Aftermarket fog light replacement

[blfuller]

Has anyone bought one of the aftermarket fog light replacements, for example the ones on eBay for about $60? I took a rock hit to the drivers side lens and it is nicely perforated. I was curious if they are similar in construction to the factory ones or are they junk. I'd rather not pay the $100+ for one from the dealer if it's going to get broke out again. The foglights are really pathetic anyway.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

[jtrosario]

Originally Posted by blfuller

Has anyone bought one of the aftermarket fog light replacements, for example the ones on eBay for about $60? I took a rock hit to the drivers side lens and it is nicely perforated. I was curious if they are similar in construction to the factory ones or are they junk. I'd rather not pay the $100+ for one from the dealer if it's going to get broke out again. The foglights are really pathetic anyway.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

I just installed my replacement foglamps last week, getting the Autopia kit. The search for Autopia doesn't seem to work. Search ebay for "Prius Xenon Fog Lamps", then look at the "Heavy Duty - Free Bulbs" (Hint: not the BlingLights)

I got these because my Foglamps have been cracked since 2004(design flaw early on?) and the original bulbs went out about May 2009. I wasn't about to risk the $$$ on getting another Toyota foglamp crack again due to heat again. (line crack is heat-not rocks)

I couldn't be more pleased with them. I used PriusChat for pics and instructions on removing the originals. Here's some tips for installing these replacement foglamps on a Prius(with existing foglamps):

The entire assembly and wiring comes with this kit plus spare bulbs.

1) If you have HID headlights (you should), switch the clear bulb out of each assembly, with the blue bulbs. The clear bulbs look much more yellow compared to the HID headlights. The blue bulbs have a much closer color match to the HID headlights. They don't look blue when on, they light up with much less yellow - a very clear white compared to the other included bulbs or even the original bulbs. When changing bulbs, the only trick is getting the white wire/metal connector through the rubber hole after removing the 4 screws: just push/pull gently and very firmly through what seems like the much too small rubber assembly - it will come through. The new white wire/connector goes in the same way, with a little wiggling. The black rubber widens and then compresses back to its original wire only size each time.

2) For wiring, snip off about 16 inches of the black and white wires from the new harness in the kit(discard the rest), and attach onto the existing wiring on the Prius. White to White. Black to Green.

3) There is a bracket on these foglamps that are almost perfect for the fit into the plastic foglamp mold on the Prius. For each lamp, keep the screw on the outside edge of the bracket screwed in(with the bracket). The inside screw(as you face the front of the car) fits into a slot in the car's plastic foglamp mold. Hold the bulb with "Top" facing up, and give it a slight turn to line up the inside bracket screw hole with the slot and then screw it in. It holds perfectly. For me, my driver's side went in smoothly. On the passenger side I had to take a drill bit and widen the bottom of the plastic foglamp mold slot slightly to line up the screw with the screw hole. They both fit in tight, and that's before replacing each plastic foglamp/grill cover on the front of the car.

For the above, I also happened to have a regular philips head 3 inch long screwdriver. It worked for me to avoid removing the center plastic grill.

I had the clear(yellow) bulbs on for a week and last night switched to the included blue(white) bulbs. I also broke the large tab on each plastic/grill cover taking it out this second time. No big deal. Superglue "GEL", waited 1 hour and they both went in with all tabs like new. To review, each foglamp gets held in by 1 screw and the plastic foglamp/grill cover. Each on their own hold it very well. With both, it is a very solid fit.

Between the cost($60), the fit, the included H3 bulbs, the reasonably easy installation, and the nice whiter look of the lights themselves, I am very happy with these, and would highly recommend them.

[blfuller]

Thanks for your input jtrosario.

I decided to take a chance on the one on eBay. The light I received was a dead ringer for the factory with the exception of the vent. The factory toyota had a plastic vent cap and the replacement had a rubber snorkel looking vent. It installed perfectly and came with a Phillips halogen bulb. The illumination matched the OEM passenger side perfectly. This was made in Taiwan.