42 lb per Sq In. tires and headlights keep burning out

[MetroMPG]

Road condition was the first thing I wondered about.


I literally had a bulb (turn signal) come loose from its socket in the MPGiata last month due to tire pressure. Oh, and due to road condition: I drove a short distance on a very coarse gravel road. "Gravel" is too nice a word for it, really -- more like a "rocky chunks" road. I'm running more than 42 PSI, though.

[ksa8907]

I have never had bulbs go out from hard tires or bad roads. I have from scraping/smashing ice off of them...

I would try the rubber washers/grommets first.

[Frank Lee]

Is your tire pressure gauge accurate? Many of them aren't. Maybe there is far more than 42 in there.

I would like to see this grommet conversion. Does it involve non-reversible hogging out of all the headlamp assembly mounts? New hardware? What? And when it's done, does it work?

[oldtamiyaphile]

I ran 40psi and more in my off road only Jeep and only the tiny number plate bulbs went - it's been airborne a few time too.

It's all LED now though.

Bulb holders usually have a fair amount of springiness to them, so they don't transfer shocks directly to the globes.

You could maybe try rotating the globes 90 degree so the filament is in their stronger plane?

[oil pan 4]

Could the shocks be dead?

[Gasoline Fumes]

Running 55-60 PSI in my tires has never cost me a single bulb, even on dirt roads. I'd try different bulbs.

[Angel And The Wolf]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Could the shocks be dead?

It's posible. The car is near 70,000, but they have been going out for years.

[Angel And The Wolf]

Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile

You could maybe try rotating the globes 90 degree so the filament is in their stronger plane?

Yes, but wouldn't I have to rotate the sockets 90 degrees?

[Angel And The Wolf]

I'm thinking of softer suspension bushings.

[ksa8907]

If I'm not mistaken, the headlights in the Prius is a bit of a known design issue. Not sure what the root cause is, but again, if I'm not mistaken people have complained about Prius headlights for a long time.