I think this is something everyone wishes came as an option on Scions, and some people are modifying their vehicles themselves to take HIDS. The problem is in the United States it is illegal to put HIDs on a vehicle that is not certified for them. Please offer HIDs as a factory option and get it certified, this would be an accessory well worth it- much more worth it than fog lights!

The xenon bulb provides more than twice the amount of light of a halogen bulb. While one consuming half the power(wattage). Therefore, the driver can see more clearly, and the car has more power for other functions .Moreover, it is environmentally friendly, as less power means less fuel consumption.

The clear white light produced by the xenon bulb is similar to daylight. Research has shown that this enables drivers to concentrate better.Furthermore, this particular light color reflects the road markings and sighs better that conventional lighting. In practical terms, the life span of the bulb is equal to that of the car, which means that bulb need only replaced in exceptional cases. Not only that, but it just looks cool! People know you have a quality car when they see you have HID headlights, the trouble is it blinds people if it is not setup correctly which is why Scions need to get certified and offer this as a factory option.

I agree. Projectors and HID's would be a fine addition to the tC. I would love such an option to be available. It looks sweet on the Mazda3 and it would look sweeter on the tC. This should be a no brainer to Scion.

C'mon Scion!

I'll be the first online if they would offer it as an option.

C'mon Scion!
:pray: Oh, please Scion Gods grant us OEM HIDs :bow:


Seriosly, let's get a petition started and send it off to Toyata/Scion. I'm sure they'll listen.

im in for HIDs for Scions.....

even though i have them on my xb already

yeah factory option and Scion will charge us up in our ying yangs

One thing people don't consider however is the distance of illumination on HID's.

I agree I think they are Great and would love a set BUT, HID lighting doesn't travel as far as the halogen lighting(Distance ahead of the car on the road). There have been many studies that prove this. Toyota might be going by those studies. Maybe they just didnt' want to add to the price of the inexpesive vehicle by adding a system that a lof of people don't like?

Just a thought.................

How far ahead do you need to see? ;)
My friend has OEM HIDs on his STi and I dont think I've ever noticed them not illuminating as far as Halogens, even on those long highway trips at night. and if thats the case just have a halogen Highbeam, if you need to see really far ahead you shouldn't have anyone in front of you.

My 06 tC stock headlamps are bright as hell. The hi-beams are extremely bright. I see no need to upgrade to HID systems. I agree they are sweet looking, but I'd prefer to spend money on something else.

This has to be the #1 mod I see being done, and it isn't even legal!

What would this cost, $2000? Could'nt turbo be thrown on for that price?

It'd be a nice option so n00bs like me can get them installed instead of doing it ourselves and screwing everything up.

C'mon Scion!
:pray: Oh, please Scion Gods grant us OEM HIDs :bow:


Seriosly, let's get a petition started and send it off to Toyata/Scion. I'm sure they'll listen.


not just god, but SCION itself!

Yes H.I.D.'s are illegal, but how the hell are they gonna know its illegal? what, u get pulled over because ur lights arent aimed low enough? anyway, i think Toyota/Scion should grow some hair on their balls and man up to ATLEAST offering the option of getting them. Just like the uglyass spoiler that they made for it, H.I.D.'s should also be an option. I would diffinately get them. C'mon Scion!!! :tap: :tap:

I don't see it happening.

Unfortunately it has two very big un-Scion like things going against it.

1) They are expensive and would raise the price of the car for something of questionable value

2) They would have to be an option, which unecessarily complicates the simplicity of the Scion business model

Scions will continue to be sold in one spec as it keeps production costs down, so I wouldn't expect to see many options offered that cannot be easily installed at the dealer, such as your silly wings and light kits etc.

HIDs would/could be a 4-600 dollar option. That's the cost it is for most cars that have it as an option. Give it projectors, and you'd have an audience.

I thought Scions were about Customization not "They can have any color they want, as long as it's black."

About the price and business model- like Rivulent said, HIDs are generally about a $400-$600 option on other new cars not $2000. Scion has plenty of other expensive options: custom rear lights for $375, fog lights for $425, spoiler for about $400, auto dimming mirror for $310, and sport steering wheel for $279- MANY people are paying for them and NONE of them are wanted as bad as HIDs. Not to mention scion also has a ground effects kit for $995, optional wheels for $1500, and a muffler for $525 among other ultra expensive options. Go to hidretro.com and you'll see they have no shortage of people willing to overpay for HID retrofits done properly.

