Dolphin

Anita, I ordered the FOG LED's cause Vled rep claimed the factory ones run so hot, they can actually burn the lens, or discolor it, as well as the surrounding area... Non LED's do run hot, and in some tight areas, it can be hard to dissipate heat, so made sense... let me know any tricks n tips you learn with the fog light change-out, I am sure it will be an adventure :-)

I want to make sure my side mirror removal technique is proper after your post above...

tilt mirror upwards, to sky ...
grab bottom of mirror with your fingers, and pull it towards you...
mirror should pop out,
remove 5 screws which are now exposed, which enables rear housing to be removed
bulb should be exposed....
is this accurate?

ericsan13

dude i gave you the lexus and my instructions here:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7488552-post59.html

Dolphin

Holy gosh, thx for your persistence Eric, been doing so many things, forgot to follow through on the link you provided earlier... sometimes u got lost being pushed around from one thread to another with embedded links... I guess that is what happened here, cause I did chase most of the links above. (but missed the most important one, dah)

anyway, that is just what I needed to feel more confident...sorry for missing it first time around... thx for sharing such detailed info on this delicate operation, your fellow RX'ers are grateful...., and thx again for 2nd reminder...will report back next week...fingers crossed!

ericsan13

good luck, it is actually really easy once you realize how it's done. you're going to slap yourself for worrying so much (like I did).

Also, don't forget to roll down your window and place a towel over the side of the door so you have somewhere soft to place the side mirror. No need to disconnect it.

kitlz

Good point about the towel, Eric. I put a blanket on the door to protect it and the mirror. I think there's a picture somewhere in the second thread you posted above.

Dolphin, I changed out the fog lights originally to HIDs. You want to talk about getting hot. They not only lit the road but melted it in the winter too, LOL! I decided it wasn't for me after a ballast failed. Then I had problems with second HID kit. One fog light wouldn't stay on. I couldn't easily connect the harness since the battery is in the cargo area. Bottom line, it was more trouble than it was worth. For the year or so I had the HIDs in, I didn't have any problems with the lens distorting or changing colors. Bought the Philips halogen bulbs from Nigel, a vendor here. I also picked up the VLEDS LEDs but didn't install them. It's just a PITA to get in there and change them out. I'll probably do it soon.

Dolphin

Thx for added tips eric, I sure hope I slap myself in the face about excessive worries... as like most people, ya hate to risk damaging parts on a brand new ride...after its a year old, I tend to be foot loose n fancy free with things...just a mental thing I guess....

Anita, wow, so the heat warning was warranted, interesting. Sounds like the FOG > LED is a very worthwhile upgrade, and maybe it will enable the use of Fog lights more often, as Vled claims they ARE SUPER BRIGHT! (the price reflected such) I can never have enough light it seems, part of the aging eye, our pupils do not dilate open as wide... by age 60 or so, your eye only lets in 15% of night light vs. when you were 20, yep, 85% reduction in night brightness on the retina. The decline starts at about 20-25 years of age, and progressive every few years. So the older you are, the more you appreciate these lighting mods. (assuming the mod at least 2x the light output)

OK, is there a tutorial similar to what eric posted on the side mirrors for the Fog light replacements? Cause I want as little "laying on my back" time as possible :-) Heck, my back aches just thinking about the tinkering to replace those, then, the "it doesn't fit", and ahh crap! hee hee hee... nutting goes as planned with these projects...

kitlz

I'd worry about the heat from HIDs over the halogens. And I'd hardly believe Lexus would put in a bulb that generates a great amount of heat. Like I said, I never had a problem with the HIDs or the current halogen bulbs in the RX now.

Changing fog lights on the 350 is a piece of cake compared to the 450h. No laying on your back to install them. You go through the top. Remove the covers and reach down to get to the bulb. I believe it's twist counterclockwise to remove them. Replace the halogens with the LEDs and reinstall. Make sure you test them before you put the engine covers back on. No doubt you'll spend more time removing/replacing all the cover clips.

Interesting and depressing statistics about the aging eye. Don't forget about the person who is on the other end of your fog lights.

