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Noob here.
2013 LS F Sport. How do you remove the white cover here? Would like to change the bulbs to go LED and brighter. Don't like yellow lights inside the car. Do I just need a flatter bone tool?
The door lights and foot well lights were already LED, not sure if they are like that from the factory. The front vanity lights, I was able to replace by just tilting one side and pulling out the bulb. I couldn't get the entire assembly out as it felt I was going to rip something. I have already replaced the rear vanity bulbs and am just waiting for a bulb for the rear dome light.
Are the spot lights replaceable as well? Thanks!
I have a 2008 so not sure if it's different (looks the same as your pic though). I just pried the cover off with a very small flat head screwdriver. I did the rear and front dome lights in LED.
Noob here.
2013 LS F Sport. How do you remove the white cover here? Would like to change the bulbs to go LED and brighter. Don't like yellow lights inside the car. Do I just need a flatter bone tool?
The door lights and foot well lights were already LED, not sure if they are like that from the factory. The front vanity lights, I was able to replace by just tilting one side and pulling out the bulb. I couldn't get the entire assembly out as it felt I was going to rip something. I have already replaced the rear vanity bulbs and am just waiting for a bulb for the rear dome light.
Are the spot lights replaceable as well? Thanks!
You have to use a flat tool and insert it right by where the tabs on the cover snap into the housing. Still it takes some doing, and it might feel as if you will break the tabs. But once I got the hang of it, I was able to pop off the cover twice. Same goes for rear dome light cover too. I have had a harder time getting the cover off the front vanity shade so it's still the filament bulb. I have also not changed the rear vanities because these hardly get used.
The spot lights are already LED, why do you want to replace them? If you haven't already, change the trunk lights to LEDs. It really makes a difference.
As a side note, get a set of nylon or plastic pry tools. You don't really want to put metal against these plastic parts. Plus they'll come in handy if you ever decide to do work behind the dash, etc.
As a side note, get a set of nylon or plastic pry tools. You don't really want to put metal against these plastic parts. Plus they'll come in handy if you ever decide to do work behind the dash, etc.
This is excellent advice.
In fact I bought a set of nylon tools on Amazon but found they were not suited for the job. These were mostly too fat and designed to remove larger panels. There could be other better nylon tools but I didn't find them.
These tools were too big: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Next, I bought a set of nylon/metal pry tools. Again, the nylon ones are just not thin enough to slide between the housing and dome cover. The metal tools work very well. You have to be gentle and careful but persistent, and you can get off the covers without damage or nicks.
This set worked: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Man, you guys are great!!
I was using my brother's bone tool but it seemed to be a little too thick to go in between the spaces. And I definitely was not going to use a tiny flat head screwdriver I've always used for other bulb replacements. I definitely did not want to leave a mark. I actually ordered the following and will see how it works. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00792JJK4
If it doesn't, I will go ahead and order the set that comotiger used. I will definitely be taking my time with this one.
Success! Used the following bulbs for the front and rear domes: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FKPJJNY/
For the rear ones, I also removed the internal cover so that brightens the inside a bit more.
Used the tool I bought as mentioned. They did work, but for only the back part (the ones away from the spot button). For the ones by the button, I used the tool along with a small flat head screwdriver. Managed to put a tiny nick on the passenger side one. Man, was that a PITA to remove.
With the flat board LED, I only used one of the light sockets (driver side) as it was plenty bright enough and just let the light sit on the cover. I did not use the adhesive side as I wasn't really sure where to adhere it to. Should be fine? Not like I'm going to have the light on for hours, or even minutes.
Overall, I did not like this experience. But happy overall with the lighting.
I recently finished updating much of the forward, interior & exterior lighting in my recently-acquired 2007 Lexus LS460 … so I thought I would share the bulb specifications (and all the other information) I discovered & the links to the products I used.
In my prior Toyota vehicle, an Avalon, I had installed some interior custom color LED panels, as I have seen other posters do here (sweet) … but with this LS460, I decided to just stick close to the vehicle's 'executive cruiser' motif: equivalent bulbs, LEDs where possible, no rewiring, no kits, no custom colors, etc.
I found the 2007 LS460 Owner's Manual (page 615), LightBulbs.com, BulbAmerica.com, sylvania-automotive.com/bulb-finder.html & AutomotiveBulbFinder.com (ie, Philips) … and the bulbs I actually pulled … all to be good sources of specification information. Also my past research for lighting solutions for my Avalon benefitted this Lexus. As well as, of course, these boards … thank you all very much. I know there are stickies and other postings around holding various information regarding this topic, but still, after all the time/effort/research I invested, let me share what I discovered & did in a single post. No need for anyone else to spend all that time pulling it all together.
Forward Lighting
High-Beam Headlight. Halogen 60w, 9005/HB3 socket, qty 2. I installed OSRAM 3700K Night Breaker Unlimited. https://bit.ly/3hrL50A , https://amzn.to/36vjHZ2 . About $35.00/pair. In halogens, brightness & whiteness are a tradeoff; these seem to be the best balance of both, according to some online comparison testing I uncovered. This product is apparently now OOP; the closest alternatives IMHO are the superseding OSRAM product 'Night Breaker Laser 150' & also the competing 'Sylvania SilverStar Ultra' product. Know that you are also trading off product life in exchange for the improvement in bright & white. For these products you should trust your source and beware of counterfeits. DIY instructions in the 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (pages 550-551).
