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Car Forum / Lexus Cars / September 2004Long lamp lifetimes
We own a Lexus LS400 that we've had since 1993. It has been fabulously reliable and we'll probably never sell it. One thing that really puts me in awe is that in all the time we've had it, and it's a daily driver, the only lamps that have burned out are the two cornering lamps (that were a major pain to get at). That's it. All other lamps are original. Never have had an experience like that before, but then this is our first premium brand car. We've had Fords, and GM's, and Mazda's, and Chevy's and none were like the Ls in terms of the lamps lasting so long. So this raises the question of whether this is a Lexus thing, or is it a high-priced spread thing. Do Merc and Bimmer and Infiniti drivers enjoy this lack-of-hassles luxury, too? Be nice if it were true, because we're considering a Merc E-Class diesel or a 330i or a GS as a second car. (the first for the fuel economy and the others for fun-to-drive, neither of which does Lexus do real well, sigh). Not to say that long-life lamps is a deal-maker, but it IS a real luxury one gets used to. GRL > We own a Lexus LS400 that we've had since 1993. It has been fabulously > reliable and we'll probably never sell it. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > GRL I have a 1991 Q45. The middle brake lamp went first, and that was perhaps in 2001. I've had two other brake lights go since then. The rest of the lamps are original, except for a real tiny one on the dashboard that lights up the recirc button. I think I have one other dashboard light that I need to get to. Those tiny bulbs are about $13 each and I have to take the radio out and the dashboard apart to get to them. My minivan was two years old when the center brake light went, and it's the same bulb number as the Infiniti. I know that there are regular and long life versions of the bulb. I went with the long life because that's all the store had in stock. It came in a pack of two, which is a good thing because it will probably burn out again in 2011. > One thing that really puts me in awe is that in all the time we've had > it, and it's a daily driver, the only lamps that have burned out are the > two cornering lamps (that were a major pain to get at). Sounds like poor design to me. All lamps blow sooner or later. So the least they can do is make them easy to change. What does make lamps last longer is restricting the peak voltage they get. Have you ever measured the Lexus? Trouble with this is it also makes a big difference to the light output of incandescent lamps.  Signature*It doesn't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep * Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. The cornering lamps were tough to get at because you had to pop out the light assembly to do it and the service manual was not sufficiently detailed in instructing how to do it. One of those things that you need to actually see done to be able to yourself easilly. I am now an expert with the expertise aquired the hard way. What makes lamps last longer is lamp design. The voltage that car lamps get is (surprise) 12 v in all modern cars. Build a better lamp (excellent seal and long-life filament) and it lasts longer. George LitwinskiGeorge Litwinski "It's good to want things." S. Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist, chemist, Visual Basic.Net programmer) > > One thing that really puts me in awe is that in all the time we've had > > it, and it's a daily driver, the only lamps that have burned out are the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Have you ever measured the Lexus? Trouble with this is it also makes a big > difference to the light output of incandescent lamps. > The voltage that car lamps get is (surprise) 12 v in all modern cars. Surprise - it's not. They run at the alternator output voltage when the engine's running. And this is approximately 14 volts. Which can be as high as 14.5 or so without there being a fault. But some alternators have a slightly lower peak voltage than others - and this can have a great effect on lamp life. As could voltage drop in the wiring. Other things that effect lamp life are the temperature it runs at - a small housing might make a difference - or vibration. I doubt Lexus make their own lamps. Signature*All generalizations are false. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. > We own a Lexus LS400 that we've had since 1993. It has been fabulously > reliable and we'll probably never sell it. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > GRL I notice that all the cheap makers (ford etc.) get through bulbs all the time, my Lexus doesn't, neither do other Lexus I work on. I assume that the initial bulb quality is higher and that voltage spikes are more controlled, also things like dash bulbs are electronically fed, rather than just a rheostat. Bear in mind that the indicator bulbs that the OP had blow may have been put in specially for his country by the importer, so may not have been "genuine" bulbs. My Lexus has a rear interior bulb gone (9 years old) An LS I know has had an interior bulb and one brake light bulb go (10 years old) mrcheerful I have a 1997 Dodge Dakota, original owner and only lamp I have replaced is the 3rd brake light. This vehicle has 106,000 miles on it. >I have a 1997 Dodge Dakota, original owner and only lamp I have replaced is >the > 3rd brake light. This vehicle has 106,000 miles on it. compare that with ordinary ford fiestas and the like in uk, they usually have several bulbs in the rear lamps/brake lamps before they are two years old. mrcheerful > So this raises the question of whether this is a Lexus thing, or is it a > high-priced spread thing. Do Merc and Bimmer and Infiniti drivers enjoy this > lack-of-hassles luxury, too? My 1991 Q45 just had a headlamp burn out. It's the first time. So that's 14 years for the headlamp (low beam,) about a decade for the tail lamps, and the signal lamps and side marker lamps are still going. I never had an interior lamp go except for the real expensive and hard to change one in the dash. But even that one probably lasted a decade. |
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