I changed my bulb without removing the bumper and the entire assembly. I did it by only removing the plastic piece and then reaching behind the bulb to remove the cover and wiring, pulling out the bulb, putting the new one in, re-hooking the wiring and re-covering. It was very TIGHT and some of the stuff I was doing blindly, but it worked. The only advantage of the poster’s method is being able to actually see yourself doing the bulb replacement.
Awesome, if that works for you great! I’m sure there are different ways of doing it, but I know that it took a lot of effort to open the back of the bulb housing (even on the work bench). Just trying to help people out.
Thank you for this video … I tried to replace the passenger side bulb by removing the washer fluid reservoir but I just couldn’t get good enough access. Removing the bumper wasn’t too much of a problem after watching your video. I really appreciate the time you put into this!
Seriously? I chamged my passenger side bulb with a 10mm socket and a 1/8″ drive ratchet. Remove the washer fluid container. A 1/4″ drive ratchet won’t work. the adapter and socket will not fit in the tight space. My hands are normal a bit larger than medium and they fit fine to take the cover off, undo the clip and remove and replace the bulb. First time took me about 45 minutes. Same as driver side. Second time took about 20 minutes. Save time and money.
What bulbs do you recommend for the 09 Prius Touring Model? Yes they’re HID and I noticed you were using something other than the Philips lights others have used.
do not do this! remove the fuse cover on one side and a little air cowl on the other and you can get your hand behind the light and replace the bulbs. Use a mirror to see were the spring clips are because you are working blind. This is for the optional hid bulbs! I don’t know about the standard bulb replacement.have fun!
This looks like alot of work, but it is very instructional. After you watch this video, go to the following: v=G6Ih1CPQUzM and learn how to do the same thing in MUCH LESS TIME. Just did it after watching both, in about 30 minutes for both bulbs.
@bryceeaton1 – Thanks for the Video, Very Clear and Concise, My Left Headlight is doing exactky what you say above to @vvtran3 Going off and coing back on when you turn the switch on/off — Looks like a Major PITA for a Headlight, But at least now I know it’s going to take a few hours instead of minutes. I’ll replace them both. Your Step by Step Video is Outstanding.
@Donny Wankan THIS guy is not a mechanic, THIS guy is a welder who used to own a Prius and the headlights needed changed and it was a pain to figure out how to do it and there were no good resources so I made this video to help other people out. Try it a different way if you’d like…
4300k is the whitest of the HID bulbs, 6000k is a mildly blue color that tends to be the most popular. 3000k is yellowish. Anything higher than 6000k gets blue-er then purple-er.
Bought mine at xenonsupply (.com)
try highperformancebulbs , that’s where I found them the cheapest (they are still pricy) also, pay close attention to the color of the bulbs (ex. 4300k, 6000k etc.) The lower the number the more yellow the light will appear, the higher the number the more blue/purple the light will appear. Just because it is more blue, doesn’t mean it’s brighter. I chose 6000K as I thought they were closest to pure white. I think pure white is 5000 or 5500K. I think the 4300k is yellowish.
Thanks Bryceeaton1 for your quick reply. Your video is awesomely clear ! you made things easy ! I bought my 07 prius used 3mos ago for my daughter so kinda new to the prius things ! anyway, I checked out some other conversations in the web and found that it’s a pretty widespread problem. Now I know ! I’m gonna order a pair of HIDs from amazon to replace them both. Again, I appreciate your help ! Thanks so much.
That’s exactly what it is, the headlight bulb going bad. HID are not like traditional bulbs where they are burnt out when they are bad. HID will just shut off. If you turn the headlights off then right back on, the light will illuminate again. It’s time to change those bulbs, and you are right, it is a pain. I had both go out about the same time once going down the road… good thing I have fog lights! Good luck changing those bulbs!
excellent quality, clear instructions. maybe I’m going to do this but what a PITA for a headlamp ! my 2007 prius headlamp sometimes turned off by itself but I could not duplicate it when I wanted. Any ideas ? Thank you all !
My 2007 Prius has bulbs and connectors that look completely different from these. Mine has fatter bulbs with three pins. Is the procedure the same for this variation.
If we had known that everything on the Prius was so hard to replace, we would have eaten the 15 mpg and bought a Focus!
Wow, what a pain, just had a headlight go out. My wife has a 2007 Toyota Highlander and I replaced both headlight bulbs in about 3 minutes without disassembling anything. I expected the same for my 2007 Prius. Oh well, either waste my time or my money….
THe problem with the girly hands method is you pretty much cannot do it without touching the bulb or rubbing the bulb on some dirt or grease under the hood, so your bulbs will burn out in 6 months. BTDT… three times! The third time I coughed up the $100 to have the dealer take it apart and do the “proper” way. But, it is ridiculous that Toyota designed a car like this. Love my prius in most every other way, but I am PO-ed about the headlights. So stupid!
