My HID Experience

There are also many of us who have not had any problem with the HID headlights. I'm not saying you didn't have a problem, just that it does not affect every car. Perhaps it was a bad batch of bulbs used during production.

Should they help owners who have premature failure? It would be nice, and in your case they did. Should they recall the cars for this? I don't think so.

 

Given my negative experiences with dealerships and my Toyota Prius warranty (haha, whatever) I'd say you should be happy they covered your bulbs as opposed to making some BS excuse and not covering anything.

 

My dealer told me in no uncertain terms '...they are bulbs and bulbs wear out...'.

I tried to point out that the design team must have thought them not quite in the same category as normal 'bulbs' -- otherwise why would they not be replaceable as easily [and as documented in the manual] as the rest of the 'bulbs' subject to wearing out. But that little chat not have any positive effect on the quoted bottom line cost.

[I have a set of Phillips spares from ebay and I'm just waiting for the first day I don't have to lay on snow to get to them...]

 

They are indeed just bulbs. And there are a lot of reasons for them to wear out more quickly than usual. For instance, after turning off the bulbs, if you turn them back on within 5-10 minutes, then you are burning more salt and reducing the life of the bulb. The sooner you turn them back on after you turn them off, the more you reduce their lifespan.

And be careful with those ebay bulbs. I know you said they are Phillips (which is a good brand), but lots of chinese companies will sell fakes under the Phillips or Osram brand names. If you paid less than $50 each, be very very careful. Not only will they run hotter potentially damaging the chrome inside leaving splotches forever (only fix is a replacement headlight housing) but they will burn out even quicker. Since the Prius is reflector based HIDs anyways, the focal point isnt as important in a normal projector car, but usually the ripoffs have wonky focal points making blurry cutoffs.

 

And the HID's were supposed to be an "improvement"! give me $6 halogens, and a 10 second installation like my Subaru has! I too fought with the dealer to get mine replaced 2 days and 1500 miles out of warantee. (I was traveling cross country on a holiday weekend when they crapped) My local dealer said, "why didn't you stop at a dealer and have them fixed? There are dealers between Seattle and Duluth!"

"It was a holiday weekend you moron, like I just told you!"

First they tried to charge me full boat labor and parts, then just labor. After telling them that my first contact would be Toyota Corporate, followed by NHTSA, followed closely by the State AG's office, they phoned and said that they do it as a "courtesy"! It was BS from the beginning, they were just trying to screw with me. Sad to say if it had been my wife, we would be out ~$500.

 

There is getting to be more and more evidence that this (cover up) is Toyota SOP. Hopefully, the intense US Congress attention to Toyota behavior will bring a more customer oriented attatude from Toyota.

 

Toyota has covered up the true meaning of HID, High Income Discharge. Perhaps the new softer Toyota should poll the exiting service dept customers. How does it feel to spend $500 to change 2 light bulbs? Would you be more inclined now to spend; $900 to have your rear shocks replaced? $1700 to have your catalytic converter replaced? $781 to replace the headlight leveling sensor?

 

You can change the bulbs yourself for $100 and a lot of elbow grease. Or pay the premium. Life is full of choices to be made on the grounds of frugality...

 

Then we should go after the CF bulb companies for saying that their bulbs will last 5-7 years!!!!...Fine print on the life on HID bulbs! I have a feeling that problem is that these bulbs are mercury free. Other Automakers that uses Mercury bulbs have to problems (Honda and Nissan).

 

Can anyone give me suggestions on changing the passenger side headlight bulb?

 

From Windstrings..
"Before you start a small LED flashlight or similar may make the job easier.

Here are some tips to remove the HID bulbs:
Don't turn on the bulbs just before this operation.. it will only charge the ballast and make the job a bit more hazardous.

First, we will remove the passenger side bulb, and then the drivers.

1. The black plastic shield across the front of the car under the hood comes off with gentle turns of the 6 screws counterclockwise about 1/4 turn and then they will pop right out. “I used a Phillips screwdriverâ€

2. Take a flat head screwdriver and lift up the top half of the plug that holds the passenger side vent down and it pops off very easy.

3. If you want to remove the window washer fluid container.. it will make life easier. The extra five minutes taken may save you much more by giving your hand better access.
It has a pop-out screw on the left and one threaded screw towards the firewall on top with a bolt/washer combo that holds it down.
Also, there will be a electrical wire that pops free from the right side. Take off the two electrical connectors "on bottom" by squeezing them and pulling.
Now the rubicks cube... "I mean the container", will come out with a little manipulation.. the front plastic tab that goes to that threaded screw hold down will need to be bent just a tad to release from under the front lip and the whole thing will come out.
You can either let the container rest right there lifted up and out of the way, or to make plenty of room for your hand to get back there, you can do as I did and remove the “slide off†rubber hose connectors "on bottom" that will allow you to completely remove it and sit it on the ground. Now if your head is not too fat "LOL!".. you can actually look completely behind the assembly to see what your doing “if you can now stand on your headâ€, when you install the bulb and wire keeper by sticking your head where the wiper container "WAS".
Believe me, its a blessing being able to see how the keeper is setup so you aren't flying blind... because of this.. I recommend doing the passenger side first to get a birds eye visual because you aren't afforded this luxury on the drivers side.
If your head is too fat.. thats ok.... I'm a pinhead so I was able to get my head in the hole. I took a small LED flashlight that I could hold with my right hand and actually was able to manipulate the keeper with my fingers while holding the light while looking at it upside down with my head stuck in that hole where the wiper container was. I had to put some cheap reading glasses on too, to be able to see clearly that close “8 – 10 inches or soâ€.

