DTRL Melting Lens

After warranty? Good luck with that.

Frank

 

Defects should not be limited by a warranty.

 

Great, can't wait to see you take on every manufacturer on the planet from the beginning of to the end of time. I think you have unrealistic expectations. Why do you think they sell an extended warranty? Very few man-made things last forever.

Frank

 

EDIT: Starting a new thread., I'm going to get to the bottom of this.

 

And yet quality companies offer lifetime warranties against manufacturers defects. Hmm, wonder why that is.

 

Why not? A defect is a defect. Or in this case, poor engineering.

What arbitrary date and/or mileage do you think should be put on manufactuers defects/errors/miscues?

 

I see many, not all, of the people 'noticing' this issue have HID or upgraded bulbs in their signatures or have mentioned having them in past posts.

Coincidence?

 

Nope, I am not running HID and mine melted pretty bad

 

Probably coincidence. The bulbs I have in my DTRL (upgraded to DTRL later) actually do get pretty warm, but have never gotten hot enough to melt as far as I can tell. They've been in the for a month or two now. The post about the different size bulb is interesting.... I also think that part of it might be due to the reflectors, they are quite efficient, and in my theory, it could be similar to the magnifying glass in the sun theory, focusing the heat. My reflectors are blacked out.

 

It's one thing for something to wear out over time, like the bulb's filament. Totally another for that OE bulb to start a little melting party. That's a design flaw.

 

I picked up the Sylvania 3057 bulbs at Advance Auto last night. I pulled out both DTRLs and swapped one of the bulbs for the 3057. I turned the truck on to test things out and both bulbs got hot enough to burn my fingertips within a minute. I can't say they run any cooler than the 4157.

 

i dont have worry beacuse i dont have them . my truck OG in the 2nd gens .

 

Leave your headlights on all the time. They turn off when you have the truck off and open the door, plus the DTRL turn off when your headlights are on.

 

I should have clarified that - the "low" element, which acts as the DTRL when jumping from the side marker and stays on all the time, will not become hot enough to burn yourself. As least it didn't burn me...

 

Not all models have DTRL so your numbers are useless. You will need to update them with only the number of trucks equipped with DTRL.

 

May or may not be relevant my truck could not be ordered with drl i am in the northeast.

 

It cost me an extra $40 for the DTRL option on my 09. Well that and replacing headlight enclosures every now and again...

I should'a gone to the dealer 30 miles away. Had the same truck only w/o the DTRL feature.

I actually like having it as my truck appears to have enough of a "cloaking mode" in traffic. I am disappointed it is a problem., tho.

 

I just dropped off my 09 (24K miles) for the DTRL melting lens problem. After they checked them out, the service guy told me that both would be replaced under warranty. He said I had to leave my truck at the dealership until the change was made for "safety" reasons. Toyota did not want to be responsible for a vehicle fire if they let me drive off without replacing them first. I asked him if there was a recall on the lights. He said no, that there was a TSB only and went on to explain the difference between the two. Since it was under warranty, toyota would provide a rental until the work was completed. I took their rental and drove off.
Service later called and told me the lights were back-ordered and that it would be a week or so to complete the job - not to worry and keep the rental for as long as they had my truck.
It did not make sense to me that they would not let me drive my truck away and just return for the fix when the lights came in, especially since there was no recall. IMO if they were so concerned about my truck catching fire or something, then there should be a recall - not just a TSB.
Just wanted to share that with you guys.

 

DRL removal question:

Can I remove just the lenses without removing the entire HL assembly, or do I remove the entire assembly, then snap the front lenses apart from the back housing and get at the DRL lenses that way?

Anyone have a write-up I can follow to complete this procedure?

OR, since I'm swapping out 2009 48k DRL lenses with 2009 15k DRL lenses (and then the 15k appears at the dealership for a factory-covered procedure, totally not related, totally), should I just swap the entire HL assembly anyways, because fighting to get to the exact DRL lenses will be too big of a pain?

 

3057, or 3057A LL? The 3057's are clear, while the 3057A LL are amber. I grabbed the A-LL's, but didn't know if you literally meant the "3057's"

Also, these things are a bitch to push back in! Am I missing a tool, or just upper-body strength? (I kid, I just don't want to crush the glass blub...)