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Replacing HID Headlights at 65K

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bobjeri, Jan 29, 2011.

  1. bobjeri

    bobjeri New Member

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    On our 05 Mod 4 one of the running lights is out but the signals and Hi-Low's still work.

    Today the dealer quoted $150 parts and $30labor to replace what I assume is the whole unit.

    Spouse drives it about 90% of the time and with lights on ... mostly short hops. Me without lights. We seldom drive at night.

    Is this reasonable service length for HID's? ..... reasonable price?

    Normally could a decent generic mechanic shop replace with HID or halogen at a much lower price? This town has lots of Pri's.

    I used to be handy with cars and tools as a youngster but now not so much and our garage is unheated.
     
    #1 bobjeri, Jan 29, 2011
  2. Rest

    Rest Active Member

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    Friggin "Stealerships"!
     
    #2 Rest, Jan 29, 2011
  3. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    The price the dealer quoted is for the HID capsule (bulb) and the labor to change it. The HIDs on the Prius are, in my opinion, bad. However, you're lucky to have driven 65K miles before a failure. Do a search here on PC and you will see hundreds of posts on the subjecy of HIDs.
     
    #3 firepa63, Jan 29, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  4. bobjeri

    bobjeri New Member

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    Took it to the dealer this am for oil change .... they had me scheduled to change the light for approx 200 bucks which I declined.

    On the way home stopped by Rudy's in Port Angeles, WA. Rudy replaced the running lightbulb in 1-2 minutes, charged me $1 .... I gave him 2.
     
    #4 bobjeri, Jan 31, 2011
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    The 2005s don't seem to have as much of a problem with HIDs as the 2006+ did.

    New replacement bulbs can be found for as little as $15/pair to $60/pair. Replacing then is pretty straight forward but requires some effort to remove the plastic cover.
     
    #5 F8L, Feb 1, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  6. subarutoo

    subarutoo New Member

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    I just paid $258 installed for a driver side HID on my 06 with 104500 miles. I took it to Northridge Toyota, since the light was intermittent, on and off, after 10-15 minutes on turning on. They said the bulb had a "short" in it. I always thought bad bulbs wouldn't work at all, i.e., good bulb always works, bad bulb doesn't work. The bulb was $150 + 90 labor to remove (!) the front bumper. I love my Prius, but $258 for one headlight is really too much for a car I bought for economy of operation. I can buy a lot of gas for $258! I guess its just one of the HIDden charges for enjoying my Prius :(

    My Subarus have more miles than that, and I have never had to replace headlight bulbs on them (one fog light killed by a rock).

    Not one of Toyotas better ideas. I like the light the HIDs put out, but really ...
     
    #6 subarutoo, Feb 10, 2011
  7. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Subarutoo, is there a reason you decided to pay the dealership price instead of buying the bulbs online and doing it yourself?
     
    #7 F8L, Feb 10, 2011
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    HIDs are generally expensive but Luscious Garage | Blog | Prius headlight problem, D4R HID bulbs *still overpriced, not covered under warranty* shows them being changed w/o removing the bumper.

    Too bad LG is WAY too far away for you.
     
    #8 cwerdna, Feb 11, 2011
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