Celica Forums General Discussion General Condensation & Bulb life [PICS] - FYI

I notice so many celicas with this problem.
I had some condensation in one of my headlights (pass. side). But I keep unplugging the bulbs... a little hassle, but I keep it dry
I was checking benker's post
https://celicahobby.com/ubbthreads/thread.f0_1953319516_0_collapsed_5_186_1.html#1953319516
OMG that's so bad! this causes bulbs damage and even melted harness...

I upgraded my headlight bulbs with MTec. And this is how I found my stock bulbs:

You can see the damage that the moisture inside the headlight housing causes to your bulbs.

Left (driver side) No condensation ------------------ Right (pass. side) A little condensation

.

..

does anyone have a secret easy technique for installing the bulbs? cos those damn clips make me crazy!!

yea foreals damn clips. good thing i dont have condensation...yet

I have condensation in the passenger side but not the driver's. I took it out, cleaned it, dried it and resealed it and there's still condensation.

they look like weird nipples

I used to have really bad condensation on both side. I used silicon to seal them and never had a problem since.

I've never had condensation in my 2001 celica... but I've always parked it inside the garage...

About 3 weeks ago I parked my car outside for one night when it was extremely damp/raining hard and the next morning I came out to find my Passenger-side headlight was completely fogged...

After that, I continued my daily routine of parking inside the garage and within 5 days, the condensation was complete gone... hasn't come back yet either.

I post this to point out only that 1; while parking in the garage, there was no condensation in the headlamps... 2; as soon as I parked outside in the rain, the headlamp became fogged... and 3; after about a week, the headlamp became unfogged without me having to do anything special to it (not even lift the hood... just continued my daily parking behaviors

I hope this can put some additional light onto things ???

The easiest way to put in the new bulbs is to remove both headlights. then you have total access to the rear.

great info francy...

wow.

Good to know..

maybe thats why some peoples' bulbs dont last as long

bump!!! for those that haven't seen the post!!!

this is some great info!

crazy find...

better fix ur headlights alberto

really?^^ hmm... im going to try this

The low beam bulbs are pretty much sealed off from the rest of the housing. The projector housing is a separate metal piece. The only opening is in the rear at the grommet, where the bulb is inserted. The reason those blue bulbs burn out faster is because they use thinner filaments which run hotter than regular halogens, trying to compensate from the loss in brightness from the blue coating (and failing miserably ). They use Xenon gas to cool down the hotter filaments. Unfortunately, it doesn't cool them down enough, so bulb life is sacrificed.

you are talking about BLUE bulbs... the bulbs that morris posted were the stock ones

please explain that

Yes. bulbs in the pics are the
But I must say that both bulbs still work.
I guess just one gonna last longer...

Easily. The stock bulbs didn't burn out, did they.

so what you are saying is that with the celica - you should ALWAYS use stock bulbs and never use anything aftermarket

those mtecs pwned my passanger side lightbulb adapter plug!

as with any headlight bulb installation, be sure that during your install, everything is securely/tightly plugged-in... if it's not, you run a risk of shorting a fuse or worse, frying the connectors if water/any moisture should get between the connectors.

If you don't want to worry about bulbs burning out every 6 months to a year, or melting your housing/harness, yes. And if you want the best visibility possible, yes. If you just want looks, and don't care about the above two, then you can get aftermarket bulbs.

I guess I'm lucky. I park my car outside ALWAYS (don't have a garage) and I live in the country and I have never had any condensation in either light housing, and yes the bulbs have been changed. I have an '01. I think the key IS getting the plugs in solidly with those #@!**%!@ clips

dont touch bulb (glass or tip) with fingers the oil from your skin is enough to over heat the bulb and result in substantial bulb life loss.

if this problem exists for more then 40% of the 7th gens out there. i consider this a safety problem that must be compensated and or fixed by TOYOTA. i am kind of lazy to do this so can someone else do this.

oops

So stock celica bulbs are garenteed to NOT burn out within 6 months
Do you have a scan of this garentee from Toyota??? or from the Toyota Service center or the bulb manufacture that Toyota uses in it's vehicles???

And where did you get "6 months" from? is that something that was written down on the package label or something

How come so many people have no problems with aftermarket bulbs - but then again, the few peoplee that do have problem are constantly reminding people that they had a problem (that 1% of every 100 people repeates itself over and over again, giving the impression that everyone has a problem)

Guaranteed, no. But since they don't burn as hot, they'll definitely have a longer lifespan.

Lots of people (including myself) have had all sorts of aftermarket bulbs burn out in 6 months to a year (some even sooner). And it was because the filament burned out, not because of an improper install.

Depends on how much they use their headlights. Same reason some people can run with their cars slammed and not have strut problems, while others' struts die within a year. Another part of the equation could be poor quality control. There's a reason you can buy a pair of bulbs for under $20.

although BMW and LEXUS are placed in the same vehicle class and you can buy a LEXUS for less than a BMW, BMW has recieved poor ratings (at the extreme bottom of the list) for the last several years while LEXUS has ranked TOP of these same classes for all of those same years... hmmm

Betcha neither of their headlights burn out in under a year.

haha damn...once i bumped this thread up...so many posts on it now...yea my friend eric adapter connector to the low beam bulb melted and is having a lot of trouble trying to fix it...melted 3 times so far...lol...its all about how well you install the bulb.

Maybe you should help him with the install next time.

what in the world are you talking about and where are you getting your references. i would choose a bmw over a toyota anyday.

I hope you have fun with your BMW - i mean, fun fixing it

BMW loses ANOTHER car comparo?
8/5/2004

This month's Motor Trend has a luxury car comparo where the BMW 745i end up in a very unfamiliar position...DEAD LAST!

