Lifetime LED Install and Review In Progress

They mailed out a replacement set the same day that I emailed them about the flickering. The replacements are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so that's pretty good customer service. They didn't even ask for the old lights back.

They told me that the performance of the lights varies between different vehicles. They admitted that the alignment of the emitters is not ideal for the Tacoma high beams.

They stated that the 70W version works well with the Tacoma.

They would not give me a refund for my lights, because I didn't buy them directly from Lifetime.

I'm selling the brand new replacements that they send me, and buying the 70W version.

 

Wow... I really want to move to LED, but so far, based upon what I am seeing, the following is what is up:

• Cooling fans, which may or may not burn out prematurely
• Flickering LEDs after a month or so, and in cold weather
• Substandard high beams, and no fix
• High cost ($250?)

So now what is the up side? I am not being critical, I really really want to move to LED, since I don't want HID light glare, some hack projector setup and the aftermarket headlights look ridiculous and have serious quality issues.

So what's the skinny? Really? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

The only good thing that I can tell you right now, is that Lifetime will replace your lights, no questions asked, WHEN they go bad, at least until they go belly up.

I'll post a report on the 70W version as soon as they come in.

 

1) Many members, including myself, have had the lights submerged and not had the fans kick out. They may not last forever but if I get 2-3 years out of my set I'm happy since that's what I'd expect out of the stocks.

2) I bought my lights during the winter last year and they're never flickered. Not even in -30 c. I'm sure a lot of them did when the manufacturer went through a batch of bad cree chips, but it's not a universal problem and likely doesn't apply to the new lights with the new chip.

3) KB Voodoo has really hammered on the lack of brights. Well actually he just plain old thinks the lights are shit. I can't believe he just doesn't throw his in a fire and do a dance around them to please the retrofit gods (just kidding lol). He's not happy with his lights and I'm extremely surprised he's going to try another set. What does he expect, a totally different product with a few more watts of output? Most of the other posters on here have had better luck with these lights but he seems to insist on piling on the few others that have had bad experiences by reiterating his own. Whatever floats his boat I guess.

When I use my brights I find they work just fine. I think a lot of the problem is that the low beams are so much better than stock that the high beams don't show well. There's definitely plenty of room for improvement but they aren't worst than stock IMHO. Plus that white light reflects off dead taillights, reflectors, turn posts, and hiway signs out 2-3x farther than with my stock headlights which is a lifesaver.

4) When I bought mine with free shipping they cost me $140 CAN. The new lights are supposedly much brighter and so, like any LED that's brighter, the cost is higher. I'm not sure if you've bought a light bar or any LED's before but if you have then you'll know that $250 for the type of LED chip they use is a good deal.

The technology in these lights will be the future but there is plenty of room for improvement. I find these lights perfect if you're like me and don't want to retrofit your headlights in a brand new truck to HID's, which costs WAY MORE than $250 to do it right, but would like a truly white light to match your light bars that's slightly better than stock.

If you want LED's that work as well as HID retrofit.. it's probably 5-10 years to early for that, and even when it happens you'll likely need projectors to get the best cutoff.

 

1) I'm not the only one who has experienced weak high beams with these lights.

2) Lifetime came right out and told me that the high beams do not align well with Tacoma housings.

3) Lifetime also told me that the 70w version does work well with the Tacoma housings.

All that being said, I'll take a chance. If I get lights that have double the wattage, and align well with my housings, it's well worth a couple extra bucks.

 

I wasn't meaning to pile on you. You've just posted ALOT in this thread with negative comments. The first time I posted it was literally like every fourth comment was you reminding us that your headlights suck. I'm shocked you didn't trash them and try a different route. That being said everybody thinks a bit differently and acts accordingly.

Your comments are perfectly legitimate but they do not jive with my experience with my LED headlights. That's all. Good luck.

 

I don't give up that easy. My 70 watt lights are on order. They might be the best thing ever, or a total disappointment. We shall see.

For the record, I even installed LED light bars in my grill to compensate for the lack of high beams. I want these to work, because I do like the light pattern.

