How to Change Front Map Lights.

I used this post tonight to change my map lights too. Thank you for posting it. I also changed the dome light, cargo area light, and two door lights for LEDs as well. So much better looking.


iPhone ?

 

i did this same change in my prius two. one thing to be very careful of; the silver reflective shields for the maplights have some very sharp edges. i sliced my finger pretty good trying to get the first bulb out!

 

thanks for the post, I was able (with help from your post) to change map, door, cargo, and vanity lights. without the help of this forum I would probably never attempt to do anything to my Prius

 

To stamperman and janman:

Out of curiosity, what kind of LED bulbs did you use?

I'm also thinking of trying to use LEDs when the exterior bulbs burn out, like turn signals or back up lights.

 

I used 194 LED Light bulbs (T10) by Yorkim, color white from Amazon $12.99 for ten (10)

 

I'm almost certain those are the same ones I bought. I like them!

 

Thanks for the post. This REALLY is a royal pain in the nice person... I consider myself very handy but still managed to break a couple of the tabs... Used both a plastic pry bar and screwdriver but I found that using an old credit card really helped too... And knowing where exactly the tabs are. I'd recommend starting from the back side (closer to the windshield) because those tabs are thinner than the ones up front

Dome light cover by ucla107 posted Mar 17, 2016 at 10:42 PM

Dome light cover by ucla107 posted Mar 17, 2016 at 10:42 PM

Ahhhh MUCH better

LED dome light by ucla107 posted Mar 17, 2016 at 10:42 PM

 

I ordered some bulbs and am going to try this next week. Did you find the light that supposedly shines on the shift knob?

 

I didn't break any tabs. I may have been lucky, or more patient. I just kept wiggling the plastic pry tool around and moving to different spots until I got them to pop out. It took a long time, I'm guessing around 15 mins, just to get the opaque plastic frame off. Then, I'm embarrassed to say, I spent far too long trying to figure out why the bulb on the left wouldn't turn off even with the door closed and the main switch set to off. I had hit the map light switch in removing the frame. I am not a smart man sometimes.

I went on to change the bulbs in the dome, doors, vanity mirrors, and the cargo area. It makes a big difference and looks awesome.

 

That's a small LED in the roof by the map lights. I didn't try changing that. I felt it was already bright enough. It's not very bright, but I kinda thought it would be distracting at night if it was brighter. It does a good enough job highlighting the area of the shifter and Qi charger (that I don't use).

Off topic but I hope an aftermarket part appears that allow us to remove the Qi charger and replace that are with more useful space.

 

I cut some soft black shelf-lining material to size and laid it in the space (made layers to get it "even" on the top layer. Keeps anything from rattling and looks pretty good.

 

That's a possibility. But, I am guessing the circuitry for the charger takes up some room. I would like something that reclaims that space and looks OEM, if possible. It's not a big deal right now. And I'm not sure my own skills are up to fabricating anything at this time. So I will be patient and see what happens.

 

Would be cool if someone can 3D print something

 

Thought I would add these for those with the sunroof. These pics were taken of my Four with the Advanced Technology Package. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was compared to the process in the first post. Just four mount points to pop out (in red in the pic below) and the bulbs are in sockets that take just 1/8 of a turn to free them. Pictures show pretty much everything you need to know.

 

Thanks everyone for the instructions and the courage to do this upgrade. Worked for me with just a little elbow grease. Nice white light now.

 

Did you only change the map lights? I had to change all of them. I couldn't stand seeing the yellow light of incandescent bulbs with the pure white LEDs.

 

I took the cover off of the center light, but it seemed to require a different type of bulb. So I retreated.

 

It does. But it's a standard type of "dome light" bulb. I forget which its called. I got a LED type and replaced it. However, the other lights in the car take the same bulb as the map lights. So, you can replace the two vanity mirror lights, the two in the bottom of the front doors, and the rear cargo light with the LEDs you already have.

 

Thanks. Will do!