Dolphin

Oh, wow, should be interesting accessing the Fog light from the top, good thing I have gorilla arms :-)

So here is a section of an article I wrote years ago... I was close about the aging eye. Below is more accurate statistics to depress u, and support why older people have such poor night vision.... and hopefully benefit from these light mods. I changed out my LC headlights, and whamo, what a difference, even if blinded on coming cars (not really)

this chart demonstrates how our night vision declines rapidly with age. The relative light that can enter our pupils is based on the area of the pupil opening, which is a function of the diameter, pi r^2. If you wonder why your night vision is so poor vs. your younger years, here is why.... vs. a 20 yr old, here is the light reduction we see at the same ages as above....

at 30 yrs of age, we see 33% less light than a 20 yr old.... at,

40 yrs, - 44% less light
50 yrs, - 61% less light
60 yrs, - 74% less light
70 yrs, - 84% less light
80 yrs, - 90% less light

For those interested, here is the pupil diameters vs. age...

Age ... Day light pupil... Night light pupil (mm)

20...(4.7)....(8.0)
30...(4.3)....(7.0)
40...(3.9)....(6.0)
50...(3.5)....(5.0)
60...(3.1)....(4.1)
70...(2.7)....(3.2)
80...(2.3)....(2.5)

Bayman

This is interesting. Do you have a link to this article?

Dolphin

I will look for copy or link of that article, it was 10 yrs ago..
I copied that from a binocular review I did on Amazon.

can NOT get the rear dome off.... its possible they have changed them in the last year?? The diffuser refuses to budge, used several different prying tools, hacked up the plastic pretty bad and diffuser shows no signs of movement, I think its part of the fixture now. The front diffuser jiggled immediately, so I knew it could be removed. No signs of this on the rear diffuser.

Trying to remove the rear dome fixture, no luck. It moves away from the roof with prying tool, but will not snap out... not sure which end to pull from, I fear it breaking... anyone have any advise on removal?

kitlz

Yes, the rear dome can be removed, at least that's what the dealer told me. I doubt they've changed it since I asked a few years ago. I tried running my trusty plastic card around the edges but it wouldn't budge. And it wasn't worth damaging the headliner to figure it out. I know it seems like the diffuser is in there permanently but it should come off. The tool I used was very thin metal and at least three inches wide. The whole idea was to diffuse the pressure and reach the release tabs. Maybe you can find a spackle tool that works. The ones I saw weren't thin enough but I'm sure they're out there. Good luck.

Droid13

First time I took the diffuser off the dome light, took me about 20 to 30 minutes to figure out. I put in a small 5 light LED, but a couple weeks after than I changed it to a small 48 light panel because the first wasn't bright enough compared with the 2 LEDs in the front. Anyway, took me only a couple of minutes the second time. From what I remember, sitting in the back seat with the light on, you should be able to see little dark squares at the edge - the little tabs that hold it in, 3 at back and 1 at each side toward the front. I took a flexible piece of plastic (a big plant ID tag that sticks into the dirt for plants bought at the garden center) and squeezed in right at the back of the diffuser to protect the plastic. I slide it back and forth to find the side that had the most play.

Then I took a flat metal tool about 3" wide for applying drywall filler (sounds a lot like what Anita suggested) and squeezed about 1/3 to 1/2 of it between the diffuser and the other plastic I inserted at an angle. I used that to apply some inward and downward pressure right beside the tabs. When the first one released, it popped out just a hair. I gently slide the tool to the next tab, did the same, and then it came out a bit more, the third tab popped it out noticeably, and then it was just wiggling out by hand the final two side tabs.

It took some pressure to release the first tab, but the wide tool and the plastic behind it made sure I didn't dig into the plastic and scratch it.

Dolphin

Droid, Anita....thx...sounds like we all have the same concept ....
in my case, I have a 2" wide very thin pry bar, spackle knife, etc, and simply can NOT get anything between the diffuser edge and the fixture housing. It feels like its glued together :-)
The front dome was a breeze, hard to fathom why the rear is so difficult. anyway, as Droid mentioned, you keep working the diffuser till you find some play...I have not found the play...but good to know the diffuser component can be removed... what a PITA for those who have not ventured into this yet... yes, my fixture is a bit hacked up already, arggggg....hard to keep it pristine when its secured so tightly... I doubt dealer could do much better

mkaioh08

Not sure if this is the correct place to post, but the passenger side light above the mirror flickers, especially when moving or on bumps, I was wondering if this could be an indication that its about to go out? How or where can I get a replacement, whatever I need? Or should I go to the dealership?

kitlz

Welcome to CL, mkaioh08. It's hard to say if the light is about to go out. One thing you could do is remove the bulb from the other vanity light and switch them out. The bulb size is 194. You can try an auto store or the dealership. Who knows, maybe they'll give you one for free. The tab holding the light housing is on the short side. I used a plastic card to release it. Here's a picture.