LED Tail Light Disappearance

[ionshards]

Does anyone know the reason Toyota is trending away from LED tail lights? It seems like most of the current gen models are back to conventional bulbs where many of the prior gens had LEDs.

I thought the switch to LEDs was because of instant on and lower power consumption, safety, etc. It can only be a cost cutting measure...

Honda's guilty too, the Accord has gone back and forth for several generations, and now you only get LEDs on the top trim. Even the German's aren't innocent, I saw a CLA the other day, you can see the bulbs in the tails, it looks really cheap.

I've never been a big domestic car person, but it seems like the Big Three are embracing LEDs and upscale light design while the imports are cheapening out. I like it.

My fiance has a gen 6.5 Camry, and the tails are one of the reasons I prefer it to the gen 7, who's lights look really cheap.

I suppose, though, if you hate LEDs, this is good news...

[zooki]

I just wish the industry would get away from DRL's... Thank goodness I was able to get the dealership to turn my off with their computer. My next car, though, I'll probably have to figure out what wire to disconnect.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by zooki

I just wish the industry would get away from DRL's...

I think DRL's should be mandatory across the board and/or some type of running light should be required to always be on.

This need is even more prominent in the PacNW with the constant rain. It can be noon and if a black/silver/blue car is driving without any lights on in the rain, they may as well be invisible.

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I think DRL's should be mandatory across the board and/or some type of running light should be required to always be on.

This need is even more prominent in the PacNW with the constant rain. It can be noon and if a black/silver/blue car is driving without any lights on in the rain, they may as well be invisible.

Also, a lot of people have eye problems telling if an object is moving or not, the DRL's confirm for them that the car is moving.

DRL's are for the safety of people around you, i won't be surprised in a few years it'll be illegal to disable on cars.

Perhaps it is illegal, many states don't allow removal of safety features....


On the topic at hand, aren't LED's more expensive than conventional bulbs?

[f0rge]

It's totally to cut costs, especially now that they're becoming less of a fad.

[ionshards]

I imagine they are more expensive to produce. Cadillac, admittadly a luxury marque, was one of the first to use them (I think), and I remember them saying something about how LEDs illuminated faster than conventional bulbs, and that was a safety improvement.

But each year, electronics are cheaper to produce, so it seems silly to adopt a new technology one generation, and then get rid of it the next, as the cost is already cheaper. It's a **** move by the industry, especially with all the advantages LEDs have over conventional bulbs.

[Drift&Drag]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I think DRL's should be mandatory across the board and/or some type of running light should be required to always be on.

This need is even more prominent in the PacNW with the constant rain. It can be noon and if a black/silver/blue car is driving without any lights on in the rain, they may as well be invisible.

Originally Posted by dem00n

Also, a lot of people have eye problems telling if an object is moving or not, the DRL's confirm for them that the car is moving.

DRL's are for the safety of people around you, i won't be surprised in a few years it'll be illegal to disable on cars. Perhaps it is illegal, many states don't allow removal of safety features.... On the topic at hand, aren't LED's more expensive than conventional bulbs?

+1 for the DRL! Those suckers should always stay on.

As far the the toggling of LED vs. Standard bulbs, it has been going on for over a decade. There are some lightning attributes that LEDs cannot offer whereas the LEDs have more dependability. Maybe Sylvania and other major light bulb manufacturers are an influence of the change?

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by Drift&Drag

+1 for the DRL! Those suckers should always stay on.

+2.

Also, I almost think that headlights should be on all the time rather than just DRLs (or maybe implement a rear DRL as well, sort of like taillights?). Many times when I've been driving through the mountains in a heavy snowstorm, I've come up behind a white or silver car with no headlights on (and more importantly, no taillights), and it's pretty much impossible to see them until you are shockingly close (and you can see taillights from much, much farther away). The same is true about oncoming cars and DRLs/headlights.

Sure, this could be solved if everyone would always turn on their headlights in any kind of adverse condition, but so many people seem to only think of them as a way to add light if it's dark out, rather than also as a visibility aid to other drivers.

[Rampage]

Originally Posted by f0rge

now that they're becoming less of a fad.

That is it in a nutshell. A few years ago they only came on Audis, then it was all the premium brands, every modder wanted to add them to make his/her car look more expensive than it really was. Now they come on Hyundais and Kias. They are no longer unique. They have lost their "cool", "hot", "Sick" appeal.....yo!

LEDs will no longer help sell your model, not when almost every car has them. Therefore, if you want to raise your profit margin a bit then just axe them. Few people, OP excluded, will even notice.

[ionshards]

Originally Posted by Drift&Drag

There are some lightning attributes that LEDs cannot offer whereas the LEDs have more dependability.

Can you elaborate on these lighting attributes? It seems to me, besides perhaps in complexity, that LEDs are superior to conventional bulbs in every way; lower power, longer life, quicker illumination...

Originally Posted by Rampage

LEDs will no longer help sell your model, not when almost every car has them. Therefore, if you want to raise your profit margin a bit then just axe them. Few people, OP excluded, will even notice.

In a similar, but more extreme vein, are manufacturers going to start removing cameras and radar when they stop selling cars, to increase profit margins?

[Whitigir]

My friend told me 10 years ago when LED was on Audi.

"The light had 20 bulbs in it, and 1 of them die, they all die. I rather replace 1 big bulb than having to replace all 20 bulbs"

Does that make sense ? If it does, move on.

I almost got choked on my MCdonald burger after hearing that myself

[LSxJunkie]

Are you sure they're moving away from LED bulbs? My RX350s had LED taillights, but they weren't those stupid LED matrix lights where the loss of one LED makes the whole thing look cheap.



That is an LED taillight.


I was following a new Taurus and a new A4 on my way in to work. Both of them had taillights that consisted of multiple LEDs in a "fashionable" design. Both of them had one led out, creating a break in the design, making the whole thing look incredibly cheap. I'd much rather have 1 LED bulb used efficiently than many to create a fancy pattern and it's one of the few things I dislike about the taillights on my Mustang. There is no need for all those bulbs in the centers. When one goes out, I have to replace the whole assembly.