Do the headlights perform on 2017s?

Hello,

I'm looking at trading in my 2014 Tacoma for a 2017 model. One thing I've noticed on the 2014 is the headlights seem to be wanting. According to the IIHS the 2017 model headlights have a "Poor" rating.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience using a lightbar to improve their vision over the stock headlights? I'm not looking to install aircraft landing lights or to light up vast fields of vision. I'm only looking at gaining some visual distance ahead of me without causing problems with glare for oncoming traffic.

Thanks.

-m

 

If you overdrive stock headlights on public roads you are speeding.

Leave the auxillary stuff for the off road ventures.........

 

Thanks, but I'm not talking about over driving stock lights. It is possible that stock lights are inadequate. Which is certainly what IIHS thinks.

 

put in a set of decent hid's and you'll be fine. they don't have a perfect cutoff like a retrofit would, but they do pretty well without blinding people

 

Hi there,

I drive a 2nd gen for work and have noticed similar poor performance with the stock lights. I would say the 3rd gens have better lighting in my experience with the two.

 

I cannot speak to the previous gen Tacoma headlights but I feel that the head lights in my 17 are great. I am coming from a Subaru wrx and the Tacoma headlights feel a decade newer brighter more effective. I drive many poorly lit back roads and I never feel my head lights are inadequate. When I use my fog light s in conjunction with my headlight I have excellent peripheral visibility as well. All of the negative things I hear about the new Tacoma makes me think my old Subaru didn't even belong on the road.

 

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...-headlight-ratings-show-most-need-improvement
I know this is for cars, but it's still telling. Headlight testing is pretty new, just because a particular set doesn't score well doesn't mean they are "bad" headlights. It'll take a few years for manufacturers to design headlights to do well on the iihs test, but the poor rated ones on my tacoma are miles better than any of the other cars I've owned.

 

I had 2014 Tacoma they were good. The 2017 I have are just as good. I have seen headlights that have poor visibility an this is not them.

 

I think they're fine for probably 90% of the driving I do. Twice I've been out late at night in the middle of nowhere, pitch black and pouring rain, and I wished they were brighter.

 

I installed these and they are a lot better than OEM.... I'm Happy....

Low beams... NOKYA Arctic White H11 55w Halogen Headlight Bulbs
High beams...

$94 PIAA 19665 H9 Xtreme White Plus High Performance Halogen Bulb, (Pack of 2)

PIAA 19665 Xtra Xtreme White Plus 65W=120W H9 Bulb, Twin Pack
Fog lights... Nokya Hyper Yellow H11 Car Headlight Bulb (S1)

$20 NOK7618 Halogen Bulb

NOK7618.

EDIT... I live B-F, northern Ontario (almost) and run at night....ie: pure dark...
These bulbs that I've added are WAY better than OEM.... I see da moose now..!! Don't run into da moose or deer..!!

Lights depend on where you live and your conditions...!!

 

My head lamps are fine. The bright lights are also good. IMO

 

The base spec halogens are certainly lacking... I wouldn't expect them to perform any better than your 2014 lamps. Let's put it this way: they work. They're probably about as good as any other halogen lamp from the past 15 years. I don't do a lot of rural driving, so they've mostly been fine for me.

The consolation is that I know I'm not blinding the shit out of the people in front of me with obnoxious HIDs.

I know the TRD spec lights are different, but I'm not sure if they actually throw more light or just look nicer with DRL LEDs on top of the same halogen projectors.

 

They suck. Better than 2nd gens... but still a lot to be desired

 

People probably rate them "poor" because they aren't used to projector bulbs. Although projectors are best suited for HID, these lights aren't that bad. Some people just don't like the cutoff created by them. That's why they were designed. To project the light and cut off to not blind on coming traffic. If your not happy with them I recommend getting some better bulbs. Maybe sylvania silver stars? Or if your really unhappy I'd go with a HID kit or LED kit. Led kit is gonna have less problems and last longer but won't have as much light output.

 

They were OK, then I retrofitted some real HIDs and Morimoto fogs and see great now! Bi-xenon + factory highs REALLY light up the dark country roads when its pitch black.

 

We have a '13 at work. For a reflector bowl style lamp they do ok. However I do turn on the fogs every time, to get more light on road.
The '17 with the projector style lens is a noticeable improvement. More so when you put a quality HID kit in there, though they're intended for halogen.

 

Had a 13 and now a 17. I don't notice any diff on the headlights other than the cut off. They work for me. Plan on going HID eventually.

 

They are fine. I drive at night, I go the speed limit, I see, I get to my destination. They work.

 

But wouldn't it be grand if you could see BETTER?