Owners in snowy areas

[misterjason]

How do the OEM LED headlights do in the snow and ice? Does ice build up on the headlights while driving in those conditions? In my experience halogen headlights put out some heat to melt a good bit of it but I was wondering about the performance of the OEM LED headlights, especially in the Northeast.

 

[cboyd]

I’ve not experienced that... I upgraded my fog lamps to some bright LEDs on the chance that happens. They can switch fro bright white to yellow, which also helps with snow. CaliLEDs, plug-in replacement. There’s a thread I commented on if you care to search further.

the one problem I have had is the radar in the Toyota badge getting coated with ice and causing the cruise to go offline...

 

[Cruisin911]

The OEM headlights across the 200 range do quite well at night. The 16+ has a fantastic stock LED setup. Should you find yourself with icing conditions, my advice would be to use the headlight washers and move on. Ive had my 11 (with 13+ headlights) in all sorts of conditions without issue, granted they are not LED but there are a lot of LC200s around here and I've never seen a one with icing on the headlights.

 

[Big Timber]

I’ve not experienced that... I upgraded my fog lamps to some bright LEDs on the chance that happens. They can switch fro bright white to yellow, which also helps with snow. CaliLEDs, plug-in replacement. There’s a thread I commented on if you care to search further.

the one problem I have had is the radar in the Toyota badge getting coated with ice and causing the cruise to go offline...

You shouldn't be using cruise in those conditions anyway.

 

[KLF]

The OEM headlights across the 200 range do quite well at night. The 16+ has a fantastic stock LED setup. Should you find yourself with icing conditions, my advice would be to use the headlight washers and move on. Ive had my 11 (with 13+ headlights) in all sorts of conditions without issue, granted they are not LED but there are a lot of LC200s around here and I've never seen a one with icing on the headlights.

When I swapped the bulbs in my '11 to LEDs, I did have some icing problems on the headlights. The washers did nothing.

Never had an issue with the HIDs.

 

[Lester did that]

How do the OEM LED headlights do in the snow and ice? Does ice build up on the headlights while driving in those conditions? In my experience halogen headlights put out some heat to melt a good bit of it but I was wondering about the performance of the OEM LED headlights, especially in the Northeast.

Depends where you are in the north east. A decent set of LED's for the lights and high beams is a major upgrade from stock. As far as the fog lights go keep them oem even better if you replace the lens or tint them with yellow as well. We go deep deep north 8-30 hours past Quebec City every winter. Icing on the headlights can happen in a very bad storm. But that means you are driving in hell and brim stone. Normal driving up thru Maine that is 1x a year and you are driving for hours into a blizzard. Even If the headlights freeze over it's not that bad. You will notice less light from sand and salt sprayed than ice on them.

If anything get a heated wrap for the battery if it's parked in the elements. Next would be a block heater. Starts up easy every time, less wear on the motor and a warm inside in 5 minutes.

 

[ElJayBird]

You shouldn't be using cruise in those conditions anyway.

Exactly. It should switch off automatically in snow or heavy rain conditions. Seems like common sense not to engage cruise control on icy roads but

 

[Sandroad]

I think (but don't know for sure) that it's only the auto distance following part of cruise that turns off if the emblem is covered. And, the auto emergency braking function is off if the emblem is covered. Regular cruise works ok, I think. That said, I've run my '17 in Michigan for 4 years and never noticed a problem with the headlights in winter. LED trailer lights on the other hand..........

 

[misterjason]

I think (but don't know for sure) that it's only the auto distance following part of cruise that turns off if the emblem is covered. And, the auto emergency braking function is off if the emblem is covered. Regular cruise works ok, I think. That said, I've run my '17 in Michigan for 4 years and never noticed a problem with the headlights in winter. LED trailer lights on the other hand..........

Thank you. That’s specifically what I was wondering about- performance of OEM headlights in wintry conditions.

 

[JOFS]

I haven’t found them to be any worse than normal headlights. At times the weather is so foul that everything is coated and the headlights need cleaning but hasn’t been any worse than my 80 or previous 100s with halogens

 

[KLF]

At times the weather is so foul that everything is coated and the headlights need cleaning...

This was my situation on Saturday. Even the HIDs wouldn't stay clear.

 

[Bunga]

Just push the washer button and heated wiper fluid wash them?

 

[JOFS]

Usually if it is that bad the headlight washers are also frozen shut

 

[mud400]

I am in MN. We don't get a ton of ice, but we do get pretty crappy roads. I have found the LEDs do fine in anything but a real ice storm. We drove back from Denver in ice and by the time we got home they had 1/4" of ice on them and were pretty much useless. This was a particularly bad road situation.
I will add the fog lights ROCK in snowy conditions. They light up the road great!

 

[KLF]

Just push the washer button and heated wiper fluid wash them?

I don't think the fluid is heated. It just comes right out of the plastic jug under the hood. Nozzles are not heated.

I did try them, it did nothing. Just tinted my headlights blue.

 

[Bunga]

Interesting, I just use them to spray pedestrians. I'll check.

 

[Big Timber]

I don't think the fluid is heated. It just comes right out of the plastic jug under the hood. Nozzles are not heated.

I did try them, it did nothing. Just tinted my headlights blue.

been there. done that.

 

[FULL T1ME]

I don't think the fluid is heated. It just comes right out of the plastic jug under the hood. Nozzles are not heated.

I did try them, it did nothing. Just tinted my headlights blue.

Haha. I also find the headlight washers to be absolutely useless. I will never touch the button again other than to show someone what they do when they ask

 

[stonepa]

Haha. I also find the headlight washers to be absolutely useless. I will never touch the button again other than to show someone what they do when they ask

I use mine all the time to deal with mud and dust. Makes a noticable difference but then my 200 spends a huge amount of time driving gravel and dirt roads, including at night due to the very short winter days.