I'm in Thousand Oaks, CA and want to find someone nearby who is good with Prius (not Toyota) I have a 2005 with 118,000 miles
You can do it yourself in less than 15 minutes... There are lots of videos about how to do it on You Tube... Here's a list of 'em: luscious garage prius headlight replacement - YouTube
IIRC, in my manual, the directions are only for halogens. For HIDs, IIRC, it says the go to the dealer.
This is the kinda thing someone who likes to see Toyota stealerships rip people off would say... I mean if you can't figure out how to replace a simple headlight bulb you certainly aren't gonna figure out when a dishonest mechanic tries to rip you off. Making needless expensive repairs to earn some quick extra cash is dangerous, but for safety's sake, you can usually get away with that kind of risk if the customer doesn't know how to change their own light bulb.
Do you have HIDs? I do. HIDs have high voltage associated w/them which is probably why Toyota wants people to go to a dealer but not for halogens. HIDs on the Gen 2 Prius also are different around the back than halogens. IIRC, on halogens, there's some rubber boot that doesn't exist on HIDs. I believe halogens are much more easily replaced on the Gen 2 Prius than HIDs as well.
I have very little patience with people who choose fear over choosing to further develop/refine their mechanical repair abilities... The more you read and learn and figure out how to DIY the less intimidated, less easily ripped off you'll be. High voltage lights and high voltage batteries can be dangerous but as long as you read/study thoroughly it's perfectly safe. After all for almost a decade now PriusChat has helped Prius owners keep millions and millions of dollars out of the pockets of the stealerships who overcharge for parts and repairs. We're a DIY community helping DIYers... Of course some think PriusChat is just a fan club of brand new car owners who want advice on if they should spend $2k on an extended warranty, which is for sure the dumbest thing you can spend your money on...
Sure, but I just confirmed it myself on http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47520U/pdf/8-3.pdf page 418 for HIDs: For me, changing my failed HID bulb (past the 5 year/50K mile warranty extension) which I thought would take me an hour turned into lots of swearing and multiple hours because the clip came off, which I couldn't get back on w/o being able to see and w/so little room. So, I had to remove the front bumper cover since had no luck in removing the washer tank to make room. When the driver's side bulb goes, I'm debating what to do... maybe I should attempt it in the morning and if I fail, I'll drive up to Luscious Garage and make it a SF day trip. Carolyn there obviously can change them quickly w/o removing the bumper cover and also can quickly remove the bumper cover.
I have replaced both of my headlights. Initially, I bought replacement bulbs on EBAY for about$25 each. In both cases, they failed after about month and began to work intermittently. I finally bit the bullet and bought new bulbs at the local Toyota dealer at about $125 per bulb. But they work really really good ... much brighter. It was totally worth it. The catch is that to replace the bulb one has to semi-remove the front bumper. As another reply said, there are numerous videos on the internet showing how to do that. Don't try doing it without removing the bumper ... the videos about that are with people who have skinny fingers, strong hands, and know exactly what to feel for, and are trying to remove a piece that isn't stuck. My wife and I are not mechanics, but we watched one of the videos step by step and did it. It took us about an hour.
Yeah, you get what you pay for when buying random bulbs on Ebay, even ones purporting to be "genuine" Philips D4R bulbs. IMHO, I think buying them directly from Amazon, not a 3rd party reseller there should be safe OR use one of the the retailers listed under Where to Buy at Philips Car lights, Lighting. See Headlights...WHY so expensive...any alternatives?!?!?! | Page 2 | PriusChat and Headlights...WHY so expensive...any alternatives?!?!?! | PriusChat. I disagree about the bolded part. I think it's worth a shot to try it w/o removing the bumper and if you fail and/or the clip comes off (like for me), then remove the bumper. Just go in expecting to need to remove it, but if you don't, you've save some time and possible mistakes.
Actually Ebay has way better buyer protection than most online retailers because every purchase can effect a seller's credibility if the buyer is upset and if the purchase is less than I think it's $300 the buyer can get an immediate full refund via ebay regardless of returning or receiving the product. I've bought floor mats for my Prius on ebay where the seller was so paranoid about a bad review from a buyer that they sent me a second set of floor mats before I had a chance to ask for a partial refund because they didn't fit exactly as claimed. With almost no effort on my part I ended up with two full sets of floor mats at half the price of what they were asking for one set. I think I paid $9 when it was all said and done. And from that the seller got an A+ review from me! Also companies like K&N sell their air filters direct at wholesale prices and free shipping via ebay.
My customers pay $120 each for the same bulbs out the door and including installation. When did you buy yours? I have noticed the price of those bulbs at the local dealers is $175 now.
