Prius C Shift Lever Light

Due to the high labor cost (even DIY) of changing incandescent bulbs inside the dash, I'd replace them only with LEDs. LEDs should have a far longer life expectancy, unless the lamp manufacturer has lousy quality control.

My late 20th Century Subaru had one internal lamp go out within its first couple years. Since there were plenty more to potentially fail, I refused to replace them just one at a time. Some years later (I kept it 17 years, which was significantly less than two other household cars) with 3 lamps dead, I finally dug in to it -- just once! -- and replaced them with LED units.

 

I very much agree with Fuzzy1, LEDs last longer and are far more efficient. I don't even remember last time I bought an incandescent bulb...

 

I took it for the team lol. The extensive labor to get to the bulb was what cost it. They also guaranteed correct installations and 1 year warranty for parts and labor. They had to take many parts off to get to it. It was insane when they showed me how many parts had to be dismantled to get to it. There were parts that they can't reuse to reattach (specific clips) and that is part of the bulb replacement so they need new clips. I ended up getting charged just the labor and part. It took them 2 hours to get in and replace it. At $63/hr for labor (not including diagnostic time) compared to most shops here in Portland I got a deal esp since it was at a dealer and I had them made sure it wasn't an electronic issue with a full system diagnostic. Most shops here have $70/hr for labor not including shop costs. I looked around.


I asked him about LED and looked into LED and they would have to do some system alterations for the LED to work which would have cost about $300 of modifications so I was like no thank you.


Also all the shops I spoke to said that was a dealer only repair due to synergy drive and they couldn't replace/repair.

 

But hey at least now we have an answer lol. Aren't you glad you now know what's the problem now? I'm happy that I took her to the dealer with a 1 year warranty for the issue and even more so that I know for sure what the issue was. Peace of mind is priceless in my opinion so totally worth the lack of anxiety now.

 

Btw I just did this today heads up. I'll keep you posted if it changes/had any issues in the next month or so.

 

Sounds like you got good service there.
But that part of the answer is ridiculous.
IF an LED exists with that same base configuration and the same voltage rating, it should be "plug and play".

I wonder exactly what they think would need to be "modified" ??

 

I agree with Sam Spade 2, I didn't buy the part where it had to be modified to accept an LED bulb, it could be true, but it's highly unlikely. Dealers are known for saying the dumbest things, lets not forget most of their profits come from regular maintenance and post-warranty service.

 

Needing to modify an LED unit, probably means they were looking at only one or a few models, not looking around enough for existing product offerings.

The LEDs I put into my Subaru were tiny, and didn't have the internal diodes to make them bipolar, so I had to probe around with an ohmmeter to find the correct polarity for installing them.

These wedge bulbs are larger, so bipolar units should be available. Many installations don't need omnidirectional emitters, so compact side or end emitting LED lamps could be selected for each location.

 

Apparently there are laws regarding brightness allowed inside the cabin for example you're not supposed to have your dome lights on while you're driving. So they have to ensure that the LEDs are a specific lumen output or something. They also have to be careful because I guess the current running through it or something I didn't understand all the stuff that was going on but after I talked to my boyfriend and my father and mechanic next door neighbor Gabe they all said yeah just like the dealer said that you'll need to do some modifications based on the fit, brightness, wiring load (can't remember the actual term Gabe said) and fuse accommodations needed and the cost of labor to do that they all said $300 was cheap.

Mind you this is the dealer where I bought her. I was first in the Portland metro area to buy a Prius C and she was coming home to get this electrical thing checked out. They always pamper me with extra stuff when I go there. I get $150 certificate too when I go there pretty much every time which is hilarious to me. I guess it's like a toot toot for them when she comes in. They point her out to other customers when she comes in.


$300 is including diagnostic test to ensure its functional, rewiring, lumen tests, fuse accommodations if needed, labor, parts, shop fees and disposal of incandescent waste. Portland has some wierd laws with waste stuff.

 

Don't forget it was 2hrs just to get in and out of to replace with a normal bulb....

 

Meet my babe, Zoomie, and her many tattoos. I'm a nanny so I'm not a fan of those cling sun shields so I got some fan-wraps.

 

It's a multi-purpose standard 194 bulb used in many interior lamps like doors, license plate and map lights. Rather than replacing it with another incandescent bulb with a tungsten filament that gives off a yellow light, I'd replace it with an LED equivalent that is brighter and whiter.

My husband and I have had good result with these on my Prius and he; in his Nissan Versa Note.

 

That's pretty cool and all but I don't have the tools or know how to do it. I'm not willing to somehow screw up so I took her to the dealer and am very happy with my choice to do so. Peace of mind is priceless especially as a nanny with the 3 kids zooming all over town in my little Zoomie on adventures up to the hills to go hiking or snowshoeing.

 

At the end of the day I paid for it to be fixed with a warranty, guaranteed parts, peace of mind and you guys get the benefits of knowing what was going on. I'm really glad that we are all sharing opinions and solutions. The big question is now are you going to fix it yourself or have someone else do it for you....


Mind you my $140 covered the parts, labor and full system diag to make sure that nothing else was up that could cause it/other issues.

 

Translation: they are unfamiliar with LEDs and are not interested in learning.

Wiring and fuse accommodation? Nope, not at all. Proper LED choices will draw less current, so no wiring or fuse changes are needed.

Modifications based on fit? That was long ago, when few finished lamp products were available and hobbyists were fitting raw LEDS or early lamps to their needs. Now, one just needs to sort through the product offerings to find the right plug-and-play fit and desired brightness (or reduced current, if that is the goal). This product search might be the time consuming part.

I haven't looked at the market since fitting my 2012 Prius, then just used the same items for the household's later 2014 Subaru. But product selection keeps expanding, almost everything should be covered now.

Labor to dig into the dash to replace these lamps is still large, but is no different for LEDs than for the factory incandescents.

 

At the end of the day, I'm happy I paid what I paid. I can't do the work myself so I paid someone who could.

 

Sorry,

I misquoted. The LED will not work. I have a Prius C shifter and found the bulb. It is smaller than the 194 and has a green plastic cover. The console of the car must be removed and the top cover of the shifter snapped off with plastic tabs. The lamp pulls out of the socket. It's not a difficult job, but it's time consuming and labor intensive.

 

Actually, not as bad as I thought. The cover over the shifter, #9 can be removed independent of the whole console to remove the shifter top cover over the bulb. It is held on by clips.

 

My issue was the desire to pay that price only once. I knew that for as long as my household keeps cars, that old Subaru would turn into a repeat offender without LEDs. And it did, blowing three different bulbs in the same dash assembly before I finally dug in to replace them.

 

It's a T5 wedge bulb that's why it's smaller than the 194 bulb. I work for a shop and we use T5's all the time when we replace dash or accessory bulbs. You can buy them in any color you want on ebay. Cheat sheet:

*194/168 bulb is a T10 bulb.
*2721/5050 bulb is a T5 bulb.