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I have a car (Toyota RAV4 hybrid), where nearly all lights are LEDs but for some reason Toyota engineers decided to use incandescent bulbs for the rear number plate bulb and some of the indicator bulbs.

I know that at least the rear number plate bulb may require frequent replacements because it is continuously lit (at least when the luxmeter in the car decides it's dark). But what I do not know is how long these indicator bulbs last.

On one hand, indicator bulbs are lit only very rarely.

On the other hand, indicator bulbs are cycled often, and my understanding is that incandescent bulbs don't like frequent cycling.

So, how many kilometers/miles can I expect the incandescent indicator bulbs to last?

I have never had an indicator bulb fail in a car, but then again I have not driven any single car for more than about 80 000 km.

Judging from the question Rapid Turn Signal, it seems to be the case that indicator bulbs can fail.

juhist
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The life span of an incandescent light bulb is up to 50 times smaller than the one of an LED (in reality you can expect up to 1500-2000 hours out of an incandescent light bulb, but usually these numbers are highly overrated) However, choosing an incandescent light bulb might be the consequence of the following:

  • Incandescent light bulbs tend to be really cheap and largely available even in areas where LED's are alien technology (yes, it is possible, i have seen it myself)
  • LED's tend to be very sensible and incandescent light bulbs can withstand more abuse
  • It might actually be a marketing scheme: Toyota might have some amazing deal or some sort of a contract with a company that produces incandescent light bulbs.

Please keep in mind that those are all personal opinions.

Andrei Grigore
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