mrplease, From recent personal experience, I can say that 04-05s fit perfectly in an '08. I'm confident that the reverse is true. rigormortis, I suspect that the different part numbers comes from the difference in the brake lights: darkened in the 04-05, clear in the '08.
yeah i wouldn't know. all i know is that the 2004 prius tail light would be $23 cheaper. maybe he should post this in the modications forum
please do not yell at us if you purchase the wrong part and it won't fit but im leaning towards saying yes, because if you go to parts.com all the other tail light parts, like tail light pocket, tail light back, tail light socket and wire back, are all the same parts from 2004 - 2008, with the exception of maybe the quarter panel???
I was looking at one on ebay , the later models have a row of led looking lights midway of the light. My 04 doesn't have this. The wiring is the same?? Also I have the HID lights, which are great, but the front of the headlight is hazy toward the top, and I like the cool additional led's on the later ones. Does the HID option I have complicate matters in making a switch? ((Yes, I was focused on headlights- some newer ones were about to be sold on Ebay and my mind went !@!@!, sorry for resulting confusion.) Added several days later. )
northwichita, I take it you're speaking of headlights here. At least on the '08, what at first glance looks to be LEDs are just fashion bumps. But they do raise the question, "What if... " It really would look cool if they were LEDs. But the headlight assembly is sealed and as a minimum, breaking the connection between the body and clear lens -- sonic weld? -- in such a way as it could be redone with a waterproof seal would be at least a bear, and maybe even a b!tch.
That row of "LED looking lights" is not actually lights. It is a decorative feature. The same is true with the newer headlight design. Sorry.
Can we get clarification on whether or not the OP is referring to tail lights or headlights here? If taillights are the question, the HID thought is moot. Therefore, the answer that i got from my local Toyota dealer is that yes the tail light assemblies are interchangable on the Prius for model years 04-09. If headlights are the question and you have HID, why would you want to switch away from them? Even if you do not like them, you would probably have to remove the ballasts and associated wiring in order to switch it out. Hope it helps.
OP, mrplease, started with tail lights. Then, in post #6, northwichita switched horses in mid-stream to headlights. I suppose there is a logical, no, make that electrical connection.
yeah it sounded like they were interchangeable. ill have to mod my car sometime so the brake lights match my tinted out windows
There was someone on here a while back that had totally blacked out their tail lights. It looked very clean since the tint looks very similar to the body color (their car was black). I can't remember who it was but do remember he was out on the east coast around NY, NJ or one of those New England area states. I wish I know of someone around SW MI that could do it.
