license plate light bulb change

[dhl03]

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

[dividedhighw]

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

[dhl03]

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

[nghivdo]

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?

[dividedhighw]

Hey Nghi ... check your email.

Cheers,David

[rontek]

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

[nghivdo]

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

[dhl03]

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!!!

[rontek]

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 WhiteYou need 2 for the footwells of Front Seats

Part #45687 - T10 - 1Watt Hi-Power LED Super WhiteYou Need 6 for the rest of the interior lights2 for Map 2 for Front Door Bottom and 2 for Rear Seat TopIf 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

[rontek]

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.

[Happy2Drive]

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

[mcube3]

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.

[orijin]

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.

[rontek]

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.

[RioD007]

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

[C456D]

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

[dividedhighw]

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

[C456D]

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?

[Punjab]

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

I was pondering to get the fogs..

[ex35kmrsx]

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

[dividedhighw]

A big Canadian welcome to NICO, ex35kmrsx!!

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

Cheers,David

[cjre1]

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.

[lybrian1]

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

[ex35kmrsx]

Can anybody post pics? please and thank-you

[jonkarn]

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!

[mcube3]

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.

[AWGD8]

Sorry to bring this thread back to life...

I just replaced the license plate bulb to VLED led 5000k.

It`s very easy. All you need to do is a flat head screw driver, some cloth to wrap the screw driver tip and a plastic wedge type tool (normally use by sound guy installer).

Removal:

Step 1: Open the hatch, then remove the 4 clips by prying them slowly. These are the clip sit on the bottom of the hatch that meet the top of the rear bumper. (Manual Reference INT-38 ) Tools needed -flat head screwdriver or equivalent. Be careful scratching the plastic interior of the EX

Step 2: Remove the hatch light assembly or the luggage lamp fixing pawls using a flat head screwdriver. Make sure you pry the whole light assembly, not just the white light cover. This assembly pops out easily. Disconnect the light assembly harness connector that supplies the current. This is like a snap on thing. (Manual Reference INT-39 )

Step 3: Remove the back door finishing lid using a screw driver. This is just a black lid that covers the main button when you open the hatch. Nothing biggie here, all you need to do is remove that black lid from the inside panel- piece of cake.

Step 4: Slowly pry the backdoor finisher from the upper part closer to the glass first. The horn looking part that goes up on both side, not the center one closer to the rear wiper.
Do not pry one side to much. Slowly pry both upper side first and when both sides have raised a bit, then work on one side going around down towards the bumper and up to the other side. This way, you evenly raising up or prying up the finisher and popping out those plastic clips evenly. This prevent it from breaking any tabs...(Tools needed for prying is a plastic wedge type " flat bar looking" you normally see use by a radio installer. (Manual Reference INT-39 )


Step 5: Remove the backdoor finisher. Now you`ll see 2 license bulb connectors/assemblies(Reference: EXL-364) Seems like in order to loosen these connectors, you have to turn it clockwise then you have access to the bulbs. Change the bulb to LED type of your choice. Make sure when ordering, check for the length. The one I bought from VLED (below) is barely touching the license plate bulb plastic cover.

I prefer VLED 5000K very white no hint of blue and not so bright bec. you need 2 LED`s anyway,
It will be very bright if you put more than 1W LED each. The one I bought has a .7W with built in heatsink for longevity... The length of this LED fitS very well too.

http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/Corn ... 9-1-2.html

Test both light first before installing everything back. If the LED does not light up, flip it around and try again.

Installing everything back is a bit tricky. To me it`s really a piece of cake, bec. I use a scotch tape.

There are 14 clips attached to the finisher, some might be a little bit loose so what I did is I put a scotch tape on the side of the clips to hold them still. When I put the finisher back, I sat inside the back facing outside the rear hatch and held the finisher from the buttom.

You need to align the bottom back door finisher to the backdoor latch also make sure the wires coming from the luggage lamp are align to the holes where the luggage lamp goes. While holding the bottom of the backdoor finisher, do not push it in much, you need to align both upper edge of the back door finisher closer to the glass too - horn part of the finisher! Once all three parts are align, bottom and 2 upper sides closer to the glass, try pushing the buttom part of the backdoor finisher first , if you here one or two clips snap back, you are good to go! Push pressure evenly from bottom up... You`ll hear these 14 clips popping in like popcorns!

I guess you know what`s next. If you know how to remove it, you should know how to put everything back.... Seriously, everything is easy after putting all those 14 clips back.

Note: This procedure does not need too much force to pop out those clips...

[ppan76]

resurrecting another old thread.

I tried doing this and failed!

Even with the FSM, I wasn't able to reach the bulbs. Maybe I was too afraid of breaking something.

[XIS]

Where are you stuck? It is fairly easy, just go slow and be patient.

[ppan76]

Where are you stuck? It is fairly easy, just go slow and be patient.

Finally did it!!. It was harder than I expected and of course broke a a plastic piece, but it's hidden after I put it back. So no biggie.

However one of the 4 x black rivets (plastic push-in) broke :-( That was the piece I was having a hard time removing.

Anybody know where I can get a replacement for that?

I think this is the part number
http://www.amazon.com/Auto-Body-Doctor- ... 1553-06721

Crap!! I only need one.