Need help for turn signal replacement, 2019 Prius Prime

the tail light and turn signal assembly is screwed into the rear bumper on the inside of the bumper. The rear bumper has to be removed to replace the light bulbs. It might be possible to replace the bulbs by removing the 5 rear under panels, but if that is possible, it's not easy.
To remove the rear bumper the five under panels need to be removed first, than the two bolts and two plastic clips that can be seen after opining the rear hatch need to be removed. There may also be a pair screws or bolts under the bumper that need to be removed if you didn't get them while removing the 5 underpanel pieces. Than the rest of the bumper is held in place by a clip system along the quarter panel and inner rear wheel well cover.
After the bumper is removed the the light bulbs can be replaced and the bumper and undercovers reinstalled.

Fun times - it is not.

Here are two videos that will help give you a general idea of how to do some parts of the job.
This one is more about replacing the the Primes lower rear light assembly, put also shows a possible easier way of getting at the blinker light bulb from the top without having to remove the bumper. I'm not sure if it will give easier access to the blinker bulb, but only requires having to remove the upper rear tail light assembly. He also show 2 of the 5 rear undercover panels in his video.

this is for a 2016 regular Prius. It shows how to remove the rear bumper. The video shows in much more detail how to remove the upper rear tail light assembly. He also shows how to remove the clips that fasten the rear wheel well liner to the bumper, but it's not really very clear exactly what he's showing unless you have already done the work yourself, unfortunately.

I used a $20 - 2 day standard subscription from techinfo.toyota.com
for the instructions in the repair manual for my 2017 Prime, to replace the lower rear tail light assembly. There might also be an easier step by step set of instructions for replacing the blinker lights in the repair manual !
I'd hope so, anyway !

 

Hello,

Have you solved this problem? I have the Japanese instructional video for removing the rear bumper on our cars. It only requires a plastic splunger tool to do. I could upload it if you still have this issue.

 

Yes, someone hit mine at a parking lot. I only saw it the next day.

I replaced it myself on my 2021 Prius Prime Limited. You need to remove the rear bumper cover.

The procedure is not easy.

Parts needed

• New lamp
• New backup light bulb, as the lamp does not come with it
• Glue

Tools needed

• Screwdrivers and sockets

Procedure

• Remove the bolts in the trunk (left and right corners) after removing the covers on them
• Take pictures of everything under the car so that you know where things go
• Remove all the clips under the car (there are many)
• Remove the clips in the wheel wells
• Remove the black bumper piece (there are bolts)
• Put the black bumper piece on a very soft surface, such as cloth. Never put it on concrete or even cardboard, which will scratch it
• After making sure that all clips are removed, try to peel out the painted bumper cover from sides
  • This part is tricky: It is easy to break the retainer clips, as the bumper does not peel out easily
• Remove the wire harnesses
• Never touch or remove the parking sensors, which will require a $1,000 recalibration!
• Put the painted bumper cover on a very soft surface, such as cloth. Never put it on concrete or even cardboard, which will scratch it
• Put a new backup light bulb in the new lamp
• Replace the lamp, making sure that its clip is aligned properly
• Glue back any detached foam absorbers as necessary
• Reinstallation is difficult, as you need to align various edges
• Having an assistant is highly recommended

If this process sounds overwhelming, which kind of is, take the car to a shop. It requires technical skills. Some people here failed to properly align the bumper cover when reinstalling, as they did not know where all the edges underneath went in.