Help, we have a Military PCS to Belgium and need REAR fog lights on PriusV

It may be helpful to have info from Germany, I know is very easy to certify everything there.
Many Italian chopper producer certify their bikes in Germany, then they follow an import procedure that is easier and cheaper than a certification.
Belgium is near...

 

You could wire one up to a switch and drill a hole into the bumper about the same size as one of these.

You could also just tap it into another wire for the headlights or something in the hatch area so it stays on when your lights are on unless there is a some law against running fogs in clear weather but I see Mercedes' and Audi's rollin around with their rear fogs on all the time looking like brake lights.

Or there is a write up on the FRS forums on someone that's done it to his FRS. DIY Rear foglight - Scion FR-S Forum | Subaru BRZ Forum | Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum | AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB
Susquehanna MotorSports - Auto Performance Product

 

You have to make sure it is correctly positioned. Full details of these requirements will no doubt be available when he arrives. Do it wrong before hand and you'll end up wasting your time and have to refit it.

It is also highly illegal to have your rear fog light on when it isn't foggy or the visibility seriously reduced (less than 50 yards). Surprisingly it is called a rear FOG light because it is to be used when it is foggy. Dazzle other drivers because you use it in other conditions and expect to be stopped by an angry policeman.

 

I wouldn't stress too much about immediacy of the problem. No one will know you don't have the rear fog lights unless you are driving in the fog. Plenty of time to get that sorted out when you are over there and settled in. Likely a thriving local biz in around the base in retrofitting rear fog lights.

 

I would caution against giving advice if you don't have first-hand knowledge about the issues. Bottom line, I am currently on military orders in Europe and can tell you from FIRST-HAND experience that your vehicle will need to be in full compliance with the base and host nation regulations before you will be allowed to register and operate your vehicle in that nation. In order to operate our vehicle in England, we were required to have a rear fog light as well as side-markers (turn signals) installed in order for it to pass inspection. Prior to our PCS I contacted the base we were moving to and obtained all guidance and subsequently had these items installed prior to shipping our vehicle. When I arrived our vehicle easily passed inspection ... was a significant relief to us. There also weren't any local businesses that specialized in this work ... personnel who arrived without the required equipment on their vehicles were relegated to having the work done by the local mechanic.

With this being said, I highly recommend you contact this base and determine the best course of action.

 

Which seems the best course of action as finding US mechanic who has parts and installation expertise to meet and certify compliance with Belgium regs is likely remote and even if they said they did, if vehicle fails one, would still need to hire local to fix.

 

Nobody will know? Other than the fact that the lights are not there. Believe me, you will get stopped to have your lights checked, especially if you have an unusual car. The fact that it isn't foggy doesn't wash in the same way that having a headlamp bulb out during the day doesn't. French police for instance will require you to have a full bulb replacement kit, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, breathaliser kit and a fluorescent jacket for each passenger in the car. Fail to have these when stopped and expect a large on the spot cash fine. Fail to pay and expect a free trip to the local cop shop.

There is also unlikely to be a local business retrofitting fog lights as they have been a legal requirement since about 1981 and were fitted as an option prior to this. The local base advice is clear. They will know the contacts of where to go and who will fit them, but fit them you will. You will also be required to fit a front license plate matching the local legislations. Sticking one in the front windshield will not suffice.

 

Is the Prius unusual in Belgium?

I would not trust a US dealership to have the EU compliant equipment. And if not done right, you have the fines and no recourse to have it fixed. Best do it in the EU by people who know what they are doing.

There you go. Find out who does it locally and get it done right.

 

The Prius isn't, well other than the fact that Japanese and/or petrol cars are not a big seller in many mainland European countries, but also the Prius V would be as it isn't sold in Europe full stop.

 

I ran into this issue with my 01 Mitsubishi Eclipse with my PCS to England. What most people wound up doing was very simple. Anyone with basic wiring knowledge can do it. Go to Radio Shack and purchase a simple rocker type switch and some wire. Then source a simple rectangular box type light housing to hang from your rear bumper. You can connect the fog light power wire in line with your parking lights in the rear, so it only has power to the switch when you have your parking lights on. Lets face it, when it gets increadibly foggy out there (and it does), you will have some sort of lights already on.

You shouldnt have to comply with this before you leave. There are plenty of places around the area that can hook you up. Im new to the Prius world, but if they have these cars in the UK or even Europe for that matter, the fog light will be wired up into a tail light housing from the factory. If you can source those tail lights, then you wont have any ugly red box hanging from the rear of your car.

What I had to do with my Eclipse to meet UK standard was a bit more extensive. I had to rewire my turn signals from their normal location to the clear reverse lights, so I could utilize those bulbs. (The original tail light housings for my car were solid red, and red for turn signals was a no-no. In the UK only clear or amber are a go.) After I relocated my turn signals, I wired in a switch, as I said above, to one of the old turn signal bulbs, which kept it on solid. Bam, there is my red fog light. You may be thinking what happened to my reverse lights... I wired in electrical diodes so that I can still use them as back up lights AND turn signals. If you dont use diodes, and you use the reverse lights as a turn signal, you will energize the entire reverse light circuit with the turn signal power, and you will get a hazard light result...

I hope my rambling helped some. Sorry! I am at work and my attention is slightly drawn from the computer.

 

And I'll quickly add that when you wired up your reverse lights to turn signals you'll have used those orange bulbs as a white bulb can't be used. We allow amber or clear lenses but not the red lens. Also, a red turn signal light can fall within the brightness requirements of a rear fog so is an ideal quick fix.

Maybe the op should just buy one Euro style rear light cluster which includes the rear fog light for his stay and then sell the unit when he heads back home? That's assuming the Prius V and Prius+ use the same size rear lights?

Oh and fog lights (including the rear) must only be used with your headlights, so wiring them in as KartBoy suggests might be handy. Just remember to turn them off when it's not foggy or expect a fine (or road rage from the guy behind you who you're blinding!). On the Euro spec Prius, the rear fog light switch will return to the off setting automatically once you turn the lights off, so that you don't forget.

It is also etiquette to turn off the rear fog when a car is following close behind you. The whole idea of the rear fog is to protect your back end in severe fog (not mist) and once a car knows you are there, you don't want to dazzle them and run the risk of them not seeing your brake lights. If I'm honest, the rear fog causes more issues than it solves and we no longer get the really foggy days where they're needed either.