bones

Hey, I just recenetly bought a '97 ES300 and am wondering if the head lights and tail lights from the '00-01 ES300's will fit on my '97? and possibly the fog lights as well? did a search but can't find a straight answer anywhere..thanks in advance!

DuneDain

I'm 100% positive the tail lights will, I am very sure the front headlights will, but I am not sure about the fog lamps. Just curious, why would you want to replace the 97 headlights with newer ones when they are the same? the only difference that I can see, and don't quote me on this is the bumper on the bottom lip is different, the fog lamps are different, and the grill has some added crome but otherwise as far as I can tell they are the same. and obviously there are other little differences around the car as well. rims are bigger, steering wheel most likely has the wood trim and just stuff like that.

bones

i wasn't aware that the 00-01 headlights were different i was pretty sure they were one piece of the 00-01? or is the corner lamp seperate from the headlight? if they're seperate i think the 00-01 corner lamps are clear if i remember correctly?? if what i'm saying is right will the corner lamp from the 00-01 fit on the 97? i would of gotten a '00 but i got a steal on my 97.. anyway let me know.. thanks again!!

DuneDain

I would imagine you should be able to take the corners off without removing the headlights but I am not absolutely sure. after looking at some pictures though I saw that the 97s are clear as well, but they have just a slightly larger orange spot on the edges than the 00-01 does. but even the 00-01 has a small strip of orange in each one.

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

in 00-01 headlights, they are more circular and are have beam patterns made for hid bulbs..
00-01 taillights are cleared in middle and jeweled
00-01 front bumper is different and the fogs wont fit unless you buy a 00-01 front bumper

bones

so the head lights and tail lights will fit without any modification? just plug n play?

squarehat

The 00-01 HID and 00-01 halogen headlamp assemblies are completely different. The halogen ones look identical to the 97-99 (with the different corners), while the HID ones have two distinct reflector bowls.

Look here for pics:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...5&pagenumber=2

lexusk8

A fellow member here named "el gato" recently did the tailight conversion on his black '97 ES, and looks flawless. He also cleared the corners of his headlights and chromed the stock grille to give it the '00-'01 look Check out the pics in the following thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=101692

hubjunky1

I've been poking around eBay a lot lately trying to get 00-01 parts for my 97 ES. I got the right HID style headlight housing and tried to see if it fit, but it wasnt quite going in the spot... I didnt really have a chance to figure out what was wrong with it, seeing as how its freezing cold out, so ill report more on that when it warms up a little and there isnt snow all over the place. I did get a chance to put in the 01 jeweled corner lights which went in just fine, they look great.. and I saw the 01 foglights on eBay and spoke to the seller, he has a 97 and bought them from a dealer and turns out they dont fit unless you have the 01 bumper to go with it, so thats a no go.

lexusk8

That's interesting to note; I've always thought the headlamp assy from a '00-'01 ES would fit into any '97-'99 ES, but this is probably not the case for the HID-designed headlamps. Aftermarket HID might be the only alternative if the factory HID headlamps truly don't bolt on properly.

squarehat

Do you have a digicam? I'd like to see the mounting locations on both housings. I'd take your current halogen housing out of the car (sounds like you already did) and carefully compare the size, shape, and location of mounting tabs between the two. If the mounting tabs are the only issue, you could drill holes in the correct location (this has been done by other members doing light swaps on other Lexus vehicles). Since you say you got the '01 corners, that can't be the issue, either (at first, I thought the 97-99 corners may have mounted differently).

Don't give up just yet I'd love to see this mod done

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

theyre a direct fit. you should have no problems with retrofitting them.

hubjunky1

I suspect maybe its the auto level motor, when I try it all I will remove that if it doesnt fit on the first shot

squarehat

That's what I was wondering. Pull that off (since I'm guessing you don't plan on buying the ECU and sensors for the levelling anyhow).

squarehat

Hubjunky:

Check out this post (quoted frome Cheapsk8 in the Lighting forum) regarding fitting the HID housings:

"If you find headlights out of a 2000 with HID, you can use them but you WILL have to cut out a small amount of metal at the top of the hole for the headlight(core support) because the back of the HID units are bigger then the halogen ones the harness plugs would also have to be changed or hard-wired."

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=108979

It sounds doable. Just make sure that cutting away part of the housing doesn't leave unsealed gaps for moisture/water to enter.