This video was perfect! I have a 2005 Prius, so the undercarriage plastic was a bit different, but all the instructions still applied nonetheless, and I pulled off replacement of both headlights in just about three hours, without a hitch. My hands are far too big to have done this any other way, and as a matter of fact, the left headlight cover was so tight, it took all of my might with both hands, holding the headlight assembly between my knees to budge it loose. I’m 6’4″ and 215 lbs.
Your view of the clips on the rear of the headlight just saved me a bunch of work. I did one of the shorter methods (the girly hand method), but couldn’t get the clip right.
Thanks
Wow, this was perfect. This is my first time fixing my car by myself and this made it a breeze. You just saved me $130 in labor from the local service center. I swear they make cars more complicated now so you can’t do this on your own. I had the same problem with my old Nissan, you had to take the car apart to change the headlights.
Was very helpful. Was useful in conjunction with “Pulling Prius Headlight Assembly in under 5 minutes” video in replacing HID light. Originally tried doing it w/o removing bumper cover but round cover was TIGHT, didn’t have much room and accidentally detached spring clip. So, I had to partly pull bumper cover to remove the assembly, put back on the clip and and do the rest.
I’m about to do it using the method without removal of the headlight assembly, not this method. However, clearly seeing in this video the alignment of the bulb and the working of the clip will probably be very valuable. If I don’t post again, it worked!
Oh and I only spent $50 and got much better 6000k lights. I like them much much better than the 4300k ones. FYI my $25 per bulb lights look better built than the factory lights. Go figure.
The Toyota dealership wanted $550 to replace my lights. They quoted me 2 hours of labor. I watched this video, installed my lights and had lunch in less 2 hours. Thanks Bryce! Shame on you Toyota overcharging to fix your defect!.
Oh my God bryceeaton. This is a freaking amazing video. For people like me who want to retrofit a projector into the headlights.. this is an awesome tutorial on getting that headlight housing out to replace. Super thumbs up yo!
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I changed my bulb without removing the bumper and the entire assembly. I did it by only removing the plastic piece and then reaching behind the bulb to remove the cover and wiring, pulling out the bulb, putting the new one in, re-hooking the wiring and re-covering. It was very TIGHT and some of the stuff I was doing blindly, but it worked. The only advantage of the poster’s method is being able to actually see yourself doing the bulb replacement.
I would like to slap the designer of this system! What a bunch of crap to change 1 stinking bulb! Thanks for the video, it really helped. 🙂
Who makes 1/8″ ratchets?
Awesome, if that works for you great! I’m sure there are different ways of doing it, but I know that it took a lot of effort to open the back of the bulb housing (even on the work bench). Just trying to help people out.
I do recommend the Philips D4R (6000K if you have a choice) high performance bulbs is where i got mine from. The ones I used burnt out pretty quick.
Thank you for this video … I tried to replace the passenger side bulb by removing the washer fluid reservoir but I just couldn’t get good enough access. Removing the bumper wasn’t too much of a problem after watching your video. I really appreciate the time you put into this!
Seriously? I chamged my passenger side bulb with a 10mm socket and a 1/8″ drive ratchet. Remove the washer fluid container. A 1/4″ drive ratchet won’t work. the adapter and socket will not fit in the tight space. My hands are normal a bit larger than medium and they fit fine to take the cover off, undo the clip and remove and replace the bulb. First time took me about 45 minutes. Same as driver side. Second time took about 20 minutes. Save time and money.
What bulbs do you recommend for the 09 Prius Touring Model? Yes they’re HID and I noticed you were using something other than the Philips lights others have used.
do not do this! remove the fuse cover on one side and a little air cowl on the other and you can get your hand behind the light and replace the bulbs. Use a mirror to see were the spring clips are because you are working blind. This is for the optional hid bulbs! I don’t know about the standard bulb replacement.have fun!
This looks like alot of work, but it is very instructional. After you watch this video, go to the following: v=G6Ih1CPQUzM and learn how to do the same thing in MUCH LESS TIME. Just did it after watching both, in about 30 minutes for both bulbs.
@bryceeaton1 – Thanks for the Video, Very Clear and Concise, My Left Headlight is doing exactky what you say above to @vvtran3 Going off and coing back on when you turn the switch on/off — Looks like a Major PITA for a Headlight, But at least now I know it’s going to take a few hours instead of minutes. I’ll replace them both. Your Step by Step Video is Outstanding.
@Donny Wankan THIS guy is not a mechanic, THIS guy is a welder who used to own a Prius and the headlights needed changed and it was a pain to figure out how to do it and there were no good resources so I made this video to help other people out. Try it a different way if you’d like…
This is absurd. I have to take the car apart to replace a bulb? I’m thinking this guy is a mechanic who wants people to pay him to do this for them.
It really sucks that they engineered it to be such a pain to change the bulb
4300k is the whitest of the HID bulbs, 6000k is a mildly blue color that tends to be the most popular. 3000k is yellowish. Anything higher than 6000k gets blue-er then purple-er.
