IS300 owners - HID question

I have a friend who has a 2002 IS 300

Driver side bulb went out, it’s a Xenon.

Took it to a toyota dealership, they said oh, it’s not your bulb, it’s your computer (or ECU), I don’t know exactly what they said as I wasn’t there, and this is all 2nd hand info from my friend.

Anyway, they say that only Lexus can repair it. He takes the car to Lexus and they say “oh, it’s the bulb”, which they charge 475 bucks to replace. Then, they put a new bulb in, and it doesn’t work, and the guy says “oh, it’s your computer.”

What the hell kinda computer is this? And why is it like, 1500 bucks?

they probably think the ignitor is the computer cuz it has a heat sync on it…

ive replaced bulbs in my gfs is300

BTW u can get d2s bulbs on ebay for 70 bux a pair… so 475 for 20 minutes of work is insane

A QUICK SEARCH of is300.net in the owners forum says there is no such thing as a headlight"computer"

This is the part numbers that they wanted to replace ;

ECU “thingy” = ignitor – 8110753040 $1412

Bulb – 9098120007 $445

Howie lemme see what my cost is on it because I work @ a Toyota dealer and get all parts at cost so i’m guessing it’d be cheaper for me to get it and spend the $15 to ship it to you rather than going through them.

umm car-part.com

he shouldnt pay anything MORE then 100 bux for the ignitor (you can get ignitors on ebay for next to nothing)

Depending on the HID system, if it is like the Viper, there is a D2S Bulb, an Ignitor, AND a Ballast. The Ignitor is usually on the back of the bulb, or is separate and smaller than the ballast.

I would do it yourself. They tell you its a “dealer only” item because it is such high voltage. knock you on your ass is the understatement of the year…

Ehhh… From what i’m told non-oem ignitors are garbage. I was told when looking for non oem sytems that the only way to go is to get a system with an ignitor built into the ballast. No personal experience with these but this is what I hear. If you’re buddy is interested howie my cost on the part # you listed is $800 from Toyota. Thats a little better but still a lot of damn money for a headlight part.

jesus my head lights are expensive.

get a used one, problem solved, there are plenty of wrecked is300’s and other lexi that are in junkyards with their HIDS intact

5 seconds on ebay = http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=lexus+ballast&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&ebaytag1=ebayreg&srchdesc=n&maxRecordsReturned=300&maxRecordsPerPage=50&SortProperty=MetaEndSort

i think the computer they meant is the ballast, but who knows you can get them dirty cheap compared to dealerships, if you shop around.