license plate light bulb change

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (jonkarn)

mcube3 — 2009-06-26T05:19:21-08:00

When I did mine I snapped off 2 clips on both sides close to the rear window. But everything was holding up and didn't look funny so I just left it the way it is.

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

jonkarn — 2009-06-25T18:56:04-08:00

Hey guys I just swapped out some of my bulbs for LEDS as well. The cargo lights and interior lights looked so good so I went overboard and tried to install the license plate bulbs as well.

This was a bit more involved than I thought and I was going to just forget it. But I continued, and in the process broke off one of the white push pins(not a big deal), but also 2 of the 4 pieces that protruded out of the plastic handle piece that you grab to pull the hatch down. These pieces grab onto the metal hole that the handle sits in. I didnt realize that this handle was a separate component, and comes loose when you pull of the cargo door cover. The main problem was gravity. The push pins popped so easily at the very top that the cover slipped off downward unexpectedly while I wasnt fully supporting it. This is very awkward to do when the hatch is open, because you have to reach up. you really need 2 people, one guy to hold the hatch down lower so you have a better angle to pull everything off, and then put it back on. I couldnt get the cover back on either as I had a very hard time trying to align all the pins, especially fitting the 2 ends that are closest to the window. To fit these in first, while holding the rest of the cover with your arms fully extended was more than I could do. They dont seem to grab very well, not giving you enough of a hold before you can pop all the pins in. Too much gravity. Each pin doesnt hold enough of the covers weight to help you go one by one snapping them in place. Maybe I am a retard, but this seems much easier for 2 people. Now i have to bring it in to service to replace one of those pins and the plastic cover handle as well. This is going to cost me. Guys if you aren't familiar with how this cargo cover fits on and off, don't attempt it. I though I was being very careful, but I didnt realize the process involved. Plus you guys didnt tell us how to put the cover back on, lol. Damn you mechanics! You made it sound so simple!

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change

ex35kmrsx — 2009-06-24T23:03:29-08:00

Can anybody post pics? please and thank-you

Re: (cjre1)

lybrian1 — 2009-06-20T07:11:04-08:00

i used 9-LED super bright white but it does't look very bright. i think its the angle of the bulb placement. there is a dark spot int he middle of the license plate as large as my hand. im worried i might get pulled over for this

cjre1 — 2009-06-19T19:52:30-08:00

I changed all my lights out three weeks ago with super bright white lights from super bright LED lights. Awesome look.
The license plate light took me 10 mins to do. No issues there.

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (ex35kmrsx)

dividedhighw — 2009-06-17T04:05:00-08:00

A big Canadian welcome to NICO, ex35kmrsx!!

(I'll tickle Ron to see if he can answer you.)

Cheers,
David

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

ex35kmrsx — 2009-06-17T00:28:02-08:00

im sure some of you guys know this already but, sylvania gives the domes and maps as de3175..... they are actually T10/194/168 Bulbs.

Modified by ex35kmrsx at 7:22 PM 7/30/2009

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (C456D)

Punjab — 2009-03-24T08:49:05-08:00

Yes their are... check out http://www.v-leds.com

I was pondering to get the fogs..

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (dividedhighw)

C456D — 2009-03-24T07:30:59-08:00

Quote, originally posted by dividedhighw raquo;

Hmm ... if I understood rontek correctly, the two extra T-10 bulbs are for the parking lights.

Thanks for your great input, C456D, and welcome to NICO!!

Cheers,
David

Thanks David,

You are correct. The last pair of T10's were for the parking lights.

Does anyone knows if are there any led bulbs to replace the low beam halogen headlight?

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (C456D)

dividedhighw — 2009-03-23T15:54:21-08:00

Hmm ... if I understood rontek correctly, the two extra T-10 bulbs are for the parking lights.

Thanks for your great input, C456D, and welcome to NICO!!