Some may prefer to use a mirror on the end of a rod you can pick up at the autoparts store to check things out…. “now why didn’t I think of that?â€

If you honestly can't get a view, you may be able to cheat by taking a picture of it with your cell phone and its flash.... anything to get one good look will say a thousand words when understanding how to remove the wire keeper and place it back on.

4. Now that we've hashed out the wiper fluid container, we need to remove the back of the light assembly to gain access to the bulb.
Its about 4 inches across with little fins to give you traction when attempting to turn... don't hit them with a screwdriver nor should you use pliers or tools.. you "will" break them off if you do!!!.. The best thing I found was to put on some garden gloves and grab and turn counterclock wise. If it resists... wiggle it a bit to loosen the large O ring underneath and try again.
"Constant" tension seems to be the key... if you look very close you will see it turning very slowly. It takes about an eighth of a turn before it stops and you can wiggle it free. Once you've done this once, it’s much easier should you need to do it again.

5. Now unplug the electrical connector off that plastic lens backing you just removed so you can turn or flip it out of the way to make more room for your hand.

6. Now that you can look inside, you will see everything "except" what looks like a bulb…. Lol!... but the chrome electrical connector that goes to the back of the bulb will be visible. Its above the wire windings you will see below.
Turn that chrome piece counter clockwise about 1/8th of a turn to hear "a click" and it will pull off.
It may be a good idea "not" to put your finger into it, and a better idea not to put your tongue in it while your head is stuck in that hole as it comes from the ballast with high voltage... It would be an embarrassing picture for your family in the newspaper headlines!
I took mine and put it near metal to discharge it... with one of the 4 I did, I actually heard a pop from the arc!

7. Now if you put your head behind where the washer fluid container was, you can see how the wire keeper is set "before" you remove it. They pull in, and back "towards the front of the car" and then out to release to let it fall forward "towards the engine" to release the bulb.
The bulb pulls right out.... Note the solid wire on the bottom of the bulb “don’t know what that’s called†itself goes to the bottom when positioned properly in the lens!... replace it the same way, or you will have a nasty shadow on the ground as it shines.

8. Take the new bulb and be careful not to touch the glass in any way unless you wipe it back off with acetone or similar.
Take your little flashlight and peer though the front lens to see that you are placing the bulb in squarely and correctly.
Note, there are 3 little bumps so you can see if its placed in the hole perfectly, now while holding that bulb in place, look behind "if your Head isn't too fat" otherwise go by feel and while holding the bulb in place with the tip on one finger, gently place the wire keeper around the bulb and push far back "evenly while doing so" and hook one side and then the other.
If the wire pops off from its holder at the base in all the confusion.. just place it back in its groove that holds it at its base and start over.
This is one of those jobs that’s easy once you’ve done it once but can be a pain if your careless and bend the wire as it won’t hold properly if bent too far, you would have to take out and bend it back for a secure fit.

9. If you have the keeper in correctly, the bulb will be firm not able to wiggle with normal manipulation "don't go crazy".
Now remember how you had to turn the chrome electrical base 1/8 turn counterclockwise to remove it?... so now before you touch the back of the bulb, take that base and give it the 1/8 turn grace and place over the back of the bulb and push on gently and now turn it clockwise to lock in place. It goes on very gracefully and easy.

10. Hook the electrical wire connector back on the back of the plastic lamp cover and place back on the back of the lens cover and turn clockwise to lock into place.

11. Now you should be done!.... now on the the drivers side!



Tip for replacing driver's side bulb:
Use your LEFT hand to insert the bulb. I could not hold the bulb straight with my right hand.

12. Pop off the fuse box cover by pulling on the top part up and it comes right off.

13. Now remove the lower green and blue relay's so you have more room for your hand. "yes its ok to turn the car on with them out, but you will get brake and traction light warnings" on the dash lights if you do.

14. Again, take the plastic back of the lamp off with counterclockwise motion... "constant tension" is the biggest key to getting this off! The rubber o ring is large and its a tight fit, but it "will" come with a constant reasonable torque... don't use tools.. only your hand with a rag or gloves. The fins give your hands traction but it cannot take tools without breaking. If you can manage one of your fingers from the other hand for extra power that helps. I also used the part that stuck out near the bottom where the electrical wire hooks up as a good lever for my hand to anchor against while turning.

15. Now you will not be able to get your head in behind this one to see the back of the bulb because the fuse box is in the way no matter how much of a pin head you are!.... so please don't try!... LOL! But a mirror or camera may do the trick.... usually if you have already accomplished the other side and got a view, this side will go ok just with feel.

16. Take the chrome connector off with a counterclockwise "click" and remove the wire keeper.
The rest will be done by feel.... for some reason, I was able to do the drivers side easier by feel than the passenger side.

17. Just note how the wire keeper comes off... maybe take one side of and put it back on a few times to teach yourself how it goes, then do the other side.....Once your convinced its a piece of cake, remove the bulb and replace the bulb as per passenger side instructions.

Yippi, you just saved yourself hundreds and hundreds of dollars and you know how to do it again over the life of your car….. nice!!!

I’m ashamed to say how long this took me so I won’t, but hopefully I can help someone else to streamline this simple operation that I made so complicated.
Sorry for the terminology and I don’t know the real name for all the parts mentioned.

Feel free to email me if you get stumped for suggestions:
Windstrings at gmail.com"