Yes, Darell comes to the rescue. Go to http://darelldd.com/ev/prius.htm and click on "mods." Then go to the "LED conversion of the licence plate lights."
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ May 24 2006, 12:09 PM) [snapback]260400[/snapback]</div> Wth?? why would they make this so difficult to access....?!!?!?!?
ok... I got the panel off but I can't remove the bulbs.. no amount of twisting will get it loose. Any suggestions?
They have to be twisted to release them then they pull right out. It is a pain in the you know what though.
Turn counter clockwise. If one does not turn, try the other one. Once you get one, the other one is easier due to the increase in confidence. I was stuck for awhile but finally got one to turn. I had to grab pretty hard and it did not break.
I did twist! It wouldn't budge at all. I may not have the strongest fingers but they were twisting as hard as I could! I tried using pliers but when I started seeing white on the plastic, I stopped. I didn't want to break the plastic. would WD-40 work to help lubricate them? I mean, they're harder than replacing the headlights lol.
Not sure if that would do the trick or not. Try turning both ways. I did end up cracking one of mine when I changed them out due to frustration so be careful.
Ughh.... why is it to bloody hard? yeah I did rotate both ways and wiggle.. first thing I did before the lightbulb went off to check the manual for the correct direction to rotate lol. Otherwise, I might end up making it tighter! Yeah, the plastic cover sits in the garage now. No way am I putting that back after taking it out. Fortunately, only one pin remained in the hatch. The rest of them came out with the plastic piece. But I gotta put them on before the service on Sat lol. Don't want to send the car in with trim pieces missing.
You won't make it tighter though. It only turns about a 1/8 to 1/4 and then pulls out if I remember correctly. I know I pissed with them for a good 15 mins before I got them out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(treehggr @ Aug 16 2007, 02:12 PM) [snapback]497246[/snapback]</div> lol.. i've spent an hour :angry: I'm gonna go out and try again.
I give up. I swear they're superglued in or something. Even WD-40 doesn't help. I've installed them in the front dome area instead. I really want those licence plate lights but I can't get the bulbs out without breaking anything..
No, you certainly can't make them tighter. I actually turned them the WRONG way initially (following the curled arrow in the owner's manual and all...) and got them out twisting clockwise. After I studied the first one I realized my error, and found that Counter Clockwise was the answer, of course. They really can be a bugger, but just know they will come. I used pliers. Push in a bit when you do it too, do NOT tug out while you twist. Once it turns, it will just fall out - no need to pull. You've done the hard part getting the "access" panel off ... you can do it! A question for you though: You were trying to use a bulb for the license plate that worked in the dome area? Very different bulb configuration (though the base is the same)! The license lights need to angle 90° while the domes should point straight down.
I tried pliers and saw the plastic turn white.. that means they're gonna break right? lol. I'll try pushing in. This clockwise/anti-clockwise thing is confusing. I mean, when you're looking at the back of the bulb, it's clockwise.. but if you're looking at the bulb from the outside while you're twisting, it's actually anti-clockwise. So which way did you turn if I was looking on the INSIDE of the hatch look at the back of the bulb? Cause the manual said clockwise. lol.. the access panel probably took 5 mins (had help with my bro cause I remember you guys saying that you should pull out with equal pressure on all sides... like I said, I only had one clip remain in the hatch). I've been working on the bulbs for a couple of hours over 2 days. I've tried WD-40 too <_<.... Yeah... I just realised lol. The bulb was nice and white like the photos here but I noticed it was severely lacking in intensity.... then I remembered it will only work with the licence plate and door courtesy light because of the design.
ok.. after a bloody battle (literally.. I have two cuts now and both were bleeding) with the bulbs, we got it out. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.... so I called my dad in to help. After 10 mins of twisting and pushing, he got the right side out. After closer inspection, I could see why mine felt like it was superglued in. The indent for the bulbs were quite deep. Eventually he got both out (after another 5 mins with the left side). I shaved a bit of the ridge off and liberally added WD-40 so that we won't have this issue again. Thanks for the words of encouragement, Darell! [attachmentid=10724] [attachmentid=10725] I'm definitely happy with the results. Let's hope they don't blow out (knock on wood).
