Sequential Headlights For The 5th Gen 4Runner by Car Trim Home

The New Car Trim Home Sequential Headlights: Initial Review

Toyota’s 4Runner platform has and will, for the foreseeable future, be one of their top-selling vehicles. Time and time again, it’s beaten out the competition. That includes the likes of Jeep, Ford’s Bronco, and a variety of other popular off-road vehicles.

That said, it’s no wonder why Toyota hasn’t rushed to market with the 6th Gen 4Runner. Not to mention, doing so during a computer chip shortage, rising inflation, and parts still being difficult to obtain post-pandemic. At the time of this post, Toyota even decided to temporarily suspend manufacturing on 4Runners and RAV4s. So, it’s a bit bleak right now.

With Toyota prolonging the launch of the 6th Gen 4Runner, more aftermarket automotive part companies will continue expanding upon their 5th Gen product lines.

It feels like just a short time ago, there were very few options for aftermarket 5th Gen 4Runner headlights. Modernized headlight housings, much less sequential options, were nonexistent. The 5th Gen platform aftermarket options have come a long way and companies are going to continue developing and cashing in.

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2014 – 2023 LED Sequential Headlights: Check Price

What Does Sequential Mean?

Over the last few years, automotive manufacturers have improved upon the single flashing incandescent bulb as a turn signal in your headlight housing. Those turn signals are typically now a row of individual LEDs that activate in sequence.

That sequence, referred to as “sequential”, activates like an animation. I promise you, it’s way easier to understand once you see it, and looks way cooler than it sounds!

Why Upgrade Your 4Runner Headlights?

The reality is, the 5th Gen 4Runners stock headlights aren’t the best. The 2010 – 2013 models were bulky and sported incandescent bulbs. However, the light “cut-off” wasn’t too bad. Then, the early 2014+ models got an updated design but still had incandescent bulbs (which were eventually updated to LEDs in 2021) but the “cut-off” was less than ideal.

It goes without saying, you’ll want to upgrade the bulbs to LEDs at a minimum. However, we’ve come a long way and we have more options to choose from.

Between brands like Morimoto, Alpharex, AnzoUSA, GTR Lighting, and USR, it’s hard to figure out which is the best option for you; and more importantly, your budget. For aftermarket sequential headlights, you can expect to spend anywhere from $800 to $1,500+ for a pair. This depends on the features, add-ons (for customizable ones), and functionality. The brand name also carries some weight.

Fortunately, Car Trim Home (CTH), yet again, comes to the rescue. It’s not to say that CTH is offering a lesser product by any means, they’re just doing it at a very competitive price. Plus, they are including a lot of the key features everyone seems to want in aftermarket headlight options.

Headlight Functionality & Aesthetics

As evidenced by the photos here, the CTH sequential headlights are significantly better looking than the OEM headlights. The blacked-out interior, 3-tiered projectors, and the angry-eyed DRL outline give the front end of your 4Runner a much more updated and aggressive look.

Start-Up Sequence

The start-up sequence is probably the “flashiest” part of these headlights. Once you turn on the headlights, the DRLs flash in a build-upon sequence and fade in and out once fully engaged.

Simultaneously, the amber corner marker lights turn on and all three projectors turn on in sequence. It’s almost as if a UFO has landed and it’s about to take out the planet!

DRL To Low Beams

When you want to turn on the low beams, each of the three projectors engages in sequence. When the sequence completes, it fades off and on to let you know that these babies are ready.

Amber Turn Signals

Last but not least, the turn signals. On modern vehicles, the headlight (or some portion of the headlight) generally turns off, while the amber turn signal engages.

For newer vehicles that have adopted sequential patterns, the headlight shuts off and the amber signal activates in a sequence.

That really makes the turn signals stand out to oncoming traffic, which is great for safety. Fortunately, CTH adopted the same functionality here and the signals are very bright.

How Do They Perform?

Rad is an understatement. These headlights are pretty impressive all around with some slight revisions I’d prefer if they were to offer a v2 down the road.

Pros

Sleek Design: CTH definitely took some design cues from its competitors. For example, incorporating a variety of sequential functions, blacking out the housing interior, converting everything to projectors vs. mirror-backed reflectors, and the projectors in a tiered-down arrangement.
Plug & Play Installation: For those not overly comfortable with doing your own mods, CTH made the process as simple as possible by offering a true plug-and-play setup. The kit came with a wiring harness that appears to connect both headlights and eventually tap into your fuse panel. However, I’m not entirely sure what that’s used for. There was no change in functionality when I had that connected vs not.
Full LEDs Throughout: Depending on your 4Runner trim, you may already have some elements of LEDs in your headlights, such as the low beams. However, the CTH headlights upgrade everything including your low beams, high beams, DRL, and even the side marker lights to LEDs.
Competitive Price: While you can upgrade to aftermarket headlights at a lower price point, the CTH offering appears to be one of the lower-priced options when considering options with full LEDs, projectors, and sequential functionality.

Cons

White-Output Only: Some of the competitor’s options include the ability to switch the DRLs, and even the low/high beams to an amber output from white. With the CTH headlights, you’ll have amber turn signals (which are DOT-required). However, there doesn’t seem to be an option to switch color output.
One Color Temperature: The CTH lights are bright; like, really bright. For some, that might not be a problem. If you’re worried about blinding oncoming traffic or being on the receiving end of the occasional high-beam flash from a passing car, that might be a problem. It’s hard to say what the exact color temperature output is, but they’re white to a point with a faint blue hue (likely 6000k). I live in a very dark, remote, and wooded area, so this isn’t a problem for me.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, make the decision that’s best for your build and budget. The CTH sequential headlights both perform well and brings a unique element of style to the front end of your 4Runner. They are definitely something to consider in the sub-$1000 range. They’re bright, flashy, won’t break the bank, and built well.