2010 Prius OEM-quality Fog Light Kit Now Available!

Thanks Danny! You are right! The bolt that shows in the online (BW) instructions at:

http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...at_fog-lamp_install_prius_layout_bw-small.pdf

is the one I ended up using. I remembered your advice about using the BW version vs the color one. My mistake was assuming the BW version that was included in the box was the same as the one I downloaded from the link above. I had them both with me during the install but the bound one that was included in the box was easier to hold so I used that one. They looked the same at first glance, but you are right that they differ in which bolt to use for the relay. I wonder if there are other differences? I'll look at them both again tonight since I want to add some comments that I noted when I did the install. I'll post them here in case they help other folks.

 

How long is the install? If someone remembers, what type of bolts (US or Metric).

I'm considering the kit, but want to be able to install myself w/o too much hassle.

The 'bugs' in the docs seem to have been worked out.

 

OK,
Thanks for the responses guys, I got it working. The issue was the "bridge" that connects the red wire to the brown at the ECU inside the cabin of the car. I removed the bridge, and stripped a small section of both the brown and red wires (the brown toyota wire was actually pretty tough to strip), then carefully put the bridge back in place making sure of a bare-wire connection. the lights came on no sweat.


So, In conclusion, placing the relay and the ground on one bolt (step 6) worked out just fine, assuming the bolt used connects to the metal frame of the car somehow.

-this install was SUPER easy, minimal tools necessary (a rachet wrench set, a couple screwdrivers: flat/phillips, a hanger, black electrical tape). I actually used a straightened hanger to initiate the hole in the engine/cabin rubber gasket and didn't need soap or lube to pull the cabling into the cabin.

- as someone else noted, screwing the lens to the bezel can and should be done before fitting into the car. its a pain to do afterwards, and there doesnt seem to be a good reason to do it this way.

thanks again danny!

 

Would those of you have completed installation comment on how much light they add at night, and where the light pattern falls?

I had a Gen II Touring with fog lights, and they were all but useless. I upgraded the bulbs as far as possible, but in the end they didn't add much. I couldn't get enough adjustment to get much out of them.

By contrast, my 2001 Sebring oem fogs offer noticeably more light straight ahead and also cast light to the right and left of the car ... good for spotting a deer a little sooner.

 

I would say they aren't that bright compared to other fogs I've had. However, they do shine nicely close to the ground and with a wider pattern than the lowbeams which should work well with fog. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any convenient fog to test them in! Since these fogs don't seem to go off with the highbeams, you really light up the world with high, low and fogs on all at the same time! I'm sure it would be absolutely blinding for anyone coming the other direction. I don't intend to leave them on. The best part is that the front of the car looks MUCH better without the ugly plastic covers where fog lights were obviously intended to be installed. I would install them even if I never intended to turn them on. It looks that much better!

 

Hi all. Here are a few notes from my install of the "OEM-quality" fog lights. First of all I have to say that they are really solid quality, i.e. thick lenses, nice plastic, quality harness, and the switch is a perfect fit and match. That said, I was shocked at the flimsy quality of the front bumper cover and the underside panels of the Prius. I love my car but man, I would have paid them a few hundred more for better quality plastics inside and out! I can't imagine the underside panels lasting that long. Hopefully I'm wrong...

Here are a few comments on the install directions:

1. As noted by Danny and just reproduced here for emphasis: it will be slightly more helpful to use the install directions from PC rather than the ones that come with the kit. They are almost the same but you will save yourself at least one difficult step if you download them from here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...at_fog-lamp_install_prius_layout_bw-small.pdf

color version from OP:

http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...le-priuschat_fog_lamp_install_prius_color.pdf

2. In steps 1.0-1.2: There are 12 bolts and 1 plastic rivet for the under bumper cover. Remove these first and remove the cover. There are 6 machine screws toward the rear that thread into the chassis and 6 wood screws towards the front. Remember to put them in the right place when you reinstall them. Then there are two plastic rivets and 3 machine screws in a cover in front of each wheel. Remove these which also removes a plastic piece in front of each wheel. This piece looks like it is either some sort of front mud guard or is intended to break up laminar flow under the car.

3. In step 2.0 you are supposed to remove the harness snaps from the drivers side fog lamp cover. The bottom two snap out easily, but the top one is easier to take off once you remove the cover in step 2.2. After removing the cover you can pinch the retaining clips from behind the snap and then pull it out. Otherwise you risk breaking off the retaining wings of the snap. The passenger side only has the one top harness retaining snap. It is also best removed after the cover is removed.

4. In steps 3.2-3.4, these are just wrong as deltron3030 also pointed out. It is far better to screw the fog lamp to the bezel before installing it in the car (use one of the many included black wood screws for each bezel. Who knows what the other screws are for, they aren't needed). It would be quite difficult to hold the bezel and lamp together, somehow get them snapped into the car and then install the screw as indicated by the instructions. Don't do that. Screw them together first.

