2007 toyota prius headlights

Make sure you get genuine Osram or Phillips bulbs though. There are many many many knockoffs running around (some even with Phillips/Osram printed on the base, but are not genuine). Bad bulbs heat up more, can have a bad focal length, and lots more. You can still get genuine bulbs for around $100USD.

 

Finally did mine myself after the weather warmed up. Against conventional wisdom, I did the driver side first, and I have to say, that side took less than ten minutes [yes, I was encouraged by the 3 minute change on youtube]. The toughest part was unscrewing the cover. I was only able to do it by using a pair of 'sticky' two layer nitrile/latex gloves to get a good enough grip. I also found out that rocking it back an forth [i..e, trying to unscrew it just a tiny bit, then screwing it back, then unscrewing, repeat till open] seemed to make it easier -- perhaps distributing some lube that was used when it was assembled? Yes, the two metal spring wire retainers are tricky, but if you unhook one side, keep your finger on the spring end under tension, and immediately re-hook it, you can kind of practice what it feels like to get it right. I did that on each spring once or twice, keeping the other side locked till I felt good about it -- then unlocked both. Getting it back together was easy, with the only other part removed having been the relay/fuse cover lid.

The passenger side was much harder. The front black plastic over the grill and the air snorkel came out easy, but the washer canister did not. The nut holding the back end of the washer in place almost felt like it was stripped when it was first installed -- I nearly buggered the head taking it off [I chased the threads before putting it back]. I also found it quite difficult to maneuver the tank out past the AC line [I think it's the AC line...]. Bottom line, the passenger side took me somewhat over a half hour -- mostly dealing with getting the washer canister out then back in.

The result seems fine -- no wink-out so far -- but the weather has been warm [it was my driver side that was winking out -- and it seemed more frequent the colder it was]. My only slightly bothersome point is that the low-beam light pattern seems slightly different than before. Probably not enough to affect inspection, and nobody is flashing at me, but it is just ever so slightly different than before. I guess I'm just spoiled by those silly old headlights that just had silly old screws to point them just where I wanted...

 

I purchased this from Amazon (Philis D4R Xenon HID Headlight Bulb):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B00480J4J6?tag=priuschatcom-20 now it is $50.88. They seem a little brighter than the original bulbs from Toyota.
Someone installed them for free. It took him a while to get the back covers off each of them. Turns out, one of the bulbs was bad, so I had to return them and order another (did not cost any money to return them - Amazon provided the return postage (UPS)).
The defective bulb would have the high beam on all the time. The new replacement one works fine.

 

I'm not sure that the bulb was defective. On the HID system on Priuses, there is no high/low setting for the bulb. There's only a single brightness and there's some mechanism that moves forward and back to change the light pattern. Perhaps it wasn't installed the bulb in the proper orientation?

 

I know this thread is a year old, I was doing my best to search for an answer:

2007 Prius in NY State with 63,000 miles, I have not noticed intermittent failure, but that does not mean it has not been happening. My passenger side headlight is out when I have it on the "low" function, when I use the "bright" function the headlight comes on. Does this sound like the bulb or something else? Not looking to spend $60 for a new bulb if that's not the cause... Thanks!

 

Simple question, do you have HID lights? On halogens, there are actually 2 filaments inside the bulb. The high beams ("brights") use a different coil of tungsten than the low beams. So it is possible to have working highs and inoperable lows.

The HID setup however the light is on all the time and the bulb moves back and forth. So it should not be possible to only have light with the high beams on unless there is a serious wiring issue. If these are stock, then I would say that is impossible without some sort of poor repair work done between the car being built and now.

 

That's a good question, when I called Toyota they quoted me $150 for the bulb itself which led me to believe they are HID. However, from another thread on here I know the car is not a touring edition, so I am unsure if the 2007 came stock with HID or not.

 

Are your lights yellow-ish, or white-ish?

 

Whiteish

 

Only the Touring trim came with HIDs. If you have Fog lights in the grill then you probably have a Touring edition and HIDs.

 

I don't see any fog lights!

 

Based on the 15 inch wheels I would say you car uses a standard 9003 bulb that you can get at any auto parts store. I suggest you use the search function of Priuschat to find detailed instructions on replacement. You will need to remove some parts to get access. But, not the bumper that the dealer says needs to be removed. I have replaced the right side bulb twice on the wife's 2008 and just bought another pack of bulbs for when the drivers side fails.

 

Much appreciated!

 

Interesting...

Agreed.

When you say your output is whitish though, it sounds like you or someone else might have put in the "ultra brights" or white halogens, sometimes they have blue tips even. These burn up faster but make more light than standard halogens.

You can do it by feel if you are good without removing anything. But my big hands finds it easier to take the headlight assembly itself off and put it in that way. You don't have to remove the bumper, but I like to pull it out and dangle it by the bottom bits to see the third hidden bolt. Takes a little longer, but to me it is worth it because it is so easy. And those black rubber seals on the back can be a PITA to get off if you can't see what you are doing.

 

Just changed out my HID bulbs with Maxlux 2for $50. We'll see how they do. Please note that the bar on the HID bulb has to face down or 6 o'clock. I put it in at 3 o'clock position and couldnt get the brights to work. Emailed maxlux and they informed me of my mistake. I did take the whole black apron off over the radiator and suggest doing so contrary to some videos. I did not remove the washer fluid container. I did not remove the bumper. I do not have big meathooks for hands and that helped. You have to really work the bulb cover off and manipulate it to get it out of the way. I used an iPhone to take pictures of what I couldnt see and it made removing and reconnecting the metal clamps easier.

 

I bought the car used with about 36k on it, now has 64kish, first time with headlight issues. Not sure what the owner before my did, but it is definitely white-ish I drove home from work tonight with the brights on so I didn't have a headlight out lol.

 

No, that is not correct. For 2007, both non-touring and touring versions of the Prius came equipped with HID headlights. It was a function of which option package the car was equipped as (e.g. Package 5 and Package 6 came with HID). My car is a non touring (15" wheels) Package 6 and has the HID headlights. The comment about the fog lights is correct; the HID headlights and (barely functional) fog lights were offered together, so if you have factory fog lights, you also have HID headlights.

 

Dealer wanted to charge my husband and I $1300 - $1400 to replace bulbs