Hello: I have 2010 Prius3 and want to add fog lights as I find the lighting is inadequate sometimes. I am a newbie technically challenged. 1. Can I do it myself? 2. Are there any videos available? 3. Are there any installers in and around Atlanta? How much they charge . Please let me know.
The first thing that should be understood is the purpose of fog lights. They illuminate the road very close to the car, providing almost no additional illumination at a medium distance. This is helpful in very thick fog, rain, or snow to see the road. However at even medium speeds (probably 30mph+) in no or light rain, fog, or snow, fog lights actually worsen your ability to see down the road. At these speeds, you need to see as far down the road as possible, and by putting more light up close, your eyes dilate and this worsens your ability to see down the road where the light is dimmer. 3/4 of car drivers out there don't understand this however, which is why a lot of car manufacturers have really dim fog lights that pretty much cosmetic in purpose only. To help get light down the road, I'd do the following first: 1. Clean, sand, polish, seal, and wax headlights so they are bright, shiny and clear. Tons of youtube and internet tutorials out there. 2. Have headlights aimed to the maximum cutoff height allowed by your state. It's common for headlights to droop a bit after ~5 years. There are shops that can do this, or again youtube tutorials. 3. Use brighter bulbs (Philips XtremeVision, Osram Nightbreaker etc.) I've added fog lights to my 2nd gen. There are similar kits available for the 3rd gen. I would say the difficulty is a bit more difficult than installing a new CD player. I wouldn't recommend it as a first electrical job on a car. However if you've installed a CD player or done other electrical work on a car it can be done. The biggest challenge is usually running the wires from the dash switch through the firewall to underneath the hood. My fog lights mostly get used on dirt roads at night, driving at 10-15mph, where the extra light helps me see rocks and holes to dodge with my tires.
Thanks. My bad that I did not elaborate on the purpose. Yes at slow speeds/rainy days I need some extra light at night. I appreeciate if there are any installers you can recommend in and around atlanta.
Maybe this will help, got a set to install on mine, keep putting it off although it doesn't look too complicated
Thanks. I have see this youtube video. It needs the car to be lifted up and I do not know how I can do this at home. hence asking if anyany one got it done outside
The oem style foglights are pretty bad IMO. They lack any cutoff to limit glare and spray light everywhere. For better lighting I'd recommend upgrading your lowbeam headlight bulbs to H9 or 35w HID. At least with upgraded lowbeams, you'll still have a cutoff on the light that will help mitigate any glare to other drivers around you. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I see thanks. But many people on prius chat seem to be happy with OEM fog lights. I am not an expert hence saying what I see on the forum. Or there any alternatives to these OEM lights? I take your option for upgrading headlight bulbs as one.
I have OEM 3rd gen fog lights, and would say they are useless. Never use them: it is hard to tell if they are off and on, and if, as mentioned above, they are glaring for oncoming drivers, just another good reason not to use them. I would forget about it, get into another project, lol.
For visibility issues while driving in non inclement or non foggy weather, a lowbeam upgrade is the best bang for your buck. People who are happy with the oem foglights are primarily installing them for cosmetic purposes (looks). There is a link in my signature below for the H9 bulb upgrade. There are several threads here about upgrading to and installing HID in the Gen 3 Prius. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
