How difficult is headlight durability repair DIY?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by LazuliNyx, Sep 21, 2025.

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  1. LazuliNyx

    LazuliNyx Member

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    so my 2010 blew out yet another bulb (the passenger side always fails first) at less than 1 year. Wondering if I'm doing something wrong, i did some research and learned about the following TSB procedure: https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2015/10/96257_T-SB-0204-12.pdf, Sadly the special warranty program appears to have ended several years ago. Has anyone done this work themselves before? How difficult is it, especially to get right since it touches wiring? Looks like each harness is about $70, so I would be in for $140 in parts just to stop burning halogens. Thanks everyone!


    I love my gen 3 Prius, but holy crap this car requires a lot of love.
     
    #1 LazuliNyx, Sep 21, 2025
  2. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    It is much easier to change from halogen bulbs to LED bulbs. I did this three years ago and could not be happier.
     
    #2 Brian1954, Sep 21, 2025
  3. LazuliNyx

    LazuliNyx Member

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    See I'd love to do that, but first my understanding is it wouldn't be legal here in the US for a street vehicle. Have you had issues with police saying your headlights aren't legal? How are they, do they blind other drivers?
     
    #3 LazuliNyx, Sep 21, 2025
  4. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    Technically, replacing the halogen bulbs with LED aftermarket bulbs is not legal. I have no issues with police or blinding other drivers. I get my Prius inspected every year and have not had any issues. In fact, the mechanic that does my inspections adjusted my LED headlights so that they are aligned correctly.
     
    #4 Brian1954, Sep 21, 2025
  5. LazuliNyx

    LazuliNyx Member

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    Interesting. I might look into it. What bulbs did you use? I know there's a lot of cheap junk out there, much more likely to perform poorly and cause glare, which makes the problem worse.
     
    #5 LazuliNyx, Sep 21, 2025
  6. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    I bought some cheap H11 LED bulbs on Amazon. I would not recommend them to you. There are much better LED bulbs available. Some as high as $200 for a set of 2. Take a look at Lasfit. I believe rjparker recommends a particular model, but I can not remember which one. Do a search in this forum and you will find it.
     
    #6 Brian1954, Sep 21, 2025
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Aux beam S series . Amazon had em 5 plus years . Illegal Nooooo . Read the laws . You need H8 x2 H11 x2. 194 x2 for the lil lite . You will never visit this again after this is finished you'll be done everyone comment how nice lites look . You're just prolonging the pain I remember the last time you were here
     
    #7 Tombukt2, Sep 21, 2025
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If you listen to radio, be sure to check that with your new LED headlights turned on. Some may have good enough RF filtering to not eff up your reception, and some ... don't.
     
    #8 ChapmanF, Sep 21, 2025
  9. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Aux and beam tech do a very decent job of filtering so far.
     
    #9 Tombukt2, Sep 21, 2025
  10. LazuliNyx

    LazuliNyx Member

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    Auxbeam s3 H11s ordered. When I have some money I’ll replace the 9005s and other bulbs on the exterior. Thanks for the tips everyone. I got the service manual so I’m gonna look up adjustment and do that when I install the LEDs.
     
    #10 LazuliNyx, Sep 22, 2025
  11. LazuliNyx

    LazuliNyx Member

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    [QUOTE="... You're just prolonging the pain I remember the last time you were here[/QUOTE]
    Definitely a pain point though I think you’re thinking of someone else posting about this, as it’s my first time posting about the headlights.
     
    #11 LazuliNyx, Sep 22, 2025
  12. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Generally with the LEDs you're going to need to crank the adjusters down bring the cutoff to wall then set its height . It's all online for the dimensions and the feet away from the door you are
     
    #12 Tombukt2, Sep 22, 2025
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