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Dim headlights

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Holga B, Jan 28, 2021.

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  1. Holga B

    Holga B New Member

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    2009 Prius
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    Hello!

    My 2009 Prius has been a great little workhorse for me, but the headlights have been getting dimmer and dimmer. I have to drive with the brights on now and they're not quite as bright as the normal lights used to be. It's really quite dangerous to drive at night in the country now.

    I have replaced the bulbs in the past year, so I don't think it's that. I took it into my mechanic and he recommended getting a new headlight assembly because the reflective coating inside was wearing away. One of the lights is rather cloudy, but the other isn't. He quoted me $600 to replace them, but since it's an old car, I thought I'd just do it myself with after market parts.

    Questions:
    1) Do you think that a new assembly is the best solution?
    2) If so, what's the best avenue for after market parts? It looks like Amazon sells pairs for as low as $114 for both, but that other auto parts websites are more like $100 per. It's an old car; I don't want to spend that much money, but I also want a solution that will work for a few more years until I upgrade.
     
    #1 Holga B, Jan 28, 2021
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Have you tried a new 12V battery?

    you could clean a cloudy lens with cleaners from an auto parts store
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Jan 28, 2021
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You can probably pick up aftermarket headlight parts for a fairly low price. If the halogen light bulbs are not bright enough (make sure you got the right ones for the car), you can upgrade to LED type bulbs. They have kits where you can change Halogen bulbs to LED and your car will be much brighter. The conversion kit should be considerably less than $600 that was quoted
     
    #3 JC91006, Jan 28, 2021
  4. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Has it already been determined, with 100% certainty, which style headlights are on the car? Halogen or HID?
     
    #4 TMR-JWAP, Jan 28, 2021
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