5. Steps 4.0-5.4 Involve installing the interior harness, the headlamp interlock, and the on/off switch. I found these steps quite straightforward.

6. Steps 6.0-6.6 Involve pulling the relay actuator cable through the firewall. deltron3030 indicated he had no trouble with this but I had quite a lot of difficulty. The harness boot that you are supposed to feed the 1/4" dia cable through is above and to the right of the steering column boot. It has a premade hole on the interior of the car which feeds into a 1.5" long closed stem in the engine compartment. You need a tool with a sharp point to feed through the hole on the inside boot, through the closed stem in the engine compartment and poke through. However, if you make the hole too small, you'll never get the 1/4" black harness insulation fed through from the engine compartment. I poked through first with a wire hanger and then enlarged the hole with a phillips screw driver. Even then I had to push pretty hard as the rubber is very stretchy and doesn't want to yield. The boot also has a tendency to push through to the engine compartment on one side if you aren't careful. You can pull it back into place fairly easily so don't worry about that too much.

The instructions say to use a clothes hanger (which I did) or other stiff wire and feed it through from the car interior into the engine compartment (through the hole you made) and then bend a hook in the wire. The hook is then supposed to hook the female "bullet" crimp connector in the engine compartment to pull it through to the interior of the car. This is a bad idea as you are then pulling on the stranded cable in the crimp connector as you pull it through. If you are lucky you won't pull off the crimp connector. I did and had to solder it back together, which wasn't a big issue. Instead put the hook beside the 1/4" black insulation and wind the whole bundle tight with electricians tape. I found it essential to lubricate this as per the instructions to get it to slide easily through the firewall boot. deltron3030 said that he got his to pull through without lubricant so YMMV.

7. Step 6.10 seems to be the big difference between the two versions of the instructions floating around. The set included with my kit says to attach the relay under the sideways facing bolt in the metal bracket next to where you install the harness ground lug. This bolt is very awkwardly placed and is difficult to get out and virtually impossible to get back in with the relay under the bolt. It also won't let the relay sit flat or the bolt be fully reinserted. The other version says to put the relay under the bolt holding the fuse box. This worked out much better. deltron3030, I believe, put both the ground lug and the relay under the vertical bolt in the metal bracket next to the fuse box and this also seemed to work well.

A few parting notes:

a. I needed about twice as many cable ties as the 6 included in the kit to secure the harness inside the car, in the engine compartment, and to run the harness under the radiator mount to the passenger side fog light.

b. Make sure you put the wood screws and machine screws in the correct holes when putting the cover under the bumper back on. I started to put a machine screw in the bumper cover before I realized my mistake: the wood screws go in the bumper cover towards the front, and the machine screws go in the chassis towards the rear.

c. The install was very straightforward and took me about 3 hours. One frustrating hour just to pull the harness through the firewall. I think I could do the whole thing again in about an hour.

d. You will need ramps or a lift to do this install. I don't think it is possible to work under the bumper cover with the car on the ground.

I highly recommend this kit. It is very high quality and makes the front of the car look MUCH better!

Here is a finished pic:



And here are some more pics of the install in an album:

PriusChat Forums - Prius42's Album: OEM fog light install

Good luck!

 

My husband just finished installing mine. It took him just about 3 hours. There was some consternation when I told him we don't own any wire clothes hangers but he eventually worked out how to pull the wires through and the lights look great now!

 

just finished my install too, excellent kit, the only thing I did different was I painted the plastic parts black to match the car, hopefully they will not peel from the heat,
the look is nicer for sure,
thanks

 

Picture? What kind of paint did you use?

 

Just finished mine as well.

I forget to soap all of the black tubing so when I pulled the wire through the grommet the white wire broke - doh! Then as I was yanking the rest through I pulled the grommet through the hole - double doh!
The connector bridge gave me some problems too (I liked the T-taps from the illuminated door sills a lot better) but after I pushed the wire in the slots with needle nose pilers they were good to go.

The fog lamps do work with only the parking lights, so that's cool.

I never really stressed about all my goofs because this install was more about aesthetics than function.

 

I used a black matt paint made for plastic that I got from homedepot, I had enough of that grey...
hopefully it will take the heat

 

That paintjob looks great!

 

Nice job!

 

Amazing! Looks really slick.

What type of turn signal bulb do you have? looks good no amber color just clear.

 

I wouldn't be worried about the heat more so than the chips from road debris. For all those having doubts about this kit, trust me, it is an awesome kit. You will not be disappointed and the install in not very hard at all. Just take your time and you will have no problems.

 

thanks guys, I'm real happy how they turned out

the bulbs are Philips Silver Vision bulbs($$), I followed this thead for them and the fog light bulbs

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-parking-lights-rear-license-plate-bulbs.html

 

Danny, I love the everything about the way the kit is put together, except the lights look too recessed. Is there any way to flush mount them?