Replacing Fender Headlight Cover

Does anyone know where can I find a procedure for replacing the plastic headlight cover on a 2005? It's the clear plastic piece that's part of the fender fairing. Is it something that an inexperienced DIYer with tools could do in a few days without ruining the rest of the car?

The passenger side headlight cover has become badly pitted, and is dimming the headlight beam. The pitting is from sand and dirt blown up by all the construction trucks in the five years since Hurricane Katrina.

I'm assuming that if I can get a decent used cover for a reasonable price and put it in myself, I can come out far less than what the Toyota dealer would charge. Though those of you who are skilled with repairing the Prius might tell me that my assumption is all wet, and just let Toyota do it. Thanks

 

Thanks JS, your tutorial made for a informative, and entertaining, read. That said, I've located non-OEM headlights from an e-tailer for about ~$75+s/h per side, including instructions.

However, I was able to restore the lens to near OEM condition with various cleaning agents that did not attack the lens material. So, unless MHP takes a dim (sorry :embarassed view of the beam spread and distance, I'll live with the current state of affairs.

Thanks again....:thumb:

 

Thanks to you and David for your suggestions of Mothers, I'll check it (her?) out along with the YouTube video(s). Even after my obviously sorry attempt at cleaning the lens, I noticed this lens had a much dimmer reflection from pickup tailgates compared to its mate on the other side.

 

Thanks to all of you for your advice, job complete without lens replacement.

Mother's Plastic Polish is not available locally. However, I used BlueMagic Headlight Lens Restorer which has done an excellent job restoring the headlight lenses back to near original condition......:cheer2:

Thanks again for your help, and especially for maintaining the Prius Chat Forums. :rockon:

 

Interesting point, I didn't realize there was a UV coating on the headlight lenses. I wonder why this has not been mentioned earlier, or with other topics? Is there a UV coating on the rear lenses also?