My right side hid light died on me. Is it a hefty process? Should i go to the dealership or save money and do it myself? What is the brightest hid i can get (thats reliable?)
I remember seeing one video of a female mechanic who could change the lightbulb without any disassembly. Search for changing my Prius headlight. There are dozens of threads to choose. My only suggestion is that you change both at the same time. This will get both bulbs to the same strength. Best of luck
I say get the bulb/bulbs from the dealer then change it yourself. They will charge a lot for labor and this is definitely something you can do yourself. I replaced both of mine on my own, worked perfect. There are videos on YouTube on how to change the HID lights in a prius.
The brightest and whitest HID, I would say, is a 5000K temp bulb. The stock you have is 4300K and has a slight yellow tint. 6000K looks nice too if you like a blue tint, the problem is it's not as bright and has less lumens. Buy the bulbs first (expect to pay around ~$100). Call the dealership, see if they'll install it for you WITHOUT REMOVING THE BUMPER. Get their word on how long it'll take and get a quote. If it's anymore than 30 minutes of labor I say forget them. It should only take a couple minutes for them. If you do it yourself and you're a novice, it might take you at least an hour to figure it out based on those videos. Not everything might go as smoothly as in the video. It could be hard to see in the dark area and reach your hand in there. You need to be careful to not touch the bulb or break any glass. You need to seal the area correctly when youre done so moisture doesnt get inside and murk up your headlights. There are many things to be concerned about from this simple task, so there is no shame getting someone else to do it if you're not comfortable. Good luck.
Check this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...7-my-experience-replacing-hid-headlights.html
I purchased the Phillips D4R HID bulbs Phillips (pn 42406) from a dealer on ebay for $30 each and changed them myself. They were identical to the bulbs that I took out. 4 months later they are working fine! Here is a "typical" listing: NEW Philips D4R XenEco 42406 HID Xenon Headlight Bulb: eBay Motors (item 110483465625 end time Aug-16-10 19:48:17 PDT)
