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changing headlight on 2008 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by benk33, Jun 16, 2015.

  1. benk33

    benk33 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2015
    24
    2
    0
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have two questions on changing the driver's side headlight on my 2008 Toyota Prius.

    1. Do I have to turn off/disconnect the battery before doing this? Or as long as I have smartkey off, lights off, car not on is that enough? If I do need to disconnect the battery/etc., how do I do that?

    2. I have seen some tutorials on how to do this, but after I take off the circular black weather-protector cap it is hard to get it far enough out so I can work around in there. There are a couple cables/cords/bands (or something like that) right next to it. Is it risky to try and push it out more or is all that stuff pretty durable so i can pull it out more without worrying about disconnecting stuff?

    Thanks!
    Ben
     
    #1 benk33, Jun 16, 2015
  2. SeanL

    SeanL New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2015
    5
    0
    0
    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I just did a headlight replacement for the first time, also on the driver's side. A few observations:

    - You definitely should remove the fuse box (?) cover to give yourself a little more room to work.
    - It was tough to unscrew the black cap. LOTS of steady pressure was key. But be careful not to push too hard on the fins and damage them.
    - You do not have to disconnect your battery.
    - Once the container is open, it is very simple to detach the thick, silvery cable from the back of the bulb.
    - Make sure you understand how the headlight retention clip works. This is where I screwed up. It is very very difficult to see. So look at it with a mirror, or even take some pictures. DO NOT unclip the bulb without understanding how the clip is positioned. I did a lot of fumbling around and mine ended up popping out and dropping into the car somewhere. I had to buy a replacement online.

    Otherwise, it is a simple and pretty satisfying job. Took me about an hour to do.
     
    #2 SeanL, Jun 17, 2015
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