What an absolutely Fantastic video. You are SO EFFICIENT in your content and instructions!! The entire RUclips universe would shrink by 50% if you made all the videos. Thank you.
Hey, thanks a lot! I really appreciate your comment. YT obviously pushes creators toward LOOONNNGGG videos but for DIY, I too like concise content that gets me just what I need!
Oh my goodness! U just don't know how happy I am to see this video. I've been waiting for my mechanic to get to me to change my low beam light. Now that you've detailed this install so precisely, I think I will make out better doing it myself! And trust me I'm no mechanic, but seeing this u have given me hope and the courage to do it myself, thank u!!
I got my car back from the mechanic with most my bumper clippers broken I was able to finally pinpoint the bolt that I need to fasten to get it to hold completely thanks ! 👍
Excellent video. So good that it convinced me to take it to the mechanic for replacement. I'm very happy to have paid them the labor charge versus doing that myself. Looks easy but a bit time consuming. Probably would take me 45 minutes the first time.
I was able to easily remove the entire assembly on my 2003 without ever touching any of the fasteners below the bumper. Also, as much of a pain as it sounds I recommend you try switching the bulbs to verify its the bulb and not ballast before you spend over $100 on a new bulb from the local parts store. It is very likely a bad ballast.
A great video that was invaluable!! Why did Lexus make it so difficult to replace a lightbulb!? I’m sure I saved myself a few hundred dollars in labor AND more importantly, I learned a lot about this part of my car. Now, when I look at my bright headlights, I’ll smile to myself. 😀
Thank you. You saved me time and money. Toyota charged 254.00, lexus charged 459.00, and my mechanic charged 150.00 It took 3 1/2 hours to for me to remove the entire frontend change the bulbs. I did it my self...
@@kingj8432 you got me wrong. What I meant is $150 foe the mechanic to do it is not bad if you can’t do it. I know people that tried to do it and made it worse. I always try to do it myself first.
Great video, clear & concise! Also thanks for 2x the speed. You've earned me as a sub, will look forward to more. 👍 Ps. If you really want to keep wifey happy, you should offer to polish those 'yellowed' headlights!
Car makers should be made to design cars with easy access to the bulbs, what if they went out at night and/in bad weather??? Some countries demand you carry spares with you, makes that a farce!
Excellent job. Thanks for posting. That was a good idea to replace the other bulb. They probably were of the same age and it would have gone out soon. I would guess that you would have to do all of this to replace any of the bulbs (turn signal, etc.)?
Ha! I should have done that while I was in there! However, I've read that you don't need to drop the bumper for the turn indicator bulbs but can get access to them by going through the fender liner. Not fun, but still less work than the bumper.
GREAT video!! Is it easier to replace the whole unit from a junked car or the bulb itself? Still trying to find a shop who understands this video............they are quoting 2 hours labor
I've only replaced the bulb but I suspect that you'll need to take the same stuff off to replace either and getting new bulbs was easier for me than finding a junked unit. Also, when replacing the bulb, you at least know you are going to get many years of life out of it. The two hours of labor sounds about right but I'd think a Lexus mechanic could do it faster. I think someone in the comments mentioned doing it without dropping the bumper but that seems a bit like magic to me. The whole job isn't that difficult once you know where the fasteners are!
Could not have done this without your clip. TWO POINTS. ONE: The BIG WHITE COVER for the headlamp takes a fraction of a turn to open it - took me a while to figure that out. The reason it's tight is due to its seal. You must pull it off. TWO: not all headlamps fit the 430 SC. I bought the NAPA 9005-N HB3 65W and it was the wrong one. The 2005 430SC takes 9005 60W Type A. The Napa equivalent is D2S-N and it costs $100 !!
Interesting. The shop replaced my HID bulb a few weeks back in 10 minutes. They just had to take the air cleaner assembly off, but not the front bumper.
Perhaps you have a later model year and they changed the design (which would have been smart!). Ours is an '06 and I followed the instructions from the '06 factory service manual.
@@ravraid Actually mine is a 2006 too :-) I watched him thru the window. No bumper replacement. It's a small dealership that specializes in Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Acura vehicles so they must have figured out a shortcut. I can't imagine having to remove the bumper each time you have to change a bulb....and I've had a few go out since I bought it. But other than that I LOVE the car! I have a '17 RX350 that never gets driven & probably feels jealous since I picked up the SC! LOL
@@DrEproz1236 It was only around $20-$30 or so, if that. The shop I use is independent & works on Asian import brands, and has always been very reasonable.
