

I went with a complete Stedi solution. Ordered the parts today, went the whole hog and replaced all bulbs with LED. What the hell, why not. As I am getting older I find I need things brighter.

I still need to polish up the lenses. I took my car to a carwash and they must have hit them with polish as the yellowing has gone but still need the headlight resto treatment and UV coating.

Will update once fitted and provide feedback.

ITEMS ORDERED Fits: Toyota Hilux Sr5 (n70) 2008

H4 Copper Head LED Bulbs (Pair) LEDCONV-H4-CH
Fitment: High and Low Beam Headlight. x 1 AUD$149.99

Piggy Back Adaptor H4. WIRPIGGY-H4
Fitment: Piggyback Adapter for Spot Light / Light Bar Wiring. x 1 AUD$17.99

Dynamic LED Side Marker to Suit Toyota & Lexus. LEDCONV-TOY-SM
Fitment: Front Side Marker. x 1 AUD$44.99

T10 W5W Wedge LED Bulbs (Pair). LEDCONV-T10-8SMD
Fitment: License Plate. x 1 AUD$21.00

T10 / T15 (W5W / W16W) Wedge LED Bulbs (Pair). LEDCONV-T10-12SMD
Fitment: Parker. x 1 AUD$21.00

BAY15D (1157) LED Bulbs (Pair). LEDCONV-BAY15D
Fitment: Tail Light. x 1 AUD$34.99

1,000 Lumen BA15S Reverse LED Upgrade (Pair). LEDCONV-BA15S-HP-1156
Fitment: Reverse Light. x 1 AUD$65.00

BA9S LED Bulb T4w H6w H21w. LEDCONV-BA9S
Fitment: Map Light. x 1 AUD$21.00

Festoon 28MM LED Bulbs (Pair). LEDCONV-SJ-28MM
Fitment: Dome. x 1 AUD$19.99

Subtotal (Excl.Tax) AUD$359.95
Subtotal (Incl.Tax) AUD$395.95
Shipping AUD$0.00
Tax AUD$36.00
Grand Total AUD$395.95

[Romsey]

Did the deed today. Used the 3M Ultra Headlight Restore kit. I was not looking forward to it and have been putting it off. The arrival of all of my Stedi LED upgrades today spurred me on to do the headlight resto before I fitted the new LED's.

When I got this car last month, the headlights were yellow. I parked under a tree and got sap all over the paintwork so being a lazy shit I took it to my local carwash for a polish, they must have put some polish on the yellow headlights too as it came back without the yellow headlights but the lenses were still dull and had marks and what looked like dribble lines down them.

I started at about 3.30 in the afternoon, blue skies but it was about 14 degrees and blowing wind. I parked it up as close to the garage as possible to get out of direct wind and commenced the job using my Drill on low speed, supposed to use high speed as I read after I finished It was a prick of a job as the headlights have all sorts of angles as it bends around to the indicator. Started with 500 dry, then 800 dry then finished with 3000 and used plenty of water on the 3000. The 500 & 800 took a bit of material off and I used a microfibre cloth to wipe it off the lens and clean the discs as I went. Went thru 4 x 500 and 2 x 800 & 1 x 3000 discs. Obviously these came in the 3M kit but I lost a few of the 800's in the wind.

I put the first clearcoat on at 4.50 and applied the second clearcoat at 5.20. The clearcoat is simple to apply in wipes. By this time it was dark however the headlights appear to be sparkly new in appearance, will see tomorrow when I start to do the LED upgrade if I get the time.

Note that 3M have a number of different headlight resto kits from a basic kit with just the discs to my Ultra with discs and a clearcoat to a Heavy kit for yellowed headlights. Choose the kit to suit you but I think Ultra if faded and Heavy if Yellowed. I chose 3M after I watched a bunch of Youtube reviews and 3M consistently came out in the top recommendations. I bought mine on Amazon, about a week delivery. Link is above. My wife works for 3M and forgot to tell me they have a staff shop open 1 day a month so I probably could have got this a lot cheaper than the $48 I paid if they have it in the shop, doh!

[Romsey]

Had a look at the lenses in the daylight today, the lenses look like brand new, really clear and shiny. Happy.

According to 3M the clear cost finish should be good for 2 years.

Will fit the LEDs later today.

[Romsey]

Fitted all the Stedi LED bulb replacements. Much brighter & I love the more modern white look on all of the lights. I replaced the reverse lights with the Stedi 1000 Lumen LED's, really lights up the rear nicely when reversing.

My headlight alignment is out, lights are pointing a little high, have watched a few Youtube videos now on how to adjust these and will get it done over the weekend.

Was it worth the $48 to clean the headlight lenses : Yes, absolutely, clean and shiny now and the 3M clearcoat will apparently last 2 years. Although I can see signs of crazing on these older headlights when the lights are on, not chronic and no biggie.

Was it worth the $400 to replace every globe with Stedi LEDs : I think so, I like the look of the white lights but have not driven it enough yet at night to determine how much better they are. Note, I did not replace the front and rear indicator globes, I could not see the point although I did replace the side indicator housings, they now have a sequential LED pattern, big deal, I could take it or leave it.

[Vega]

I know this an older post, but, I replaced my yellow crazing headlamp assemblies on my 09 SR5 Dual D4D today.

Try polishing etc over the years to no avail.

Western Toyota (NSW) no affiliation with them.

RH Part No. 811100K180 Headlamp assembly (with bulbs) $165.44

LH Part No. 811500K180 Headlamp assembly (with bulbs) $167.53

Parts Total $332.97
GST $33.30
Total $366.26

Easy to install (besides dismantling some of the bullbar stuff)

Cheers, stay safe

[hylux]

For a cheap fix of crazed headlights i use Septone - fibreglass polish - extra cut and finish with the super fine.