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Fog light cracked...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by vinnysca, May 28, 2007.

  1. vinnysca

    vinnysca New Member

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    I discovered the weirdest thing today after washing my car. My right side fog light had a crack! I don't think it was from a stone hitting it...since I didn't feel any chips from outside the glass. The crack looks like a Mercedes 3-pointed star.

    Now, since I did my fog light mod (for DRL) a couple months ago...and had the fog lights on all the time since, could the high temperature contribute to the cracking? I felt the fog lights as they were on and they were pretty hot! Has anyone experienced this? If so, should I just buy some low wattage fog lights instead?

    Anyway, I found a seller on ebay for one OEM fog lamp assembly for 50 bucks. The cheapest I could find.

    Vince.
     
    #1 vinnysca, May 28, 2007
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    wow, this is the first cracked foglight issue in nearly a year. I thought Toyota fixed it given that the no. of complaints have dropped.


    The foglights get extremely hot!! I have actually seen smoking rising off the lens after driving in the rain.


    Get them replaced under warranty and let Toyota know of the issue.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, May 29, 2007
  3. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    I've got a cracked fog light as well, although mine cracked over a year ago. Probably closer to 1.5 years now. One dealership said it wouldn't pass the annual inspection. The dealership where I've gotten my past two inspections haven't said anything. The next time I'm in, I might mention it to them to see if they'll replace it. It's not a big deal to me, so I haven't pressed the issue.
     
    #3 Skwyre7, Jun 4, 2007
  4. faith2walk

    faith2walk Upgraded again

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vinny @ May 28 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]451202[/snapback]</div>
    Since I drive so many miles, I am long past the warranty...and I tried replacing them 4x's until I realized that it was the heat issue. I drive with my lights on for safety, and when I would go into a carwash, they would crack from the heat-to-cold exchange of water. I have since replaced them with "real" fog lights and don't have the problem anymore.
     
    #4 faith2walk, Jun 5, 2007
  5. Tempus

    Tempus Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Skwyre7 @ Jun 4 2007, 03:28 PM) [snapback]455096[/snapback]</div>
    I don't know of anywhere that an auxilliary light is required for an inspection. If it were a headlight that would be one thing.

    If they fail it, then just take some electrical tape and tape over the lenses and say "What Fog Lights?" :)

    Then take the tape off when you go home.
     
    #5 Tempus, Jun 5, 2007
  6. GadgetMan2

    GadgetMan2 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tempus @ Jun 5 2007, 09:33 PM) [snapback]456183[/snapback]</div>

    My son had his car fail inspection because of a fog light out (here in NH). I thought it was strange, but I supose if you have fog lights, they have to work correctly, if you don't have them, that is OK. I think the states are getting a little out of hand these days... I undertsnad headlights, brake and directionals, but fog lights?
     
    #6 GadgetMan2, Jun 6, 2007
  7. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    I figured it would not be a problem with the actual people doing the inspection. It was just one more thing the Service Rep could add to my bill. I don't go to that dealership for service anymore, so it's not an issue for me.
     
    #7 Skwyre7, Jun 6, 2007
  8. vinnysca

    vinnysca New Member

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    Hi guys,

    So I went to my Toyota dealership to show them my cracked fog light. The warranty inspector looked at the cracked light and after a few minutes of inspection concluded that it was a "rock" chip caused crack!

    They gave me this long-winded rationale of why this was caused by a rock, rather than temperature cracking...blah, blah, blah.

    I was pretty annoyed at them. The warranty inspector said that there was a clear crater in the middle of the glass and that, a defective glass wouldn't have a crater.

    They gave me a quote of $280 bucks to have it replaced. Oh, and they said they would have to remove the whole bumper assembly to replace the light, which would probably add to the cost of the estimate.

    I told them I would think about it, and left.

    Anyway, a few days later...I received my fog light assembly from ebay.

    I followed the directions of removing just the front grill from a priuschat member and replaced my fog light within 30 minutes!

    Oh, I even added a grill mesh while I was at it, to prevent big bugs from accumulating on my radiator/AC cooling unit.

    I can't believe how deceitful car dealerships can be. I was very dissapointed with my car dealership's service department.
     

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    #8 vinnysca, Jun 9, 2007
  9. dgooden8

    dgooden8 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vinny @ Jun 9 2007, 08:27 PM) [snapback]458906[/snapback]</div>

    Hello Vinny, I was wanting to add fog lights to my prius. I noticed that you were able to remove the bottom grill . I know that I can order from toyota the grill end pieces for the fog lights for about $50.00, but I would like to know how you get the grill off? Perhaps you could send me the info or the member's address who is able to give me the info. Also where on ebay did you purchase your replacement fog lights? I also noticed that it appears that there is a metal housing that the lights sit in. I wonder if those are necessary as I don't think I have those( although they might be behind the grill.).. Thanks a lot. Dana
     
    #9 dgooden8, Aug 1, 2007
  10. vinnysca

    vinnysca New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dgooden8 @ Aug 1 2007, 08:11 PM) [snapback]488941[/snapback]</div>



    The fog light grill is easy to remove. There are 4 plastic tabs that hold the grill in place. If you look carefully from the front, you can see two of them and pretty much can get your fingers to pry them off. The foglights are held in place by the bumber plastic which is molded to fit the foglights. There are no metal braces.