Ah, that person just posted the page that I included in the video (0:35), just to help people replace the headlight. The SC430 Factory Service Manual is 5, yes 5, volumes! Stacked up, it is about 15" high! I bought a paper set many years ago but a PDF would absolutely be better, if you can find one. I think Lexus produced a factory service CD so you might find that on ebay.
Yes, I believe both headlights have their own ballast unit. Toyota calls it a Computer, Light Control (#85967-24010) for this model year if you need the info.
damn this is really tedious, but I'm sure Lexus would charge $400+ to do this job. Nice walk through and detailed instructions. I can take it apart but putting it back together would be a challenge for me - I'd miss something. But good info -thank you
Ive had the same problem in the past. Removal is the easy part but putting it back together can be challenging. Taking pictures along the way really helps Ive even made diagrams that made jobs easier for me. Hope that helps
Will the bulbs only go in one way? Can they be installed upside down? I have an 02 SC430 and the headlights are aimed almost straight down, pointing maybe 6ft in front of the car. The adjusters are maxed out in the up position. Did you see any way to aim the headlights while you had them out?
Yep, the bulbs only go in one way. I didn't see a way to get that wrong. My headlights have been aimed fine so I didn't look for an adjustment. I don't think the adjustment would be related to the bulb anyway since it is the reflector that directs the beam and not the bulb itself. It sounds like you've already tried the manual adjustment screws but there is also the auto-aiming mechanism so perhaps that has gone bad?
@@ravraid Thanks for the reply. Mine does not have the self-leveling lights as far as I can tell. I got the vibe from the Lexus certified shop that did some other work they didn't really want to mess with it.
Sorry, I don't recall. There were bolts on the top and bottom and they are quiet possibly different. Very likely they'll be between 10-14mm so any metric socket set should have you covered.
ravraid thank you so much for the video. I just replaced my driver side headlight assembly using your video as a reference. All the bolts were 10mm. Actually took me about 2 hours due to a couple of hiccups but got it done!
@@brandonmaiden3927 So glad to hear that - it's my motivation for making videos! Thanks for the bolt size info too. I'll see if I can edit the description so others will know.
You should make a video of that! I think the bumper removal is what scares most people off. Someone mentioned in the comments that they saw a Lexus dealership also doing this without removing the bumper; clearly it would be faster.
Do you like your SC? I'm checking out an '06 tomorrow with 130K miles, one owner & passed a pre-sale inspection at a Lexus dealer. Great condition. Just wondering if it's worth the money, but I love that car. It never had a timing belt change though so I will probably be using that as a negotiating point & doing that first thing (if I buy it).
Check the roof operation for sure !! Also the CD changers can jam real easy on these. These are awesome cars I have experience with 2 of these cars. Problems with the roof actuation the switches can go bad or cables can get out of whack. CD changer jamming. He has replaced numerous H ID bulbs and ballast as well as heated seat elements. Starter, and there was something with the VVTI he had to do. This is of course on 2 sc430 one a 03 and the other a 07or 08.
I have a 2002 430 for 15 years I've never had an issue I only have 170k miles on it and you wouldn't know if it was running if you stood right next to it.
I have a 2008 SC430 with 87k miles. I have owned it for 11 years and plan to keep it. It's very fun to drive and the service is similar to any other Toyota/Lexus product. The dealer recently changed the timing belt, water pump, and performed the 90K service, about $2400 in total. The timing belt was severely cracked and the water pump was just starting to leak around the studs. I learned from the dealer that the SC430 is an "IC" or in-contact engine, so if the timing belt breaks in operation, the engine valves get damaged. If you can buy it at a good price, I highly recommend changing the timing belt ASAP before it breaks and damages the engine.
Mine is a 2006 and my factory service manual is specifically for 2006. Since models don't change every year, I'm confident some other years are the same or similar but I don't know exactly which. There might be some indications on the ClubLexus website as the forums there are full of folks asking similar things.
For bulb selection, I just went by the Amazon fitment guide and ended up with Philips D4S. I don’t know for sure if D2S will work but the Amazon guide seems to indicate it will. I’d certainly check carefully because you wouldn’t want to go to all this work only to have the bulbs fail again!
Simple since the headlight housing needs to be pulled out to get to the bulb. Please comment if you've found a good/cleap source for the headlight assembly. For other cars, I've gotten third-party assemblies (even on Amazon) but I always figured the SC430 sales volume never justified that market.