Cheers,
David

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

C456D — 2009-03-20T07:10:03-08:00

Quote, originally posted by rontek raquo;

I dont have any affiliation with any site, I just did a little research and found the LEDlight.com site to be cheaper on most of the bulbs, and give volume discounts as your quantity of a particular bulb increases. So for the bulbs that you need multiple units, the price per bulb goes down. As for the Plate light bulb replacement, here is how "I" did it. You can decide yourself if you want to give it a shot. Below that I will post how I replaced the footwell bulbs too.

Plate Bulbs - I got under the back inner hatch cover with a small flat head screwdriver where the thinnest parts are at what would be the top near the window in each corner, and started pulling the cover back, the panel clips "popped" off quite easily. No broken clips at all. The only "gotcha" I found is there are 4 round black "pin type" clips along what would be the bottom part of the cover where the closing grip handle indent is, that popped out and I almost lost one. If you use common sense and don�t force anything, it was not very hard at all. Everything went back together easily as well. Remember there are TWO plate bulbs.

Footwell Bulbs - You have to reach up under the dash. The way I did it was to unclip the whole module the bulbs plug into, And feed it around under into the footwell with the wiring still connected. I then swapped out the bulbs, (if you ordered the 3 led version I did, you may have to "squeeze" the led's together a little to fit them into the bulb housing). After swapping the bulbs, test them before reinstalling as I found they are polarity sensative and you may need to turn them around to get them to light. This is the case for all the LED replacements. I dont know why, but thats the way it worked for me. Once you are sure they work, just feed the whole housing back up under the dash and clip it back in place. Try to note the orientation of the clips on the housing as it sits in the underside of the dash when you first remove it, as it makes it easier when you are putting it back. It may take a little bit if manipulating to get it to snap back in, depending on how big your hands are, but its really not that hard.

Followed your instructions rontek and it worked like a charm.

Just would like to add e few things:

- I ordered 10 T-10's, however just found use for 8 of them (2 for Map, 2 for Front Door Bottom, 2 for Rear Seat Top, 2 for license plate)

- For installing the map lights and most importantly the rear seat top, remove only the white lid cover with a flat tiny screwdriver, do not try to remove the gray frames, it will be tough to put them back on.

- for installing the passenger footwell, just pull the cover underneath the glove compatiment which easily comes off.

- All bulbs are polarity sensitive and you may need to turn them around to get them to light

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

RioD007 — 2009-03-15T19:58:32-08:00

i did it the other day with led's and it was cake

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (orijin)

rontek — 2008-09-21T03:25:18-08:00

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

orijin — 2008-09-19T13:11:35-08:00

In my opinion if you guys want leds order from v-leds.com instead ive ordered from other places but to me and many others opinions they rate v-leds as the best site to buy leds from.

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

mcube3 — 2008-09-18T06:11:45-08:00

Thank you thank you thank you!!

I've been googling around for the bulb change until I've found this. I've went to the dealer and asked if there is an easy way of changing those license plate bulbs before seeing this. The service manager said they have to get a mechanic to do it and needs that charge me 1/2 hour labour. I almost budge and crazy enough and pay them to do it.

Re: license plate light bulb change (nghivdo)

Happy2Drive — 2008-09-16T14:01:40-08:00

Any chance you would mind providing a primer on how to easily access and change-out the front footwell lights?

I have the LEDs now, but I'm not confident how to tackle getting at those bulb/socket locations.

Thanks!

Happy2Drive in Cleveland Hts, OH

Re: Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change (rontek)

rontek — 2008-08-24T17:12:40-08:00

Well, I decided to go all the way and try replacing the License Plate bulbs with LED's also. Surprisingly it was VERY easy ! I got a small flat tip screwdriver and gently pulled back the inner hatch cover at its thin top corner spot. Once I was able to grab hold of it, all the plastic clips seperated very easily all around, and the whole cover came off! No broken snaps or parts at all. There are four what I call "Pop In" pins in what would be on the bottom part of the cover, that popped right out and you have to be careful not to lose them, but they went back in easily as well. The only thing I was surprised by, is the plate is lit by TWO bulbs. That makes TEN total T10 LED bulbs needed for everything, (Interior, Front Parking, and Rear Plate). The other bulbs are the same quantitys as my previous post.