 

I, too, am looking forward to the outcome of this.

This may or may not be high up on the list of things I want to do in the near future.

 

I love mine too but I'm also still waiting to see what the 70w version of these look like.

 

Anyone having issues with radio interference? I have a set of Cree leds and can't listen to the radio when they are on. Even have fair-rite suppressor s installed. Fan is loud also but the high beams work fine for me

 

I have heard a couple people are having RF interference issues but I am not. I mounted the LED drivers to the plastic headlight housing. You might be getting noise if you have these contacting the metal frame or body.

 

LOL I was going to let that one slide.

 

Well, I guess that's fair, rite?

 

I haven't posted much follow-up review because I've been incredibly busy and I wanted a bit more time with the product.

• I don't know anything about failed fans. I've splashed some mud puddles up there, bombed some forest service roads, and choked things with dust. Fans operate fine. I would have to risk hydrolock before the fans really got drenched. I have no radio interference. I can only hear the fans when I turn the engine off and leave the lights on.
• I just had one bulb succumb to flickering. I wrote about 3 sentences to Lifetime LED asking for a replacement, and they shipped me a new one. It arrived in 7 days from the time I emailed, and would have come quicker if there wasn't a problem with a UPS route getting delayed.
• It's been proven that those with the older style headlight housings (2011 and older? someone correct me) have a more diffuse beam pattern. I would say that my close range visibility is incredibly good, but long range is either equidistant or possibly less than standard bulbs. My non-scientific guess is that the light output is so bright close up, that the dropoff rate feels quicker than a standard setup.
• I may have already said it, but I had to ditch the factory fogs once I switched to my offroad plate bumper (which does not have fog cutouts). After putting in these LED headlights, I feel like I've gained the fog lights back. The high beams are not very noticeable, but that's because they aren't any brighter than standard bulbs (both are 600 lumens). When you turn on high beams on stock bulbs, you pretty much double light output. When you turn on high beams with the 2600 lumen series LEDs, you are expecting it to double, but you are only adding slightly less than 1/4 to the brightness. This might be a technology limitation, or it may be to meet federal regulation...? In any regard, they are not any less bright than standard bulbs.

My basic premise for these bulbs was to compete with a Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulb for brightness, last longer (standard silverstars were lasting 4 months instead of the advertised 8 months), and cost less. So far,

• The Lifetime LEDs have comparable or better brightness
• I have had a H4 bulb die in 5 months and a 9004 bulb die in 2 months. However, Lifetime has provided no questions asked replacement provided I ship back the bad bulb (they pay for shipping). Sylvania made me pay for shipping, I had to make my own packaging, I had to provide proof of purchase, and they would only send a new bulb after they received my bad bulb.
• If the warranty support stays the same and/or the lifespan increases, they will easily begin costing less than the Sylvanias, which were $50 for a pair.

 

I've had radio interference since day one. I've moved my ballasts all over the place, including to the plastic headlight housing, and the interference is still there. They have never been touching metal.

FLICKER UPDATE: As of this morning, my drivers side light is totally out, and the right one is flickering.

 

The pattern on my 2013 is very diffuse. Light directly in front of the truck is excellent, but it's so close to the truck that it's not usable. I've tried aiming my lights higher to get the beam out farther, but it didn't help much.

Good point. Your eyes adjust for the brightest light they see, so they adjust for the light right in front of the grill, and everything farther out looks dark.

 

http://www.fair-rite.com/newfair/index.htm

Pick on the new guy lol. I was referencing the company

 

My replacement 35W lights arrived this morning. Pretty good customer service considering that I emailed them about the problem on Friday morning.

The replacement lights are physically slightly different. The little three pronged mounting tube is now integral with the light, so the epoxy mod is no longer necessary.

They also threw in a small Lifetime LED flashlight with a letter apologizing for the inconvenience.

These lights will be on the buy/sell forum later today since I ordered the 70W version.

 

I'd be interested in seeing pics of the 70w versions just to see what changed