Motor Trend rankings:

1. Audi A8L
2. Lexus LS430
3. VW Phaeton
4. Mercedes S430
5. Jaguar Vanden Plas
6. BMW 745i Sport

Full story at...
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/luxury/112_0409_class/index.html

...
more
...

From...
http://consumeraffairs.com/news03/jdpower.html

Problems Per 100
Porsche 103
Toyota 196
Honda 215
Nissan 258
BMW 262
GM 264
Subaru 266
AVERAGE 273
Ford 287
DaimlerChrysler 311
Mitsubishi 339
Hyundai 342
Isuzu 368
VW 378
Suzuki 403
Daewoo 421
Kia 509

The Customer Satisfaction Index score measures how well customer expectations are met by the ownership experience. The challenge for manufacturers is to understand customer expectations and exceed them. Vehicle quality/reliability is the most important factor, accounting for 30 percent of the overall score. Vehicle appeal (how much the owner likes the vehicles performance, design, comfort and features) accounts for 25 percent. Owners also rate their satisfaction with dealership service (23 percent of the total score) and with their vehicles ownership costs (22 percent).

The leading brand in each of the four main areas of overall satisfaction is:

Areas of Overall Satisfaction Brand
Vehicle Quality/Reliability (30%) Toyota
Vehicle Appeal (25%) BMW
Dealer Service Satisfaction (23%) Toyota
Ownership Costs (22%) Daihatsu


...
more
...

From...
http://www.roadandtravel.com/newsworthy/newsandviews03/jdpowerdependabilitystudy.htm

Study: Lexus Ranks Highest in Long-Term Dependability
Lexus ranks highest in long-term dependability for the eighth consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Vehicle Dependability Index (VDI) StudySM released today. All of the top five ranking nameplates in the study are Japanese brands, with Infiniti, Acura, Honda and Toyota following Lexus, respectively.

The study finds that at 159 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), the average four-to five-year-old Lexus has fewer problems than the average 1998 model-year vehicle did when it was new (176 PP100). Lexus owners report the smallest increase in problems of any nameplate, as measured at 90 days of ownership to the four- to five-year mark.

"Lexus vehicles certainly benefit from their consistency in long-term dependability," said Brian Walters, director of product research at J.D. Power and Associates. "VDI measures vehicle problems at a critical stage, when many owners are considering replacing their vehicles. The perception of strong long-term dependability can translate into both high resale value and strong owner loyalty to the nameplate. More than one-half of new-vehicle buyers indicate that long-term durability is an important consideration when choosing which make of vehicle to purchase."

Among the 15 nameplates scoring above industry average in the 2002 VDI, eight are Japanese brands (Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan and Mazda); four are domestic (Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercury); and three are European (Porsche, Jaguar and BMW).

The industry has improved vehicle dependability by 27 PP100 in 2002-a 7 percent increase over 2001. Interestingly, industry-level new-vehicle quality, as measured by the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS),SM has also shown an annual average improvement of just under 7 percent over the past four years.

"Six of the top 10 problems in VDI are also among the problem symptoms that have experienced the greatest deterioration between IQS and VDI, suggesting that many of the vehicle quality issues that arise early in the ownership period not only persist, but worsen with time and mileage," said Walters.

"For most problems measured in IQS and VDI, the opportunity for product improvement occurs in the design and engineering phases of future model replacements."

The Vehicle Dependability Index Study, now in its 13th year, is based this year on survey responses from more than 30,000 original owners of 1998 model-year vehicles. The study monitors the number and type of problems owners have with their four- to five-year-old vehicles and covers 137 specific problem areas in nine categories. For more information, www.jdpa.com [jdpa.com]

are you sure these are both stock bulbs? They don't look the same to me??

I have pretty good luck with my PIAA's. I know Blue Bomber has a hate on for PIAA but I find they last longer and seem brighter than any other brand I've tried. (never tried MTEC, maybr next time)

LOL, the fact that some of their bulbs are the same as APC, but marked up 2-4x as much, is why I don't like PIAA. Besides the fact that there's no way an average halogen xenon bulb with just a colored coating should cost close to $100 unless the color coating is made of 24k gold. 3 sets of those, and you could've had HIDs.

BTW, I hate all blue/purple bulbs, not just PIAA. Kinda ironic, since most owners out there want those to simulate HIDs, yet the bulbs do the exact opposite: poor visibility over stock (HIDs are way superior), shorter bulb life than stock (HIDs should outlast your car), and you can spot fake "HIDs" a mile away.

no doubt everything you say is true. But I do have personal experience with aftermarket bulbs and I just find that PIAA last a lot longer than most. Maybe I just have good luck with them. I know they are not worth the $$$$ they charge but I like the look adn half decent performance.

I had PIAA Ion Yellow fogs and they lasted maybe 5 months.
Then I had MTEC white headlight bulbs and they lasted about 8 months.
Then I had Hiper bulbs and they lasted 30 min cause I couldn't see anything with them.
Then I had Philips Blue Visions (best visibility out of all of them) and they lasted about 6 months.

Then I gave up.

so you have HID's now.

No, stock bulbs.

i have hiper too, but mine have been in for about a year and and a half now, and the are very very dim. i can barely see anything. im thinking about going mtec yellows in the lows too. how would that be

that happened to me and toyota replaced the whole housing, free of charge.
Just thought I would throw that in

They'd actually be better than stock in rain and snow. The whiter the light, the more it reflects back at you off of bad weather (try turning on your high beams in a snow storm ). Only negative is that they're still coated bulbs, so they won't be as bright during daily driving. There used to be true yellow bulbs where the light itself was yellow, but something inside them was a health hazard, so they were discontinued.