Interior AND license plate LED light bulb change

rontek — 2008-07-24T04:08:45-08:00

I have not been brave enough to attempt to remove the inside cover of the hatch for the license plate bulb, but I have replaced all the interior and the front parking lights with LED bulbs. These are "Easy" replacements and make a huge difference in appearence. For the interior you need 10 Bulbs total. For the parking lights 2 more. If you want to attempt the plate its the same bulb as 6 of the interior and the 2 parking light bulbs. Here are the parts I used, and the place I got them.

Part #85645 - Festoon Hi-Power 1Watt LED - 31mm Super White
You need 2 for the cargo bay lights

Part #75841 - T5 3-LED Super White
You need 2 for the footwells of Front Seats

Part #45687 - T10 - 1Watt Hi-Power LED Super White
You Need 6 for the rest of the interior lights
2 for Map 2 for Front Door Bottom and 2 for Rear Seat Top
If you want to swap the parking and or Plate bulbs, it's the same bulb (T10)

I purchased mine at http://www.ledlight.com. It was not cheap, but IMO well worth it. Maybe I will post some pics if I get a chance.

Modified by rontek at 11:33 PM 7/26/2008

Re: license plate light bulb change (nghivdo)

dhl03 — 2008-07-18T00:00:46-08:00

so how did you do it? i understand you have to remove the entire panel...is there another easier way? also, how in the world did you replace all interior lights to LED? i can't even remove the stupid interior dome lights bulbs replaced cuz i cannot remove the cover and i do not want to damage anything...help!!!

Re: license plate light bulb change (dividedhighw)

nghivdo — 2008-07-13T01:01:22-08:00

Thanks a million David!!!! Entire interior lighting is now white LED's....verrrry soothing... now to find time for the biggest task... the license plate LED replacement! I'm discovering how very, shall I say, "interestingly" put-together the EX is, particularly how difficult it is to replace simple wear tear items... like the LICENSE PLATE BULBS!

Modified by nghivdo at 11:10 PM 7/13/2008

Re: license plate light bulb change (dividedhighw)

rontek — 2008-07-08T17:55:43-08:00

After checking the service manual YES, you do have to take the entire panel of the inside lift gate door! Bummer, huh ?

Re: license plate light bulb change (nghivdo)

dividedhighw — 2008-07-07T14:19:31-08:00

Hey Nghi ... check your email.

Cheers,
David

Re: license plate light bulb change (dhl03)

nghivdo — 2008-07-05T00:35:17-08:00

Yeah, I 'd like to replace the license bulbs with Lexus-style white LED Bulbs too! But how the heck does one get to the bulbs? Remove the entire interior panel perhaps? Is the outside snapped on after un-doing the 2 pop-in plastic rivets? I can't figure it out! The manual states to "See Dealer" for replacement of certain bulbs, including the license plate bulbs! No amount of Googling has helped either...yet.... Someone must know! Guys Gals?

Re: license plate light bulb change (dhl03)

dhl03 — 2008-06-04T01:00:34-08:00

i wanted to replace it with a LED bulb in which it will last longer. usually there are screws to access the cover but in this case there are no screws. does anyone know how to access the bulbs? thanks

Re: license plate light bulb change (dhl03)

dividedhighw — 2008-05-21T04:52:19-08:00

Don't know the "in service" date or what mileage is on your vehicle, but I would try to get this covered under the "adjustment period" as a warranty item. Assuming that bulb is only lit while your headlights are on, estimate how long (or how many miles) it would have been activated and you should be able to make a good case for having it covered.

Just a thought,
David

license plate light bulb change

dhl03 — 2008-05-20T00:53:13-08:00

does anyone know how to replace the license plate bulb? thanks