@@ravraid Very true, I have not been able to find a new head light housing for less than $500.00. They are very expensive. I was able to find a pair of used head light housings and plan to replace the original ones that came with the vehicle. Looks like I will need to remove the balast from the current headlight housing and reinstall into the replacement headlight housing. I will let you know how things go. Thanks
Jesus Christ!!!! I did mines and man i installed the wrong side....... Hahahaha good thing i just plugged it in and turnt the lights on man i felt like a complete idiot. O well now i know the in's and out's of this process. 👍🔥🤘💯
What an absolutely Fantastic video. You are SO EFFICIENT in your content and instructions!! The entire RUclips universe would shrink by 50% if you made all the videos. Thank you.
Hey, thanks a lot! I really appreciate your comment. YT obviously pushes creators toward LOOONNNGGG videos but for DIY, I too like concise content that gets me just what I need!
Oh my goodness! U just don't know how happy I am to see this video. I've been waiting for my mechanic to get to me to change my low beam light. Now that you've detailed this install so precisely, I think I will make out better doing it myself! And trust me I'm no mechanic, but seeing this u have given me hope and the courage to do it myself, thank u!!
Hey, I'm so glad this might be helpful. If you get stuck, feel free to post a question and I will try to help.
You will never know how much this video help me yesterday. I cannot Thank You enough. Triple
I got my car back from the mechanic with most my bumper clippers broken I was able to finally pinpoint the bolt that I need to fasten to get it to hold completely thanks ! 👍
Excellent video. So good that it convinced me to take it to the mechanic for replacement. I'm very happy to have paid them the labor charge versus doing that myself. Looks easy but a bit time consuming. Probably would take me 45 minutes the first time.
I just had the same experience with another car. I watched a great video on valve adjustments and was happy to pay someone to do it for me!
45 minutes my ass.
I was able to easily remove the entire assembly on my 2003 without ever touching any of the fasteners below the bumper. Also, as much of a pain as it sounds I recommend you try switching the bulbs to verify its the bulb and not ballast before you spend over $100 on a new bulb from the local parts store. It is very likely a bad ballast.
A great video that was invaluable!! Why did Lexus make it so difficult to replace a lightbulb!? I’m sure I saved myself a few hundred dollars in labor AND more importantly, I learned a lot about this part of my car. Now, when I look at my bright headlights, I’ll smile to myself. 😀
Thank you. You saved me time and money. Toyota charged 254.00, lexus charged 459.00, and my mechanic charged 150.00 It took 3 1/2 hours to for me to remove the entire frontend change the bulbs. I did it my self...
$150 is not bad
@@jonphanspromotions really dude?. Nothing beats doing it yourself and saving money.
@@kingj8432 you got me wrong. What I meant is $150 foe the mechanic to do it is not bad if you can’t do it. I know people that tried to do it and made it worse. I always try to do it myself first.
I saw this video a couple days ago. Then today my headlight went out. Talk about great timing!
Instructions were crystal clear! Thanks for taking the time to film and edit this video! 👍
Great video, clear & concise! Also thanks for 2x the speed. You've earned me as a sub, will look forward to more. 👍
Ps. If you really want to keep wifey happy, you should offer to polish those 'yellowed' headlights!
Great video & clear instructions, I just cannot believe you have to do all that work for a light bulb...
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge and experience. Absolutely love this car.
Thank you for the instructions. Came in handy for my high beam/DRL bulb replacement I did recently.
Car makers should be made to design cars with easy access to the bulbs, what if they went out at night and/in bad weather??? Some countries demand you carry spares with you, makes that a farce!
Guess they took weekend car literally 😂
I am a professional Mechanic. Great vid man!
I don’t have an sc but plan to get one in the far future. Thanks for posting such an informative video.
Thanks! You need to clean her headlights now. I sanded mine and then put protectant on it. They look new now.
Hi, was it some sort of UV coating?
Thank you for the video. It is quite easy to understand the procedure! I'll try to do it
Will save this video in case I ever own this car.
I highly recommend it and considering the age, it might be reasonably priced now. Ours has pretty low miles but almost no significant maintenance.
I'd be tempted to drill through the bumper. Great video.
I am going to try to replace this weekend.....When I go to Amazon to order bulb in your video , it says "its not a fit" Any ideas?
Thanks for the video.
Thank you for this video, I’m looking to replace the orange marker lights on the front bumper, which looks like it’d be the same process as you did.
Great video I did the exact same with mine thank you for saving me some serious money from my dealer
Great video , you make it look easy
Do you need to clean the headlights are foggy and dirty
Excellent job. Thanks for posting. That was a good idea to replace the other bulb. They probably were of the same age and it would have gone out soon. I would guess that you would have to do all of this to replace any of the bulbs (turn signal, etc.)?
