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Late 2016 / Early 2017 S Owners: How Are Your Daytime Running Lights Holding Up?
- Thread starter houstonian
- Start date
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
This company seems elusive on their sourcing of components. Their “factory” in California is a distribution center with no physical production visible onsite. Suspect they are imported from China, which explains the really short 2 year warranty on their product. Also the high beams are sourced from their lower end product called the Alpharex LUXX LED and are not Osram Oslon Black Flat LEDs. “Osram Oslon Black Flat LED/AlphaRex LUXX LED”. Suspect the latter to be the reason for the really short warranty.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
I tried to hit the link too and got a 404 error.
I would love to understand their rational for no dielectric grease, OEM's use it from the factory, probably just a way for them to decline warranty coverage. Sketchy.
whitex
Well-Known Member
A slight tangent on this - a thing I always wondered. For most of the aftermarket animated turn signals, why do they turn on with just one LED and then light up more in the direction of the turn? This delays the latency of the turn signal, i.e. the person looking at the signal will get the information few hundred milliseconds later (which at high speeds could mean the difference between collision vs. near-collision). A much better, yet still animated solution, is to have the turn signal turn all on, then darken in the direction of the signaled turn. SO rather than appear to slide-in in the direction of turn, it slides-out in the direction of turn - so you still get the motion effect without the unnecessary delay. I have seen cars on the road which implement it the low latency way.Both mine on my refresh 2016 have failed and for that price you can get better performing headlights for ~$1900 for a pair, that crush the crappy lights on the Model S (2016+ - 2021). I ordered the Alpha Black headlights to contrast with my white car, which also has black wheels from ESECarbon Fiber Wheels.
Just ordered a complete new set from @TSportline
AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Projector Headlights for Tesla Model S (2012-2020)
The new 2012-2020 Tesla Model S AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Headlights not only improve the look of your Tesla, but increase the performance. Designed exclusively for the Gen1 Model S from 2012-2020, the AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Headlights are a direct plug and play replacement for your OEM...tsportline.com
12-21 Tesla Model S NOVA-Series LED Projector Headlights Alpha-Black | AlphaRex
Unveil superior lighting with these 12-21 Tesla Model S NOVA-Series LED Projector Headlights Alpha-Black, featuring innovative Ice Cube 3D projectors and intense Osram Oslon Black Chip LEDs. AlphaRex combines patented technology with LUXX LEDs for unmatched dual beam performance. Adhere to...alpharexusa.com
AlphaRex's on a Sienna:
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Both mine on my refresh 2016 have failed and for that price you can get better performing headlights for ~$1900 for a pair, that crush the crappy lights on the Model S (2016+ - 2021). I ordered the Alpha Black headlights to contrast with my white car, which also has black wheels from ESECarbon Fiber Wheels.
Just ordered a complete new set from @TSportline
AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Projector Headlights for Tesla Model S (2012-2020)
The new 2012-2020 Tesla Model S AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Headlights not only improve the look of your Tesla, but increase the performance. Designed exclusively for the Gen1 Model S from 2012-2020, the AlphaRex NOVA-Series 5x LED Headlights are a direct plug and play replacement for your OEM...
12-21 Tesla Model S NOVA-Series LED Projector Headlights Alpha-Black | AlphaRex
Unveil superior lighting with these 12-21 Tesla Model S NOVA-Series LED Projector Headlights Alpha-Black, featuring innovative Ice Cube 3D projectors and intense Osram Oslon Black Chip LEDs. AlphaRex combines patented technology with LUXX LEDs for unmatched dual beam performance. Adhere to...
Thanks for the biz! Should be shipping in the next two weeks.
I had 3 running light replacements during my warranty period (2 on left side and 1 on right side). Those were all free. I now have 118,000 miles on my MS100D and the left side has started fading. I contacted Tesla to get a quote for replacing it and was told it would cost $2,100. That is 3 times the cost I was told in 2020. How is it possible that it could cost $2,100 to replace that headlight assembly??? Insane!
SneepeZ
Member
If I recall correctly it was $1,200 for the headlight and $600 or so for labor, which is just removing the bumper and the 3 or 4 bolts holding the headlight in place. It's a total ripoff. Buy the headlight yourself on eBay and DIY or take it to a body shop for the install.
whitex
Well-Known Member
Legacy parts no longer in production (therefore requiring a separate supply chain) perhaps?
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
I too was fortunate to have them covered under the warranty, however now at 8 years and 120K miles later, no such luck....
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
Honestly, its really easy, I just replaced my old FJ cruisers headlights and upgraded them by splitting the lenses from the backs and adding DOT approved HID's with the correct cutoffs... it turned out amazing and was really easier than I thought. I no longer get flashed by pissed off drivers who used to get nailed by my stock OEM Halogen reflectors that had stupid LED's that sprayed 10K lumens all over the place... it wasn't safe and I finally corrected the issue with proper cutoffs and reasonable LUX output (5500 vs 10,000). The quality of the light is better and its focused in the right areas. No one flashes me, so mission success!
Here is the process for those FJ owners... scariest part was baking the lights in the oven @ 265 degrees for 7 minutes to separate the lenses from the housing..
Official HID Retrofit Thread
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⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
I'm just happy both of mine are out. Looks fine to me. Just like my eyebrows faded with age, so did my car's.
Xenoilphobe
Well-Known Member
beatle
Active Member
I think they do it for looks. US DOT regulation is that a certain area of the signal needs to light up the instant the signal is activated. Some aftermarket indicators actually don't comply with this, but few are aware the law even exists. Even some European OEM indicators don't comply with this which is why they have different indicator patterns for US cars. I think Audi has some examples of this. The Mustang has iconic sequential signals (some of the first, I think) but the first light is large enough to comply with the regulation.
whitex
Well-Known Member
We have one Audi in the home garage and it has an animation in the rear turn signal (the bad way starting with 1 tiny LED) however it also blinks the stop light (no animation) as an additional turn indicator which I think gets them off the hook. I'd be curious if in the EU they have the same animation (in amber instead of red) without lighting the stop light. I have however seen animation starting with full turn signal, just cannot remember the car (perhaps Kia?).
whitex
Well-Known Member
Even those have some large segments which light up as one. I distinctly recall seeing rear ones on some cars which disappeared gradually all the way.
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