New Headlights for 2010

Bought my truck the last day of 2009. So in a few weeks it will be 10 years old.

So far, i have had warranty replacement of the original headlights, a second set of headlights, and now, again the clear outer shells are showing cracks.

Seems doubtful they will warranty the headlights again.

So, I am considering aftermarket headlights. Again these are on a 2010 DCLB Prerunner and came with the tinted headlights.

Did searches here but found no good answers.

Was toying with going LED if possible.

So other than buying oem, what are some high quality options that are LED or if not LED simply retain the halogen setup.

 

Pics???? I have the stock TRD sport black housing headlights and they seem to be doing fine. Try DEPO brand aftermarket possibly???

 

If you go to and search the Lighting forum, you'll find more than a few posts on this subject. The consensus is that for best optics and performance, OEM is still the way to fly. Yes, there's a ton of aftermarket stuff available for less money, but it just not going to perform as well and it certainly won't last even as long as your OEM lights.

If you want the absolute ultimate in performance out of your OEM (or even aftermarket) halogen headlights, skip the LED junk and consider this:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

Since your biggest problem appears to be the outer lens oxidizing, I would recommend a good synthetic sealant or ceramic coating. Believe it or not, it will significantly extend the life of the units.

 

Three sets of headlights in less than 10 years is not very good in my opinion.

No plans to truly improve light performance as in that topic. Besides, after seeing the heat increase, it would have me think longevity of the lens will be even less.

Oxidation vs crazing cracks. My lens have very little if any oxidation. Yes some is there but not an issue. The true concern is the lens on both headlights and both taillights have hundreds of small crazing cracks in the plastic material. Not burned or melted, simply the plastic is deteriorating and failing.

If I do find a replacement headlight assembly, was under the impression that projector style headlights with high output LEDs would match or be better than oem halogen.

To simplify my original question, what replacement headlights, besides oem are people here buying.

 

Interesting on the cracking and not oxidation.

Good luck on any aftermarket headlight housings though. They just don't have the design, engineering or manufacturing skills of the OEMs - which explains the lower prices.

As far as projector style headlights, HID's will out perform LEDs any day of the week. And yes, a good projector system will out-perform the OEM halogen style. Again beware, because there are a ton of crap Chinese HIDs (as well as LEDs) out there.

 

No doubt, and exactly why I am asking what others have purchased and had good luck with on their early style 2nd gen replacement headlights.

 

Look into retro fitting some projectors if you are saavy with stuff like that. Hands down the best option IMO.
Simplest route. Buy some new DEPO headlights with black background, head over to https://www.theretrofitsource.com/?...8RLPmop8_0WPHPtaNAVFaxnFwJrtWn8xoCeSgQAvD_BwE
And look into universal projector kits. Mini H1 kit will work fine for reference.

 

He's worried about the condition of the plastic, not the light output.

 

its not that much of a price difference though to have best of both worlds.
Ive never had a crak in my Depo lights and they have been on with a retro kit for almost 4 yrs now.

 

The TYC CAPA certified lights get pretty good reviews around here. As with any aftermarket headlight, I would run a bead of silicone around them before installation, just to be safe.

$73 TYC Left Headlight Assembly Compatible with 2005-2011 Toyota Tacoma

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004MG8QU...olid=2I791YHBVYHWX&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

That would be my vote as well. I had that exact same setup, Depo headlights with the Mini H1 projectors, on my last Tacoma. I’m going to do my current 2010 soon with the black Depo headlights again but the D2S projectors.

 

My 2010 is 2 days older than yours.

This past spring while it was in the shop for body work, I asked if they repaired headlight lens covers. They charged me $110 to remove headlights, 600 grit sand, 1000 grit sand, clear coat, then bake in the oven, and reinstall. They are crystal clear and look new. Yes the plastic is probably a few microns thinner but it's a 10 year old truck that looks nearly new.

 

If mine were just coated with oxide build up, that plan would work great. Sadly mine have crazing cracks in the plastic lens.

 

I am replacing my headlights with TYC as linked in post #10. There appear not to be any beam adjusters on the back (see pics in Amazon link). Can anyone shed some light on how to adjust these? I have these on hand ready to install but don't want to install until I figure this out. Thanks...

 

Should look similar to this. Don’t adjust the horizontal, only the vertical.

 

Perfect. Thank you very much.