Ha! I should have done that while I was in there! However, I've read that you don't need to drop the bumper for the turn indicator bulbs but can get access to them by going through the fender liner. Not fun, but still less work than the bumper.
Really appreciate this! Great video. Thanks so much 👍🏼
You saved me about $350 Instructions spot on. 👍🏼
Very useful, very informative. Thanks!
GREAT video!! Is it easier to replace the whole unit from a junked car or the bulb itself? Still trying to find a shop who understands this video............they are quoting 2 hours labor
I've only replaced the bulb but I suspect that you'll need to take the same stuff off to replace either and getting new bulbs was easier for me than finding a junked unit. Also, when replacing the bulb, you at least know you are going to get many years of life out of it. The two hours of labor sounds about right but I'd think a Lexus mechanic could do it faster. I think someone in the comments mentioned doing it without dropping the bumper but that seems a bit like magic to me. The whole job isn't that difficult once you know where the fasteners are!
awesome content!
Could not have done this without your clip. TWO POINTS. ONE: The BIG WHITE COVER for the headlamp takes a fraction of a turn to open it - took me a while to figure that out. The reason it's tight is due to its seal. You must pull it off. TWO: not all headlamps fit the 430 SC. I bought the NAPA 9005-N HB3 65W and it was the wrong one. The 2005 430SC takes 9005 60W Type A. The Napa equivalent is D2S-N and it costs $100 !!
Thanks for adding to the knowledge base. I'm sure others who try this will appreciate it!
Interesting. The shop replaced my HID bulb a few weeks back in 10 minutes. They just had to take the air cleaner assembly off, but not the front bumper.
Perhaps you have a later model year and they changed the design (which would have been smart!). Ours is an '06 and I followed the instructions from the '06 factory service manual.
@@ravraid Actually mine is a 2006 too :-) I watched him thru the window. No bumper replacement. It's a small dealership that specializes in Lexus/Toyota/Honda/Acura vehicles so they must have figured out a shortcut. I can't imagine having to remove the bumper each time you have to change a bulb....and I've had a few go out since I bought it. But other than that I LOVE the car! I have a '17 RX350 that never gets driven & probably feels jealous since I picked up the SC! LOL
@@Oivey2000 Could you please advise how much you paid ? I guess I have to do it on my 06 SC as well...
@@DrEproz1236 It was only around $20-$30 or so, if that. The shop I use is independent & works on Asian import brands, and has always been very reasonable.
You mentioned a person that posted a service manual. Where can I get a copy of this service manual
Ah, that person just posted the page that I included in the video (0:35), just to help people replace the headlight.
The SC430 Factory Service Manual is 5, yes 5, volumes! Stacked up, it is about 15" high! I bought a paper set many years ago but a PDF would absolutely be better, if you can find one. I think Lexus produced a factory service CD so you might find that on ebay.
Thank you.
What type of wheels do you have on your SC430? Thanks
They are made by MKS. Something like MKS510 I think.
GREAT VIDEO! DOES THE RIGHT SIDE HEADLUGHT HAVE A HID BALLAST LIKE THE LEFT SIDE HEADLUGHT!
Yes, I believe both headlights have their own ballast unit. Toyota calls it a Computer, Light Control (#85967-24010) for this model year if you need the info.
What a crazy way to get to the bulbs. The rear lights take 30 seconds.
Agreed - nutty. I want things designed to *encourage* the owners to fix things themselves!
Good video TY
The link to the service manual instructions is broken...anyone have good link to it?
Ack, my bad. I had some trouble with Google Drive awhile ago. I updated the links in the description. Please try again!
I just will not drive at night.
Great job!
damn this is really tedious, but I'm sure Lexus would charge $400+ to do this job. Nice walk through and detailed instructions. I can take it apart but putting it back together would be a challenge for me - I'd miss something. But good info -thank you
Ive had the same problem in the past. Removal is the easy part but putting it back together can be challenging. Taking pictures along the way really helps Ive even made diagrams that made jobs easier for me. Hope that helps
Was that bulb you use that was displayed at the beginning of the video
Yep, a Philips D4S. I got two on Amazon. It's about $55.
Will the bulbs only go in one way? Can they be installed upside down?
I have an 02 SC430 and the headlights are aimed almost straight down, pointing maybe 6ft in front of the car. The adjusters are maxed out in the up position. Did you see any way to aim the headlights while you had them out?
