Replace both 2006 Prius HID headlights for $100 step by step

I'm not a car person, but saving $400 is my kind of thing, so I decided to order the bulbs on amazon and install them myself. It may take you an hour or so to get them installed, but it is not super difficult and does not require any tools other than maybe a couple of screwdrivers. At O'Reilly auto parts, these same bulbs were $150 each, so it definitely pays to get them on Amazon.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• prius
• 2006
• headlight
• intermittent
• HID
• expensive
• amazon
• bulb
• replace
• step
• by

[irvingfong]

good job. very instructive. shows you don't have to tear the car apart to replace the bulb. Took about 10 minutes to replace drivers side only.

[kimandcris]

@irvingfong yeah it would have been even easier if I hadn't butterfingered the connector back into the headlight assembly

[dardas99]

Final tip for 2005 Prius owners: Some 2005 models came with the older, standard headlight bulbs .. Others came with the HID xenon bulbs. The way to tell the difference is that the rubber/plastic rear cover for the standard bulbs has to big cube-shaped knobs that you grasp to turn the cover (to remove it). The cover for the HID bulbs has several thin, triangular fins -- as in this video.

[dardas99]

Another tip: After you remove the old bulb, cover the hole (into the headlight assembly) with something. Somehow, a fly flew in and became trapped inside the headlight assembly! I probably should have vacuumed him out; hope his corpse doesn't catch fire!

Question: How many Toyota engineers does it take to turn a routine task like changing a light bulb nearly impossible without a visit to YouTube?

[irvingfong]

good job. very instructive. shows you don't have to tear the car apart to replace the bulb