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remove headlight assembly Prius v?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by archibald tuttle, Nov 21, 2021.

  1. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    Well, first time in a while i struck out on youtube. no video of somebody taking one of these assemblies out that i could find. there are two obvious high thread bolts into plastic on the top of the assembly and now it lifts up a little once i take those off but no clue where other bolts,or clips are or how to extract it without damaging.

    incredible pia to get the covers and bulbs to twist out and get them reinserted even with the coolant overflow tank loose. (i'm working on the passengers side but want to be able to get these out to change the bulbs. maybe there is a trick to doing it in place but i didn't like the gen 3 and don't like the gen 4 for this. too much stuff under the hood making it difficult to get to these. if the assembly pulls easily that would be fine but i'm having zero luck.

    and taking recommendations for bulb replacements. thanks, brian
     
  2. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    You can't replace the bulbs in the headlight. Its one complete unit that has to be replaced. Might have to remove bumper.
     
  3. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    really? i actually got the highbeam bulb out and unplugged and i havent started looking for another bulb but it looks like it would be a standard item.
     
  4. Tyfly

    Tyfly Member

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    I thought the gen 4 only had a single LED bulb for both the high and low beams. You definitely need to remove at least part of the bumper cover to access the bolts that are underneath. My passenger headlight was replaced under warranty and the dealer told me they had to remove the bumper.
     
  5. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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  6. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    I wonder if that was an intra gen 4 change. i'm certainly early gen 4 (2016 prius V–I assume the front end and headlights are the same on the V as the standard but maybe i'm mistaken?). I'm know LEDs are supposed to last a long time and i don't know if they consider light replacdement to be part of the 'customer satisfiscation' additions to the 10 year 150,00 mile warranty on emissions but i'd be peeved to have to take the bumper off even after 10 years to change headlight. It really bums me out where i have standard headlight bulbs but it appears the body style is the same as your 2017 in the picture so my light assemblies are trapped and there is virtually no room to get the bulbs out. among other impediments there is a strut that runs at an angle from the side frame to the grill frame. It is bolted at the grill frame end but welded on the side. If they had made that removable this would be much less of a problem. If the low beam goes i'm considering cutting the welds and bolting it back in.
     
  7. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    and to hijack my own thread, there are various LED replacements available for these models that come factory with halogen but they appear to be in two formats. One is very similar to the original bulb but has slight additional bulk adjacent to the where the connection is for the plug from the vehicle. I'm concerned that even if this does fit inside the caps on the very back of the assembly that there might be insufficient cooling when it is in such a confined space. There are other LEDS, e.g. that claim to fit as replacements for the factory that have a different form factor than the originals and are so large they clearly will not install and allow the cap to be reinstalled.

    Does the cap really matter since the bulb itself has a seal into the assembly and other than covering the plug i don't see what the purpose of the cap is.
     
  8. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Toyota Prius Prime Headlight Bulb

    They are for Prime, but I had to draw the line somewhere.
    did a search from @CooCooCaChoo link above and dug down into the sub assemblies for part #s
    Even though the headlight bulbs were not listed in that diagram, the headlight computer assemblies 81016(RH) and 81056(LH) were and I was able to find the headlight bulbs from there.

    reposting the link from the post above for the headlight assembly reference

    HEADLAMP. 2019 Toyota Prius Base | Toyota


    a subscript to techstream should help with the Howto removal, but not with the bulb mod.
     
    #8 vvillovv, Nov 22, 2021
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2021
  9. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    apparently led OEM assemblies are an option so gen 4s can have either the factory halogen replaceables or the LED full assembly replacemnt style. the cap on the factory halogen assemblies is to prevent moisture in the assembly, but if the high and low beam chambers are individually sealed by the bulb assembly is this secondary seal redundant or is there air flow within the unit that could allow humidity that enters the back of the assembly if uncapped to impair headlight functionality . . . ? (and as an aside, my rig was previously a taxi and has seen its fair share of scrapes. is there a compound for polishing scratches out of the headlight assembly and/or a clear filler?)

    so some false alarm here. the low beam doesn't have a cap so although it is harder to reach it is actually easier to take the bulb in and out. It is the cap that makes the high beam a PitA . I'm not as worried about converting if the bulbs aren't that hard to change. don't know if the efficiency of the LED actually shows up in operational efficiency or that is just splitting hairs. also apparently if i want to convert to LED on the high beam at least for some available options I have to disable the daytime running lights. is that an option. do i have to have techstream or is there accessible switch/routine to accomplish this without.

    thanks,

    brian
     
  10. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I don't believe that Gen 4 comes with anything other than a sealed LED lamp - unless it changed after 2016.

    upload_2021-11-23_10-29-24.png
     
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  11. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    @archibald tuttle you don't need techstream and it's not always the right tool for Prius mods. It does do an outstanding job at describing howto disassemble, reassemble the car. At least the parts I've had to take apart, especially the tricky hidden parts.
    techinfo.toyota.com 2 day standard subscription $20
     
  12. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    auto parts stores are showing both headlight options in 2016 and 2017. in my case we're talking a Prius V and it depends whether it is a 2, 3, 4 or 5 package. I'm not sure where the break point actually is as to package number but i obviously have one of the lower ones. i'm ambvialent. on the one hand i can replace the bulbs by hand although the high beams are a pain whereas maybe the LEDs would have lasted as long as the car was on the road i would hope . . .
     
  13. archibald tuttle

    archibald tuttle Junior Member

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    i think those 2 day subscriptions used to be more expensive, or is that without techstream access? In particular can I disable the daytime running lights w or w/o techstream? thanks
     
  14. Colorado Boo

    Colorado Boo Active Member

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    Oh man you guys got me worried now! My 2021 Prius headlights seem quite a bit brighter then my wife's 2017 Prius 2 and I'm not seeing low beams for sale for them and the low beam housing is $575 EACH on the Toyota parts website....GULP! I hope these things last a LONG time.
     
  15. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    The 2 day professional subscription is needed to use one of the toyota recommended mongoose or other passthrough cable with the included techstream software. The standard only give access to the printed material.
     
  16. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Ahh - that's a totally different car - I've reported this thread and asked if it can be moved to the PRIUS v FORUM. You'll get relevant answers there.
     
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  17. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    He was talking about a TOTALLY DIFFERENT CAR - not a Gen 4 after all. Relax.
     
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  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    A Prius v with halogen bulbs can be changed in place. Drivers side is no issue other than getting some light on the subject. The trick is remove the bulb with the cable attached and then replace the new bulb without the cable and then insert the cable. The cable is marginally too short but its just long enough using this procedure. Extension cables are available on ebay which might be useful on the high bulb.

    On the passenger side you remove the air snorkel that is in the way first.
     
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