LED license plate mod DIY (Gen II)

First I want to thank Darell (the EV nut) not only for his instructional page, but also for personally helping me figure this mod out. We talked back and forth for over a month! Well I finally gathered up the cojones to do this mod. Boy, it was as rough as everyone warned. Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. I've never felt so much anger and excitement at once.

To pry off the hatch panel, I put my feet up against my garage door to give myself leverage, while I sat in my trunk facing out, and pulled with all my might using gardening gloves. (It mightve looked funny to you if you saw me). I started pulling from the bottom middle. It was the only place I could get my hands in. *Snap snap snap snap*. The panel came off, and while the sounds of the clips was pretty scary, actual removal of the panel was pretty easy. It was time to asses the damage:

When you pull off the panel, the 11 blue clips are supposed to stay on the panel, NOT the metal hatch. For me, 4 of the 11 clips did what they were supposed to. The other 7 stayed attached to the metal hatchback, and expectedly, prying these off was THE BIGGEST PAIN EVER. This is where I spent most of my time. I had to use a metal clip tool I found in my toolbox to pry off these tiny, flush pieces (I'm not sure if it was actually a clip tool but it worked, it looked like a giant apple peeler). I used all my might to fling those suckers out of there, badly scraping the inside metal of my hatch. I actually broke 2 of the clips while trying to pry them out of the metal. And this was the worst part because there was nothing protruding on the plastic clip to use as leverage. I thought I'd be stuck with a nub forever. So I stabbed the clip repeatedly with a screwdriver. Eventually the blue clip loosened and fell out, but it took 10 minutes each time, and all my arm strength. At one point, a blue clip I pried out slipped into the metal in the hatch. I had to use a coat hanger to reach in there to get it out. That took an extra 15 minutes. Like I said, everything seemed to go wrong. But at least now I had all the clip pieces out of the metal like they should have been.

The actual installation of the LED bulbs in the socket was relatively easy. Turn counterclockwise using needle nose pliers and they popped right out. The 5 LED SMD bulbs fit like a charm. Turned on the car/headlights to make sure they worked (these bulbs are polarized so if it doesn't turn on, flip it 180 degrees).

Putting the hatch panel back on was easy too. All I had to do was put the blue clips back on the panel. If you remember, I was minus 2 clips, which I broke. Expecting broken clips, I actually went to my Toyota dealership this evening, before I started the mod and purchased 3 clips a la carte from them ($2.50 each - Part# 90467-10188). You don't have to use all the clips when reinstalling the hatch panel, but I wanted to anyways since I had already purchased them, and didn't want to risk any more rattling in my car!! Anyways, to attach the panel, I just lined it up and banged on it with my fist, imagining where the clips were. *Snap snap snap snap*. The same sound it made when I pulled it off. I was done!

Oh yeah when I stepped inside the house, I realized I had a cut on my hand. Now that I think about it, I think my shoulder's sore too.

By the numbers:
1 cut on my hand
2 broken clips
4 clips that stayed in the panel like they were supposed to
5 dollars that I spent on extra clips
6 different tools I pulled from my tool box to try to pry the clips with
14 bucks spent on the pair of bulbs from Superbrightleds.com
50 minutes it took me to complete this mod

By the way, if one of my bulbs goes out any time I'm going to cry. Thanks for reading!

I'm done!

The panel with all blue clips where they should be.

My 2 mutilated blue clips

 

KK6PD, I think I'm done. I'd already read all the threads about the lights not shooting straight down and did plenty of research on which bulbs to use. The 5 LED works well. The pattern is 4 on each side, one on the top (rendered usless but the 4 others are good). Most of all, I'm happy with the way it looks. It's brighter than it is in the picture. There is more light on the license plate than before. I'm interested to see your barn door modification but probably will leave it as is.

Wick, I actually considered using a drill to break through those clips that were stuck. A little persistence goes a long way though. The caveman method worked fine.

My biggest worry is that any of lights will go out. HID headlights, yellow fogs, or license plate LEDs. All a pain to replace. In fact I'm so scared I'm trying tot to turn on my headlights if it's not dark.

By the way, this is the light I bought. The way it locks in, 2 bulbs actually end up shining at a 45 degree angle, so the light spread is pretty good.

 

KKP6D, thanks for going out of your way for the pic. Hmmm....I noticed that it doesn't make your plate necessarily brighter, it just focuses the light completely on the plate and eliminates any spillage. Unless you use a mirror there is no way to direct the spilled light back on the plate. I think the way mine looks right now is fine. Most light is focused on the plate anyway, and the spread out light accents the car's curves. By the way, which bulb did you use? Was it the same as mine?

Tideland, what do you mean I could've left the clips with the hatch? How do you get the panel on correctly then? Because each clip goes under a piece of the panel, so by not reinserting them correctly they wouldn't snap in right?

BTW, if I knew I couldve left the clips in the hatch this mod wouldve been SUPER EASY. Like I said, everything else was easy. But I wanted to do it right. I literally wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing there were broken clips behind that panel.

 

Correct, you can only slide them in.

If TP doesn't mind me saying so for him, correct again. The other clips aren't actually attached. I asked him the same thing long ago.

Just not a fan of yellowish bulbs. White is cleaner. Plus it is what all the BMWs and Lexus' use now.