I've got an '07 Tacoma, and the only bulb I've ever changed is one brake light. Every other one is original still.

 

Same for my 2008 Tacoma. My only "failure" has been one brake light bulb.

If I ever replace a headlight bulb, I'll wear plastic gloves to avoid touching the glass. Oil from your hands will prematurely kill a headlight bulb.

 

That's craziness. My first Taco was a first gen and now I'm in a second gen. I don't understand.

 

Unless there's a problem with your Tacoma's electrical system (voltage spikes?) I can only guess it's the bulbs. Depending on what bulbs you buy, more expensive may not mean better quality. In some cases, quite the opposite. And cheap might simply mean poor quality. FWIW, my 2005 still has all original bulbs.

Not knowing anything else about your particular situation, I can only suggest getting bulbs with a well-known European brand name, and sticking with stock wattages. Hella, Philips, Osram, Narva, & a few others all make top quality bulbs. Some can be harder to find. Stuff like PIAA and anything with Hyper or Extreme in its name probably won't last long. Neither will most over-wattage bulbs.

 

It can't be my truck because ive been having the same issue with two seperate trucks. Ive been buying Sylvania bulbs. I think that's how you spell it. I try something what you mentioned and see how that goes. Thanks.

 

It can't be my truck because ive been having the same issue with two seperate trucks. Ive been buying Sylvania bulbs. I think that's how you spell it. I try something what you mentioned and see how that goes. Thanks.

Yup, that's how it's spelled, and unfortunately that can spell trouble. It's entirely possible that Sylvania makes some good bulbs.... but they also sell (and heavily promote) Silverstars which are notorious for their short life.

 

I might go ahead and install some caps to prevent any voltage spikes as well.

 

Wash any new headlamp bulb with 95% alcohol and a paper towel while wearing nitrile gloves before you install it. Do not touch the glass with your skin.

 

When I blew my first headlamp bulb, I tried to "upgrade" to SilverStar. Big mistake. Minimal brightness change, maximum bulb replacement. After going through 2 pairs of bulb in under a year, I went back to the regular bulbs. Been 5+ years on them. And as Eherlihy said, don't handle them with your bare hands, (oil in your skin), and use clean contacting stuff to put them in.

I had one friend who wasn't seating them correctly (not aligning the notches) and his would blow quickly, like 6 weeks, assuming too much jostling. And bad aim of the beam.

 

On my '13 Tacoma with 78,000 miles, I've replaced one headlamp bulb (the left), and the right headlamp assembly due to hail damage. That's it. This sounds like voltage spikes, like Splicer mentioned.

 

What’s the alternator’s running voltage? (Besides surges)

 

13.6 - 13.8 Volts at the battery posts.

 

It might not be a bad idea to buy one of those USB charging adapters for the power ports that include a digital voltmeter, to be able to monitor voltages. Tons of them on eBay and Amazon.com.

 

If you want a dedicated battery monitor, I recommend this one for $30: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MT4583U/ref=psdc_15707371_t1_B07GP1RXYZ

I have one aboard my boat, and have used the same unit on my Tacoma. It monitors the voltage over time, and stores 35 days worth of data at 10mSec intervals. It connects to your phone over BlueTooth.

 

That.Is.Cool.

 

What is the voltage at the bulbs with the lights are turned on? You'll have to get creative with your probes...

What do the burned out bulbs look like? If you have dirty contacts somewhere and the bulbs aren't getting enough voltage they'll burn out early too.

 

I've been having the same issue of burning through headlights on my 2012 Tacoma. My fog lights won't work any more also.

 

As mentioned above, exactly which bulbs are you running? Any chance you might have touched them (the glass) with your fingers?

Has there ever been any front-end accident damage? Repaired or not, that might be worth looking into. Especially with fog lamp trouble also.

Hope I don't jinx myself but we're approaching 19 years and still on the original bulbs.