Bought mine at xenonsupply (.com)
Thanks for the advice. When I removed the headlight, the rear did not look the same as in the video, but the video was nevertheless helpful.
try highperformancebulbs , that’s where I found them the cheapest (they are still pricy) also, pay close attention to the color of the bulbs (ex. 4300k, 6000k etc.) The lower the number the more yellow the light will appear, the higher the number the more blue/purple the light will appear. Just because it is more blue, doesn’t mean it’s brighter. I chose 6000K as I thought they were closest to pure white. I think pure white is 5000 or 5500K. I think the 4300k is yellowish.
Thanks Bryceeaton1 for your quick reply. Your video is awesomely clear ! you made things easy ! I bought my 07 prius used 3mos ago for my daughter so kinda new to the prius things ! anyway, I checked out some other conversations in the web and found that it’s a pretty widespread problem. Now I know ! I’m gonna order a pair of HIDs from amazon to replace them both. Again, I appreciate your help ! Thanks so much.
That’s exactly what it is, the headlight bulb going bad. HID are not like traditional bulbs where they are burnt out when they are bad. HID will just shut off. If you turn the headlights off then right back on, the light will illuminate again. It’s time to change those bulbs, and you are right, it is a pain. I had both go out about the same time once going down the road… good thing I have fog lights! Good luck changing those bulbs!
actually only the passenger side shut off by itself ! the driver side is not a problem !
excellent quality, clear instructions. maybe I’m going to do this but what a PITA for a headlamp ! my 2007 prius headlamp sometimes turned off by itself but I could not duplicate it when I wanted. Any ideas ? Thank you all !
Thanks a ton! (my, that was fast!)
i honestly don’t know, I would say those are non-HID bulbs. I would say the procedure is completely different.
My 2007 Prius has bulbs and connectors that look completely different from these. Mine has fatter bulbs with three pins. Is the procedure the same for this variation.
If we had known that everything on the Prius was so hard to replace, we would have eaten the 15 mpg and bought a Focus!
Thank you for posting this. It really helped!
Wow, what a pain, just had a headlight go out. My wife has a 2007 Toyota Highlander and I replaced both headlight bulbs in about 3 minutes without disassembling anything. I expected the same for my 2007 Prius. Oh well, either waste my time or my money….
THe problem with the girly hands method is you pretty much cannot do it without touching the bulb or rubbing the bulb on some dirt or grease under the hood, so your bulbs will burn out in 6 months. BTDT… three times! The third time I coughed up the $100 to have the dealer take it apart and do the “proper” way. But, it is ridiculous that Toyota designed a car like this. Love my prius in most every other way, but I am PO-ed about the headlights. So stupid!
This video was perfect! I have a 2005 Prius, so the undercarriage plastic was a bit different, but all the instructions still applied nonetheless, and I pulled off replacement of both headlights in just about three hours, without a hitch. My hands are far too big to have done this any other way, and as a matter of fact, the left headlight cover was so tight, it took all of my might with both hands, holding the headlight assembly between my knees to budge it loose. I’m 6’4″ and 215 lbs.
glad to be of help
Your view of the clips on the rear of the headlight just saved me a bunch of work. I did one of the shorter methods (the girly hand method), but couldn’t get the clip right.
Thanks
The lame thing is that this isn’t a defect. They make it complicated so you can’t do it yourself. It is like this on most new cars.
Wow, this was perfect. This is my first time fixing my car by myself and this made it a breeze. You just saved me $130 in labor from the local service center. I swear they make cars more complicated now so you can’t do this on your own. I had the same problem with my old Nissan, you had to take the car apart to change the headlights.
Was very helpful. Was useful in conjunction with “Pulling Prius Headlight Assembly in under 5 minutes” video in replacing HID light. Originally tried doing it w/o removing bumper cover but round cover was TIGHT, didn’t have much room and accidentally detached spring clip. So, I had to partly pull bumper cover to remove the assembly, put back on the clip and and do the rest.
I’m about to do it using the method without removal of the headlight assembly, not this method. However, clearly seeing in this video the alignment of the bulb and the working of the clip will probably be very valuable. If I don’t post again, it worked!
Wow that is very detailed for a bulb change.
Oh and I only spent $50 and got much better 6000k lights. I like them much much better than the 4300k ones. FYI my $25 per bulb lights look better built than the factory lights. Go figure.
The Toyota dealership wanted $550 to replace my lights. They quoted me 2 hours of labor. I watched this video, installed my lights and had lunch in less 2 hours. Thanks Bryce! Shame on you Toyota overcharging to fix your defect!.
Oh my God bryceeaton. This is a freaking amazing video. For people like me who want to retrofit a projector into the headlights.. this is an awesome tutorial on getting that headlight housing out to replace. Super thumbs up yo!