1/3 Million!!!

Gosh, I feel like my 03 is barely broken in at 147,000. It's lived its life here in the Southern Arizona heat and sun, so one of the previous owners spent some bucks and got a nice, smooth paint job. So mine looks like new.

It runs really well, tho the mileage around town is only about 38 mpg. Previous owner was left on the side of the road at the airport just after he got it, so last spring he cleaned all the buss bars. As far as I know, it's got original batteries. A replacement traction battery is in my future--I'm saving for one. Probably would spring for a package from Toyota at this point--the car is that nice.

 

Did you "clean" or replace the headlight housings?

Do you mind if I ask how much the new windshield cost you? My daughter's Gen1 has a crack that's starting to spread.

 

I have done the headlight restoration pretty successfully on my '03 in addition to other vehicles. You don't really need to buy a kit, though there are "convenience" reasons to do so. It's basically sandpaper and polishing compound, sometimes followed by some protectant.

I did buy a 3M kit (pic below) for convenience (like the drill mounted pad), though in the past I also used a Turtle Wax "human powered" one. If they're really hazy/oxidized you basically start out with like a 500 grit sandpaper and then step down wetsanding until you get to 3000 grit, and then to polishing compound. (If they're not terrible, no need to start all the way down at 500). IIRC the 3m goes from 500 to 800 to 3000. I stuck some 1500 just from an AP store shelf in between the 800 and 3000. So there's nothing in a kit you can't find off the shelf. I was happy to buy the kit (only like $25) and I just now replenish the paper/compound off the shelf as needed.

It's easy and works really well, tho' it is also tedious and time consuming. Patience is a must. I should have taken before/after pics, but don't think I did...

 

On any headlights I've ever done, I've always found I can maintain the lenses well with a simple clean, polish and wax every time I do an oil change - so I just added it to the oil change routine. For the polish I've always used Maguiars Plast-X which actually works great all by itself on really light cases of oxidation. But there are other brands you can buy. It's easy and quick - just basically a scrub down and buff off.

Some people will say to clear coat them after the polishing treatment. IMHO, that's asking for trouble b/c once the clear coat fails your mess is basically impossible. (I could be wrong...) I did come across a youtube thing once about a protectant spray that wasn't a clear coat. Always meant to go research it but still haven't. A polish and wax every 5K miles or so has done fine for me.

 

I use Turtlewax crome polish on the lenses, mild abrasive and does a pretty good job. May try the Plast-X to compare.
TomK