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Light-bar upgrade for LE and SE

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by Gokhan, Sep 24, 2023.

  1. Zoomish

    Zoomish New Member

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    Yep I plan to!

    The back lid panel is very hard to remove all the way because the clips are very far in, so its hard to get leverage for them to pop. Not scared of breaking it, since its very flexible plastic but still.

    I am swamped with work so maybe I can get to it Friday or Saturday. I am really looking forward for the small improvement.
     
    Gokhan likes this.
  2. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    You may want to pay Toyota Techinfo $25 for 48 hours of subscription, where you can download the relevant pages of the repair manual as well as electrical diagrams. While you are at it, you can also download the sections for general maintenance such as oil and filter changes etc. Oh, don't forget to download the sections of the new-car features manual, which is pretty cool. It make take you hours to download a lot of things; so, perhaps dedicate a weekend for it.
     
    mountaineer and Zoomish like this.
  3. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    When I drive on the Los Angeles County freeways, I realize that the light bar is the biggest aesthetic improvement in cars in recent times. It sucks that the LE and SE didn't get it. :(
     
    #23 Gokhan, Sep 29, 2023
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2023
  4. 23PriLE

    23PriLE Member

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    Damn, I wasn't aware of that shortcoming. Now I'm wishing I had paid more for a version that would be more aesthetically pleasing to those who are driving behind me. Totally worth the extra thousands of $$$ and the loss of a few mpg.

    Hopefully Toyota's lack of foresight doesn't damage the Prius' reputation as a car that other drivers lust after!;)
     
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  5. purplePriii

    purplePriii Active Member

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    What you call aesthetically pleasing can be seen by others as a safety feature. Some of the drivers behind you need all the help they can get to grab their attention to what is happening in front and around them while driving and not rear end the person in front.
     
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  6. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    No one is telling you what you should have got, but everyone—including you—cares about how their cars look.
     
  7. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    It is absolutely true. The LE and SE have some of the tiniest taillights on the road today—they are a joke and some of the worst design feature of the car.
     
  8. EnriqueDFA

    EnriqueDFA Junior Member

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    Just bumping the thread. Has anyone figured out exactly what pieces are needed and how hard it is to add the bar lights?
     
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  9. purplePriii

    purplePriii Active Member

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    I'm updating this but essentially you'll have the replace the whole plastic trunk piece - which is being report by many as cracking on its own.
    One guy I saw in another group had his replaced under warranty and the new piece cracked during install.

    To add insult to injury, the SE (and probably LE) seems to have the centre piece completely opaque so my simple idea of adding an LED in the plastic doesn't even work.

    I'm currently out of ideas on the topic, short of swapping out the whole part.
     
    Gokhan likes this.
  10. ken2023

    ken2023 Member

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    You should have just purchased the higher trim grade, your life would be happier in multiple ways. Always do a walkaround of the car, and check the lights before you buy. But good luck with your upgrade!
     
  11. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    I haven't upgraded from Gen 4.

    A good rule of thumb is to skip odd-numbered generations. Gen 6 is only a few years away. ;)
     
  12. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    I wonder if you swap the whole part, it is plug and play in terms of electrical connectors.
     
  13. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    They posted the part numbers for this. It costs about $380 at US Toyota dealers. You could probably negotiate it down to $350 or less.

    Lens & body, RR lamp—US Toyota dealer

    They sell it for about $150 from Japan, but the shipping is very expensive due to the size of the box.

    81581-47080 TOYOTA new-parts search—IMPEX JAPAN
     
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  14. purplePriii

    purplePriii Active Member

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    Thanks, I saw that but with how brittle the plastic seem to be, I am hesitant. That and I currently don't even have that kind of money to spare and I'm also facing Toyota refusing to let me move with my car so may have to sell it in the next year or two.

    If somebody wants to start a gofund me for the part I'll willingly give it a shot but I'm trying not to do too many things to it while it's uncertain and waste money if I can't keep it.
     
  15. ken2023

    ken2023 Member

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    The Gen5 light bar is not going to fit on the Gen4, pretty different backends.
     
  16. 23PriLE

    23PriLE Member

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    Say what??
     
  17. purplePriii

    purplePriii Active Member

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    It seems as of 2023, Toyota Canada has made the internal decision of not issuing compliance letters that allow you to import the car in the US. They've also instructed Toyota USA not to give any to Canadian cars. No public announcement, nothing. You'd just told when you request it.
     
  18. EnriqueDFA

    EnriqueDFA Junior Member

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    In summary, I would have to spent around 500$ for parts, led sockets, wiring harness and pray that it doesn't crack lol
    not sure anymore if it's worth it.

    Someone mentioned that going for an upper trim would solve this, welp. Unfortunately on Mexico there are only 2 trims, and the premium one has the low tier lights too even though it costs the same as an XLE on the US.
     
  19. Blackat

    Blackat Active Member

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    This guy likes to troll the Gen5 board. Pay no mind
     
  20. Preebee

    Preebee Senior Member

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    I actually tried setting him to "ignore" like the poster who was leaving the board did. Unfortunately, he's started so many threads, that if you do so, half the content disappears. :unsure:

    I've been tempted to start a poll asking the membership of the G5 forum if it's time to send Mr. Gokhan packing. He's a constant negative drain on the community. It appears to be very intentional.
     
    Gwyd likes this.