Hi gang. Thought I'd vent if you'll indulge me. I realize this is all mainly my own fault. But I'm very disappointed in Toyota anyway. I took my '08 Prius (base model) to a dealership about a 2-hour drive away since they were offering a much cheaper price on a water pump replacement I needed. I happened to have a headlight burn out just before the scheduled appointment so I had them replace that too. My idiotic problem: I supplied my own bulbs from the auto store. A month later the left headlight goes out. Now, I'm thinking "lesson learned, don't buy cheap non-OEM parts." So I took the car to a local dealer to fix it. They open it up and tell me the bulbs were installed wrong by the "faraway" dealership! Like 90 degrees the wrong way. I have them fix it (the right way) and call up the dealer that did the original work. All they can offer is for me to bring the car back. I don't think that's reasonable. They should trust the word of a fellow Toyota dealership service manager, right, and work out some kind of deal? No dice. Now it's another two months later, and the right headlight went out. What should I do? (besides just suck it up and pay another $150 to have them fix it, which is what I expect I may have to do)
That would be 2 hours each way - 4, plus waiting there at least 2 hours while they take the damn bumper off to get to something I should be able to change myself. Still looking for alternatives. I'm pretty sure I'll never buy a Toyota again as a result of this. Which is a shame since this Prius has been such a great car.
There are videos on changing a Prius headlight. Small hands can do it without removing major parts. I had a local mechanic do it at a low cost. JeffD
I neglected to mention I tried that - that's why I had replacement bulbs. I couldn't do it. I would have kept at it, but I couldn't figure out how to get the bumper off.
The best alternative is for you to DIY the headlight replacement if you can, then. If you had owned a different make vehicle and had a service issue at a dealership, I don't think you would have been treated any differently with regards to the dealership wanting to re-perform the service vs. paying another dealership located nearby, to do the work for you.
No need to pull the bumper. I used the Luscious Garage and two other step-by-step videos on YouTube. Took an hour (and some patience) to replace both bulbs, that I got for $40 each on Amazon (the highly rated OEM Phillips). They are working great.
I had a similar problem with the driver side bulb on my 2008. I got it in side ways and couldn't remove it. I found instructions to take the bumper half off. Just enough to get to the lower bolts and remove the headlight. That did the trick. With the headlight on the work bench it was easy to remove the jammed in light and replace it. Sorry I don't remember which video I saw.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience Rick12Player. Check out hybridshoplocator to find a certified independent shop. If you find a reputable independent shop they will take care of you. Best of luck.
All of the lights I have worked on locked together very precisely. I find it odd that it would be possible to install them in any way but the right way. This suggests to me that they do not in fact trust that other dealer, and if they don't maybe you shouldn't either. Either that, or perhaps they were hoping you'd just give up and go away, which is also something to consider if you see them again. Any mechanic should be able to change a light bulb, it's not really a hybrid thing.
TRUST me --- it possible I did it. When you have to work by touch only using one hand almost anything can happen.
"Any mechanic should be able to change a light bulb, it's not really a hybrid thing." You would think, right? It's not really a hybrid thing but it's most definitely a Prius thing. And it would be a good idea to establish relations with a knowledgable independent shop that can do anything from swap a bulb to swap an inverter. A good shop will also know the right maintenance procedures and common failures to look out for, possibly saving you a tow bill and excessive down time.
Driver's side can be done in 3 minutes without removing anything. It's not really possible to re-install the retaining clip if the bulb isn't in properly. The passenger side needs the bump unfastened slightly. I just did it yesterday and it took about 10 minutes this time to change the bulb. I can never understand why people will take all of the time and money to take a car to a dealership for basic service when it's cheaper and faster and less hassle to do it yourself.
