2011 Prius - Headlight Replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by JohnH0615, Mar 14, 2016.

Tags:
  1. JohnH0615

    JohnH0615 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2014
    5
    0
    0
    Location:
    Brunswick, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I own a 2011 Prius TWO. A few days ago, one of my headlights went out, so I replaced both (figuring that if one went out, the other could well be close behind). It seemed like a pretty straightforward job at the time.

    However ... the new lights are very dim, almost to the point where I wouldn't want to be driving in the dark. They seem to both be seated correctly, and they are emitting light -- just not nearly enough. I used the H11 bulbs that (I thought) were the right specification -- but is there anything that I am missing?
     
    #1 JohnH0615, Mar 14, 2016
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2012
    1,555
    661
    0
    Location:
    Central MO
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    need to adjust them
     
    #2 tankyuong, Mar 14, 2016
  3. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2012
    8,016
    3,198
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu, HI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Sounds like they are not mounted correctly, most likely at an angle. The driver's side should be easy to access, the passenger side, remove the 10 mm bolt holding the air intake hose and release the adjacent bracket further up the intake and bend the intake hose up and out of the way.

    Be careful you don't leave the bulbs mounted crooked in the headlight housing or you risk melting the plastic mounting surfaces. That would be very expensive, as you would need to replace the entire headlight assembly.
     
    #3 xliderider, Mar 14, 2016
    sprtent likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)