At under $35 for a pair, the Marsauto LED Bulbs are comparable in price to SYLVANIA XtraVision Halogen Bulbs, but with several advantages: (Manufacturer's ratings)
- 40W compared to 55W per bulb, more efficient.
- 6,000 lumens vs. 1350 lumens, brighter.
- 6,000K vs. 3,200K color temperature, whiter light.
- 10,000 hour vs 150 hour service life, lower lifetime cost.
I will admit that the service life may be a little deceiving, as it is the LED life that is being quoted here. LEDs do loose some brilliance over time, but even if you only get 1/10th of the quoted service life, you are still ahead of the halogen bulbs.
These were literally a drop in replacement for the low beam bulbs in my 2012 Prius. After removing my watch and FitBit, even my large hands could fit in the space to make the replacement. No boot modifications were necessary, truly just plug and play. After installing them and plugging them in, you MUST test them. There is a 25% chance you got them both right on the first try. If either one or both fail to light up, just turn the plug around and reconnect them. The connection pigtail makes this very easy to do, no need to take the bulb out. On my first try, neither one came on. That's my luck.
It being summer, I get home just after dusk, so the difference in lighting is not as apparent at first glance. However I did notice the difference in the color of the lights and a much sharper light pattern compared to the old halogen lights.
As strange as it may sound, one of the reasons I have made the changeover is for better nighttime fuel economy. Granted, at 20% efficiency, the standard efficiency for internal combustion engines, the difference will be 1 gallon in 235 hours (30 watts difference) or 0.4% improvement, but it will make a cumulative difference.
Hmm, doing the actual math on this it really doesn't make much difference, it comes to just under 1/4 MPG for me, but I will live with my rationalization anyway.
There are many drop in replacements on the market at this point in time. With prices from $15 a pair to well over $150 a pair there are a lot of choices. Read the reviews and make your decision from there. Some have built in fans that may be necessary in an enclosed housing or rubber boot but can cause radio interference. I did not feel it was necessary for my application, where the back of the bulb had plenty of air flow available. The word "CREE" is a key for finding the better LEDs. You will also want to be certain that they are DOT rated, as that ensures that the light pattern will be correct for your car.
I will likely not replace my high beam bulbs until one of them goes out, as I don't use high beams very often. I will be replacing my parking lights with LEDs when I make my next order, as I noticed that one is burned out. I found a highly rated set of 10 of the "T-10" bulbs for a very reasonable price. I like using these in dome lighting, door courtesy lights, and for my license plate light as they seem to last forever and are much brighter than incandescent versions.
There are two disadvantages of using LED drop in bulbs though.
- First, they do not dim well, they are either on or off, there is no medium ground. For this reason I have used a red LED for the driver's side map light instead of the traditional white.
- Secondly, on some cars, an LED lamp doesn't draw enough current to trip the "I'm working" sensor in the car, this is primarily on European cars and is due to the "CANBUS" system. So the car will show a warning that the light is out when it is working fine. Similarly, your turn signal blinker relay will flash fast unless you have a retrofit relay to prevent this.
Keeping these points in mind, you can easily retrofit a car's interior lighting with more efficient bulbs that you will likely never have to change again.
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