    Do a search on ebay for "prius fog lights" That's what I did. I was searching through my ebay account and no longer can find where I bought the fog light. Sorry I can't be of any help there.

    Vince.
     
    #10 vinnysca, Aug 2, 2007
  11. dgooden8

    dgooden8 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vinny @ Aug 2 2007, 06:16 PM) [snapback]489608[/snapback]</div>
    Vince, hello again, It seems when I look at the grill it is in 3 pieces, do just the fog light sections on each end come off, without having to take off the whole grill(ie the middle piece too). Also the tabs you spoke of are they on top and bottom or just at the bottom, I seemed to have only saw two tabs at the bottom? I guess I'm a little nervous about breaking the grill. Do you mash them in or pull them up? Thanks again for your time and trouble. Dana
     
    #11 dgooden8, Aug 4, 2007
  12. vinnysca

    vinnysca New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dgooden8 @ Aug 4 2007, 04:53 PM) [snapback]490619[/snapback]</div>


    My front grills are in 3 pieces. Each for the foglights and one long one for the center. There are 4 tabs. The ones for the top are removed my bending them down a bit downwards and the bottom ones are removed by pushing on them upwards. What I did was I got a sturdy butter knife or a very thing flat head screw driver with a very thin shaft and covered it with electric tape to prevent it from scratching the bumper paint.


    AND, just to show you how easy it is, I took pics right now of how I removed them.

    The first picture shows you one way to help loosen and release the right or left outer bottom tab. Just remove one screw from the bottom that holds one of the from plastic splash covers and pull it down. The plastic is very flexible, so don't worry about break it.

    The second picture shows how the cover is pulled down. Reach with your hand in there and "feel" for the tab and just push up and pull the grill out. DO THIS PART LAST AFTER YOU RELEASE THE 3 OTHER TABS FIRST. IF THE WHOLE GRILL COMES OFF THEN YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS STEP. ONLY IF YOU GET STUCK WITH THIS TAB. YOU CAN EVEN FEEL FOR THE TOP TAB IF YOU WANT AND JUST REMOVE THE GRILL THIS WAY.

    The third and fourth pic shows the grill removed with the TABS. So you can see where they are located.

    And finally, just to show you that the fog light is encased and held by the bumper assembly. There are NO metal parts.


    Vince.
     

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    #12 vinnysca, Aug 4, 2007
  13. dgooden8

    dgooden8 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vinny @ Aug 4 2007, 05:36 PM) [snapback]490637[/snapback]</div>
    Vince Thank so so much, for going to all the trouble you went to. What great pic's. I'm going to try to get the grills off tommorrow. Again thanks for your excellent advise. Have a great weekend! Dana
     
    #13 dgooden8, Aug 4, 2007
  14. lumencs

    lumencs Junior Member

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    I have a 2006 Prius and after one year of driving I noticed that the right fog light was all cracked. I had it replaced and now I am having head light problems. The low beam head lights go out one at a time randomly. Also, I was driving home last week on a windy road and suddenly both of my high beams went out and I was left in the dark which is very dangerous. Our local dealer is still trying to find the source of the problem. I take it back in on Monday.
    Lumencs

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vinny @ May 28 2007, 07:09 PM) [snapback]451202[/snapback]</div>
     
    #14 lumencs, Aug 18, 2007
  15. osiris12

    osiris12 Owner of 3, yes three priuses

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    Hi Vinny and thanks for the detail info. I'm about to try it now. I got the grill around the fogs off very easily.

    So the actual lamps just pull right out? They're not held in place with anything but friction?
     
    #15 osiris12, Dec 12, 2008
  16. vinnysca

    vinnysca New Member

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    You only need to remove the ones on the ends. Not the middle, long grill. There are also tabs on the top. I wouldn't remove them in this cold weather though. The plastic will be stiffer and may be prone to break. I would either take them off in a heated garage or wait until warmer weather.
     
    #16 vinnysca, Dec 14, 2008
  17. osiris12

    osiris12 Owner of 3, yes three priuses

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    Hi Vinny,

    I have a garage and was able to take the small grill around the fog lamp off with issue. I could remove the bulb but still need to retry removing the entire driver's side lamp. I got it to unlatch but the darn adjustment screen is holding it in. The assembly does pivot around that screw.

    I'll try one more time... Thanks for your help.
     
    #17 osiris12, Dec 14, 2008
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