LED Headlights

[lawman]

I have a 2022 Ford F150 STX with halogen headlights. They are terrible. I want to change them to LED lights. I am looking at GTR Ultra Series 2. They are quite expensive but if they will work on my truck without creating other problems it would be worth the money..For a lot of reasons there seems to be a lot of disagreement as to whether one should do this...I'm just looking for general information about switching from halogens to LED's...Any comments, suggestions and recommendations are appreciated.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

No info to help you, but I sympathize with you. I had a 2020 F-150 and could not believe how bad the headlights were. Some nights it felt like they weren’t even on and I was just seeing the daytime running lights. Horrible. I have since traded the truck away. Good lunch on your quest.

 

[fisherman]

I have a 2019 F150 XLT and I changed out the original dim lights for LED lights from Amazon right after I bought it. It was a pretty easy job and they are so much better. I changed out low and high beams.

 

[retire48in2018]

Be aware that sometimes there are other changes that might be required when changing lights. It might be just the light source, but issues could range from DRL (lower “dim”), to other issues requiring adding resistors into circuits (lights flashing when turned off).

Sometimes vehicles’ wiring changes during year (especially with chip shortages) causing variances.

YMMV.

If you proceed - check all conditions right away
- DRL, off, auto on/off, flashing high beams, etc. ifs there’s an issue, you know right away and can return under warranty

 

[ncbill]

Only safe way is to move from reflector to projector headlight assemblies so your new LED bulbs won't scatter the light into oncoming driver's eyes.

There are retrofit protector assemblies with decent LED bulbs (apparently the factory LED option isn't that great) for around $1500 for the pair.

I'm looking at $1200 to replace the reflector headlight assemblies on my Suburban with projector assembles that have HIDs already installed.

But given that price I'll probably just stick with the original halogen bulbs.

 

[REWahoo]

Only safe way is to move from reflector to projector headlight assemblies so your new LED bulbs won't scatter the light into oncoming driver's eyes.

^ This is a critical issue.

Truck headlights already sit higher than sedans and SUVs and are frequently problematic to oncoming traffic. Add painfully bright LED headlights improperly installed in a reflector housing and you will blind others, risking an accident.

 

[Sunset]

Can't a person just switch the bulbs to LED and that fixes the dim issue ?

In the very old days, I'd change a headlight and it meant the entire assembly, but now it's just bulbs last time 10 years ago that I did it.

 

[REWahoo]

Can't a person just switch the bulbs to LED and that fixes the dim issue ?

Not that simple. This explains some of the issues: Giving Your Old Car LED Headlights Usually Isn’t Worth It

 

[Sunset]

Not that simple. This explains some of the issues: Giving Your Old Car LED Headlights Usually Isn’t Worth It

Thanks... I get the reflector/projector issue, especially as the LED "bulb" may not be pointing the same way.