Are factory LED headlamps worth the upgrade?
 

Pricing out new 2019 F-250's (6.2 w/4.30's) and and looking to order soon but I am torn on the LED headlamps vs the standard. I really do prefer cloth interiors and a few gadgets which put me smack dab into the XLT line, however as many as you know you cannot get the LED lamps until you step up to the Lariat and then you still must invest into other options. At the end of the day, even though they are a $1K option with Ford, it will cost me an additional $6K-$7K with the necessary upgrade to get them going from the XLT to the Lariat. After looking at the aftermarket for bulb upgrades, they all seem to be hit or miss. Are these things worth the money for driving at night? I have searched the net for comparison pictures and am coming up empty. By the way, if anyone has an unused PCO, I will be your new best friend.

Haven't done much night driving in dark areas but LED all around (taillights, running lights and cab brake light) are so cool looking and definitely an improvement over my ex-2013 250. Worth the money specially with the step up to the Lariat IMO.

When I ordered my 18, it would have cost a total of about $4500 for the LED.
BLIS required, cha ching....
Lariat Ultimate was required, cha ching....
+ Cost of LED ($1100), cha ching....


I did not want BLIS or the ULTIMATE package. Too many dropped tail gates while driving with remote tailgate release (part of Ultimate package). I tow a fifth wheel RV so didn't want to deal with a damaged tailgate and RV if that happened, and it has happened a lot on this board.
Ultimate package in 18 include the monstrous moon roof, no thanks (added $1k). I have had sun/moon roofs on all cars for as long as I can remember, and never, ever, use any of them. Being honest. Most have and never use...

Long story short, cost me $112 too put four headlights and two foglights LED bulbs in my truck. Much better than stock yellow lights, well worth the price of admission compared to $4500.... Your math will vary...

I pulled the halogens and put LED bulbs in my 2019 Lariat and they are awesome. Crisp, bright, beautiful lights. They Perform just like my buddy's factory LED lights.
Cost was around $120 or so for all four LED headlight bulbs and the LED fogs. I bought Beamtechs and they rock!

Highly recommend it.

Xenon HID lighting ≠ LED lighting.

Opinions vary.

Every time I have used an LED lamp in a halogen housing, the lighting has always been brighter. I see more. But I believe that the halogen lamps do project a little farther. Only problem with that is that the longer halogen beam is so dim, I really can't see as much. My compromise, thus far, has been to use LED lamps, and LED light bars for when i want even more lighting. A lot of those inexpensive LED light bars work pretty well.

OEM LED headlights will outperform any LED lamp in a halogen housing. It only makes sense.

On a side note, LED lighting is superior when reflecting off road signs. I also prefer LED lighting in inclement weather. In my local area, the street lights are now LED, replacing high pressure sodium. What a difference! Once dark streets, and dimly lit alleys, are now brightly lit. No more ass-bandits hiding in the shadows. Your mileage may vary. If you drive on well lit Interstate Highways, and well lit city streets, it won't make much of a difference to you. But for unlit country roads......halogen is old technology which is being phased out of production.

I struggled with the same debate as you are OP -
I was set on getting the OE LED's as there is no argument they are better in every aspect over the halogen. I have first hand experience driving the Explorers with the LED's so when I set to order, I was under the thought that there was no way I was not getting LED especially because I am in a rural area and do a lot of night time driving.

With that said........is the amount of 'better' worth the eight hoops you have to jump through to get them?
You want an XLT, I wanted a Lariat so my drive to LED's was even shorter. I still found that even with the jump to Lariat, you then had to jump to the Ultimate and then you have to add another $1,100 for the LED's. From a Lariat Value to LED's was around $4,500 as several others stated and so that is the true cost of the LED's. More $$ if you originally wanted an XLT as you stated.

I struggled with this as I found myself now considering the Ultimate which came with stuff I didn't even want and defeated the whole purpose for ordering to begin with (which is to get a truck exactly the way you want or as close to). In the end, reasonableness smacked me in the head and I opted to essentially save $4,500. I have no problems driving at night especially since I enabled Bambi mode with Forscan. Do I wish I had LED's, yes....but do I have trouble seeing at night - I honestly do not.

Everything I stated is null if you already wanted a Lariat Ultimate or above, if that is the case, I would spend $1,100 on them no question. BUT if you do not want a Lariat Ultimate, then you have to be honest with yourself on the true cost of the LED upgrade and decide if it is worth that much to you.

I am not a LED hater for those who do have them - if you can justify and/or afford them that is great. I think an aggravating circumstance for us is that you can get LED's in lower trim and package levels in the Explorers and F150's so I also had that working against the justification since I cannot see why Ford would not offer them on XLT and above given halogen is phasing out and it is a plus regarding safety.

Out of the whole paragraph, the above is what it comes down to. So the question becomes, "are OEM LED headlights worth $6-$7k to me?".
Personally my answer is no. The XLT Premium has everything I'd ever want in a truck. But other folks like more and varied features, hence the many models and price points to choose from.
I put Beamtech LED bulbs in for around $80 and love them. But as the OP states, everyone has a different opinion on the various LED options in the aftermarket. Unfortunately it's one of those things you have shell out the money for and experience for yourself. The opinion of myself or anyone else on the forum about this type of lighting really doesn't matter in the end if one decides they don't like them.

The LED lights are one of the Primary reasons I bought a Ford. Without them, I"d consider a different brand of truck with them.

Huge difference in behind the wheel performance. My only wish now is I hope Ford or someone will build auto leveling headlights for towing. That's the next invention for HD LED lights that I would find useful.

Also remember, the LED light option replaces all of the exterior bults with LED, not just the headlight. You won't have incandescent lights on the exterior of the truck as its an LED light package. Only reason I'd pass on the LEDs would be if I knew that I would only drive the truck during the daylight.

Same! After owning 4, yes 4, Ram 1500 & 2500 (2014-2017 models), the LED option on the F-250 was at the top of my list. Going from headlights that were not just poor, they were a safety issue with just how dismal they were, the LED lights were at the top of my options list.