Yep, the bulbs only go in one way. I didn't see a way to get that wrong. My headlights have been aimed fine so I didn't look for an adjustment. I don't think the adjustment would be related to the bulb anyway since it is the reflector that directs the beam and not the bulb itself. It sounds like you've already tried the manual adjustment screws but there is also the auto-aiming mechanism so perhaps that has gone bad?
@@ravraid Thanks for the reply. Mine does not have the self-leveling lights as far as I can tell. I got the vibe from the Lexus certified shop that did some other work they didn't really want to mess with it.
great video
Do you remember the size of the bolts? Thinking about tackling this tomorrow. I’ll be replacing the whole assembly
Sorry, I don't recall. There were bolts on the top and bottom and they are quiet possibly different. Very likely they'll be between 10-14mm so any metric socket set should have you covered.
ravraid thank you so much for the video. I just replaced my driver side headlight assembly using your video as a reference. All the bolts were 10mm. Actually took me about 2 hours due to a couple of hiccups but got it done!
@@brandonmaiden3927 So glad to hear that - it's my motivation for making videos! Thanks for the bolt size info too. I'll see if I can edit the description so others will know.
Great video. TyTYTY
I was able to change both headlight bulbs without removing the bumper, takes a bit of practice but it can be done. Just have skinny hands.
You should make a video of that! I think the bumper removal is what scares most people off. Someone mentioned in the comments that they saw a Lexus dealership also doing this without removing the bumper; clearly it would be faster.
Do you like your SC? I'm checking out an '06 tomorrow with 130K miles, one owner & passed a pre-sale inspection at a Lexus dealer. Great condition. Just wondering if it's worth the money, but I love that car. It never had a timing belt change though so I will probably be using that as a negotiating point & doing that first thing (if I buy it).
It has been a really solid car and very fun to drive. The maintenance has been reasonable but we don't put a lot of miles on it.
Check the roof operation for sure !! Also the CD changers can jam real easy on these. These are awesome cars I have experience with 2 of these cars. Problems with the roof actuation the switches can go bad or cables can get out of whack. CD changer jamming. He has replaced numerous H ID bulbs and ballast as well as heated seat elements.
Starter, and there was something with the VVTI he had to do. This is of course on 2 sc430 one a 03 and the other a 07or 08.
I have a 2002 430 for 15 years I've never had an issue I only have 170k miles on it and you wouldn't know if it was running if you stood right next to it.
I have a 2008 SC430 with 87k miles. I have owned it for 11 years and plan to keep it. It's very fun to drive and the service is similar to any other Toyota/Lexus product. The dealer recently changed the timing belt, water pump, and performed the 90K service, about $2400 in total. The timing belt was severely cracked and the water pump was just starting to leak around the studs. I learned from the dealer that the SC430 is an "IC" or in-contact engine, so if the timing belt breaks in operation, the engine valves get damaged. If you can buy it at a good price, I highly recommend changing the timing belt ASAP before it breaks and damages the engine.
I have a parking globe in my SC430 that has failed. I think I will leave it awhile, maybe until an important globe goes.
Which model year does this apply to please?
Mine is a 2006 and my factory service manual is specifically for 2006. Since models don't change every year, I'm confident some other years are the same or similar but I don't know exactly which. There might be some indications on the ClubLexus website as the forums there are full of folks asking similar things.
@@ravraid thank you! I think we both have Gen 2 of the model, so the steps should be pretty close!
Can we use d2s? I don’t understand the difference
For bulb selection, I just went by the Amazon fitment guide and ended up with Philips D4S. I don’t know for sure if D2S will work but the Amazon guide seems to indicate it will. I’d certainly check carefully because you wouldn’t want to go to all this work only to have the bulbs fail again!
@@ravraid right I appreciate it!
How difficult is it to replace the entire head light? I would guess with this process it would not be that difficult.
Simple since the headlight housing needs to be pulled out to get to the bulb. Please comment if you've found a good/cleap source for the headlight assembly. For other cars, I've gotten third-party assemblies (even on Amazon) but I always figured the SC430 sales volume never justified that market.
@@ravraid Very true, I have not been able to find a new head light housing for less than $500.00. They are very expensive. I was able to find a pair of used head light housings and plan to replace the original ones that came with the vehicle. Looks like I will need to remove the balast from the current headlight housing and reinstall into the replacement headlight housing. I will let you know how things go. Thanks
Jesus Christ!!!! I did mines and man i installed the wrong side....... Hahahaha good thing i just plugged it in and turnt the lights on man i felt like a complete idiot. O well now i know the in's and out's of this process. 👍🔥🤘💯
Yeah, doing something like this for the first time is always a pain but after you've done it, it's no big deal!
Thanks for the video.
Thanks!