Secondly, people do get caught with illegal HIDs all the time. The police are well versed on the laws and know which cars should have HIDs and which shouldn't. And around certain hours of the night such as bar closing time they will pick out any reason to pull someone over. At which point they force you to pay to take out your expensive HIDs and put in regular bulbs or stop driving your car. Scion should not be putting their tuner/customization/enthusiast crowd customer base in this type of situation. Not to mention that there are plenty of cheaper vehicles that have them- Toyota Matrix, Nissan Altima/Maxima, Ford Focus, Mazda3, Audi A4/A6/TT, etc.

They can at least make it an accessory. They have some $267ugly tail lights that are an accessory. They can make make some 600 HID Headlights that are an accessory.

Is it really true they don't have the throw of regular halogen? The #1 concern I have for headlights is how far I can see, on low beam, when driving at high speed at night. I could care less what color the light is -- I just want every extra inch I can get between me and that stupid deer.

Does someone have a link to that study?

I think I found the study.

This one? http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/maintenance-accessories/hid-headlights-403/overview.htm



Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the stock lights on the tC. I can't imagine anything better, while still being legal.

Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the stock lights on the tC. I can't imagine anything better, while still being legal.
That's probably because they are brand new, Halogen lights tend to dim over time while HIDs stay just as bright until the day they die. Cool article you linked to though, it has some good points.

Six out of 10 vehicles with HIDs and 9 out of 31 with halogens reached the 400-foot marker on our test course with low beams, compared with an average of 335 feet for all models tested... Both types of lights produced our worst performers. The HID-equipped Audi TT’s low beams lit only to our 200-foot marker, while the halogen-equipped Chrysler Sebring and Pontiac Grand Prix provided weak, nonuniform light.
While is appears that the HIDs traveled farther on average it doesn't mean all HIDs will perform well (of course neither do all Halogen either) and Halogen lights can travel as far or further if they are quality ones- I'm sure you get what you pay for. Some are good quality some are not. All HIDs will be brighter and clearer and last longer however.

The only real benefit I see, other than a very slight bling factor that most people I know dont even notice, is the longer life... but, I dont think I have ever purchased more than 3 sets of bulbs over the life of a vehicle. So even if I bought some "super white, super blue...blah blah" "expensive" bulbs I would spend around $90 over the life of the car on them. For HIDs to make up for thier cost in reliability, I would have to had replaced normal bulbs 20 times over the life of the vehicle... so they are useless in this case. They may last 50 years for all I know... but where will your car be then???

As far as clearer lighting.. I will give them that, but it is not that big of a difference. Especially a $600 difference. I can see more than well with stock headlights.

As far as lighting distance, we have seen that even the good ones perform slightly better than halogens, and some perform worse than the better halogens, so there is not necessarilly a huge difference, if one at all some of the time.

Then you have to look at some of the blinding issues with many of them. I would say that over half the HIDs I see coming at me on the road make me want to pull the driver over and feed them the bulbs. And try to ride towards those same ones on a motorcycle where you dont have a big, thick partially refractive windshield in front of you. Any lights that blind other drivers should (and are) be illegal.

So, if you like them that much, then more power to you. But keep in mind the points above and the study mentioned.

For reliablity: Absolutely not worth the price
For vision: Some benefit on the better ones, but not always the better choice
For blinding factor: A quality set should not blind others.. but many do terribly
For bling: If you are really looking for it I guess that is there. But many dont really notice

I am not bashing those who like them. If you do and it is worth it to you then you should go find some.

For reliablity: Absolutely not worth the price
For vision: Some benefit on the better ones, but not always the better choice
For blinding factor: A quality set should not blind others.. but many do terribly
For bling: If you are really looking for it I guess that is there. But many dont really notice
That's a good sum of it, except they do give a much brighter and clearer vision than you give them credit for. But bottom line, people mostly want HIDs for the bling. For the same reason they spend $400 on a spoiler, $900 on a ground effects kit, and $1,500 on 18" wheels. I'd go as far as saying people want HIDs as much or more than all of the above. Just look on the forums at all the people putting these in themselves because Scion won't offer it as an option.