Morimoto XB LED Headlights for 2nd Gen Tacos!

I'm getting ready to install and want to disable OEM DRL. I want to run the Mori relay/fuse to cab fuse-box like the instructions; to go stealth if need be (just unplug and put stand alone fuse back in).

I ordered M1 from dealer. Would I just do the stand-alone jumper, plug into BECU, and leave OE M1 disconnected?

 

No.
You need to do this:

Or just sever the #10 wire and insulate/tap it.

 

Has anyone else running these had or have an issue with the DRL lights flickering? Mine do it every so often and unsure what might be the cause.

 

Haven’t had that issue once. Hopefully never will.
Did you get a warranty with your set?
Maybe contact Morimoto.

 

I purchased them new from an authorized retailer. I believe they come with a 5yr warranty but need to check on it.

 

High beam on them is amazing.

 

Why does the parking brake affect the DRL?? Is the IGN fuse source somehow connected to its circuit? I did all this work and find it kind of annoying.

 

I understand DRL to be a visual indicator that the vehicle may move in your direction. Aimed at the hearing impaired as much as the rest of us.

As such, idling with parking brake on implies stationary and therefore not “running” in the sense of “may move forward, be aware”

but not sure if that’s all total made up bs from my own brain or not.

 

Guess not. Was hoping for a workaround…

 

Finally ordering a set. Now need to decide between white and amber.

 

Wait and see if they have a sale for 4th of July. I know they have one for black Friday. Here is my write up from another post.

I have a 2012, I just got these for black friday. My OEM headlights were getting frosted, and had haze on the inside and made the truck look old. I had run HID bulbs in them almost the entire 10 years and was happy and they were much better than stock and I had them aimed properly and nobody ever flashed (When i first installed them before I adjusted them, yes everyone flashed me). But HID are slowly being phased out, Slim was no longer stocking them and would not honor their lifetime guarantee on the bulbs...so i knew it was time for a switch. I got mine for I think $750....and I was expecting perfection for that price and they are not. The low beam pattern is better and brighter than stock, but not is not great, very underwhelming for that price. The brights are awesome. Physically, they look great, made my 2012 look almost brand new again, and the DRL are neat (and actually too bright)....but they look cool and I get compliments.
My other car is a C8 Corvette and it has very similar rectangle projectors like the XB, and the output on the Corvette is just insane compared to the XBs. I looked into cheaper options and they might look good, but all have been reviewed as being very poor quality and break one way or another. So the XBs are your only option if you are looking to upgrade your housings, if you just want something brighter with your stock housing then look into HID, or LED (take the time to aim them properly,) or that ultimate upgrade (which I don't consider ultimate, because all those premium halogen bulbs burn out every 6 months, and I hate swapping out bulbs on the tacoma).
The install of the XB is less difficult than it looks. It takes a few hours, and you should get a $5 body pry kit. And you will end up breaking several of the plastic body bolt/pins. With a 10 year old truck, they get dry and just crack. I just zip tied what broke, I need to order a set of them.

$6 BLAU GRUN 5PCS Auto Trim Removal Tool Kit, Car Interior Door Panel Clip Fastener Removal Set, No Scratch and No Marring Plastic Pry Tool Kit for Vehicle Dash Radio Audio Installer (Blue)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PV59DGJ


There are online photo instructions for the xb kit, but this video was more helpful..its not for our 12-15, but the removal,install is the exact same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4tQ2yXtKrw


If you have the money and your housings are frosted/gone...go for it.
If you think it will light up the night like a newer car....No.

When you have No lights on, they DRL are super bright.


When you have the park or headlights on, the DRL are slightly dimmer.



Here are my reviews on the XB, I wasn't that impressed for the price as far as the light output. But they do look great and will make your Tacoma look brand new. If you get them wait for a sale on Memorial, 4th of July or they always have one for Black friday. I think it was going to be $400 for OEM housings.
Whatever headlights you get, I highly recommend get getting the Diode Dynamics Elite fog lights...they are super bright (street legal) and are what you would expect out of the aftermaket headlights. They made up for the lighting that the XB were lacking. FYI when i did the write up, I still had my XB fog lights and they were better than stock. I switch over to the Diodes and they are way brighter and better. I will try to take some similar shots with the Diodes tonight for you to see the difference
https://www.diodedynamics.com/elite-series-type-b-fog-lamps-pair.html

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/headlight-recommendations.787183/#post-28191563

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/headlight-recommendations.787183/#post-28337753

Just the XB headlights. On a modern car, the entire beam pattern is as bright as the 2 hot spots. The non-hots spot areas get real dim on an open road. For reference my driveway is steep, so this is almost like pointing at a wall.


Xb headlights with XB fog lights (see the sidewalk on left is now brighter)


C8 Corvette low beams only (Note HUD)


The install looks ay worse than what it actually is. I was able to do it without taking my grill guard and off-road lights off with the help of some bungee cords

 

I love the way these look on the truck and the overall light output is pretty good, although not great. But the stairstep in the beam pattern is extremely distracting when driving and I find it really obnoxious. I don't see why they couldn't have made the beam cutoff evenly straight across. This is definitely a ding against them in my opinion. Everything else about these lights is very nice.

 

The stair step is there to reduce the chance of blinding on-coming traffic. You'll notice it tends to step near the painted middle line on a two-lane road. All projector headlights that I know of have this feature.

 

I get why they do it, but not all projector LED headlights do this. My wife's Explorer ST doesn't. If the cutoff isn't as distinct as these are then it probably is a non-issue, but with these lights it is very distracting. I have to force myself to not focus on the gap in the beam. Maybe I'm just complaining for no reason, but it seems like a valid concern.

 

It took me a while to get used to it as well when I had a set of retrofit HID headlights built. Some of the nicer projectors have a "squirrel finder" that will project a small amount of light above the cutoff line to help illuminate signs or animal eyes without distracting oncoming traffic. This added light tends to reduce the sharpness of the cutoff line. I wish I had this feature in my retrofits since I live in the country.

 

Some aftermarket headlights simply have too distinct of a cutoff with zero transition / light above the cutoff. The harsher the cutoff, the more distracting they are for the driver. Oddly enough, this also causes problems for oncoming drivers as bumps in the road can make it look like you're flashing your high beams at oncoming traffic.

 

I'd be curious to know if anyone has tried to modify these XB headlights to a different chip or convert them to HID. They're a lot of money to be experimenting with but I'm sure someone has done it.

 

That would be an awful lot of money to throw at what is already a very expensive set of replacement headlights. A better design would be a better idea. At least that's my opinion.

 

I completely agree and share your opinion. But be thankful your cutoffs are at least straight. As you can see my passenger one is cock-eyed and slightly tilted down (not to mention the hot spot is significantly smaller than the other). I tried to adjust and shim, but to no avail. As I have said in previous post they look great, but the light output is very disappointing for the price paid.



These are the cutoffs on my C8, and they are similar, but not as pronounced as others have said.