Low-Beam Headlight. HID/Discharge 35w, D4S socket, qty 2. I installed DMEX-branded 6000K HID Bulbs. https://amzn.to/36ojfvM . About $35.00/pair. If you go with OEM or name-brand, you will get bit/hit for over $130 per BULB or more. I've used these various-discounted-no-name-brands-on-Amazon as source for HIDs for over ten years, counting my Avalon years. Only once did I have a quality issue with any of them, one blowing a ballast, for which I found an aftermarket replacement on Amazon, the cost $60. The 2007 LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement. But you can DIY; instructions are posted at https://bit.ly/3e35J53 , https://bit.ly/3khuaQj , https://bit.ly/2UU9qDu . To gain best access to the bulb socket, dismount the wheel and uninstall the plastic fender liner; you can gain a lesser degree of access by just turning the wheel and loosening the front-half of the liner.
Fog Lights. Halogen 51w, 9006/HB4 socket, qty 2. I installed Nokya 7610 2500K 55W Hyper Yellow Bulbs. https://amzn.to/3wvBnyk . About $17.00/pair. Old-school bright yellow as running lights to increase awareness in on-facing drivers -- more so than for actual visibility in fog. I leave them switched on permanently. In the early Avalon years, I applied 'PIAA 13506 2500K Plasma Ion Crystal Yellow' here, and they held for seven years, but they are far more expensive and over time I observed increased postings of drop in quality. So I migrated to these Nokyas. DIY instructions in the 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (pages 552-553).
Interior Lighting
Front Dome Interior Lights. W8W 8w T10 wedge, qty 2. (I know the incandescent is a 12v 8w Toshiba T10 because I pulled it and it is labeled as such.) Installed LEDs: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V . [ In case the link ever 404s, that's a pack of LBRST-branded 168/2825/W5W/194 CANBUS Error-Free 6000K T10 Wedge LEDs.] W8W incandescent bulbs are not available at retail; the OEM Toshiba 8w incandescent bulb is available as Toyota part number 90981-11062.
Front Dome Personal/Map/Spot Lights. LEDs, qty 2. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded, with heatsinks, into the entire 81260A 'Lamp Assy, Map.' Specific assembly part # varies based on specific vehicle options.
Front Vanity (Courtesy) Lights. W8W 8w T10 wedge, qty 2. (Again, I know the incandescent is a 12v 8w Toshiba T10 because I pulled it and it is labeled as such.) Installed LEDs: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V . W8W incandescent bulbs are not available at retail; the OEM Toshiba 8w incandescent bulb is available as Toyota part number 90981-11062.
Glove Box Light. LED, qty 1. Individual LED not replaceable; embedded into the entire OEM 81080-50030 'Lamp Assy, Glove Box.' The light, barely visible, peeks out of a hole at the top center back of the lower compartment of the glove box, behind the dividing post. You can pull-off its translucent orange cap for a somewhat brighter & whiter illumination. I suppose you could DIY-wire a LED-panel solution if you wanted more light in there; that's what I had done for my Avalon.
Front Ash Tray Light. LED, qty 1. Individual LED not replaceable; embedded into the entire OEM 81080-50030 'Lamp Assy, Interior Illumination, No.1.' (Yes, it's the same part # as the glove box light.). If you pull the actual 'ash receptacle' out as though you were going to dump it out, you can see the lens for the LED (to shine through) at the top of the receptacle compartment. The lens does not appear to be detachable. So apparently you would have to pull this part of the center console assembly to access the LED assembly and pull-off its translucent orange cap.
Rear Ash Tray Lights. #74 14v 1.4w T5 wedge, qty 2. LED Source: https://amzn.to/2VqZdi6 . If you pull out the actual 'ash receptacle' as though you were going to dump it out, you can see the bulb inside the receptacle compartment on the side that faces the rear of the vehicle. The bulbs are covered with a translucent green rubber film to dampen them into ambiance. I was able to pull most of the green film off using some precision-point tweezers. Though it looks as though the bulbs themselves can be readily pulled (even in the parts explosion), I was unable to get them to release from their sockets; they must require access via panel removals. I'll ask the dealership to swap-in the LEDs when they do my ZLZ. The Toyota part number for the OEM bulb is 90981-11041.
Door (Lower Panel) Courtesy Lights. #2825 5w T10 wedge, qty 4. [NOTE: 168, 2825 & W5W are equivalent 5w T10 bulbs, simply bearing differing nomenclature depending upon the enumeration source.] Installed LEDs: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V . You should be able to easily remove the plastic bezels by just pulling gently at the gaps that run along their bottom edges.
Rear Dome Interior Light. DE3175 8w Festoon/Double-End/Fuse Type, qty 1. Installed LED: https://amzn.to/3hNw4oM . Nice and bright and white.
Rear Dome Personal/Map/Spot Lights. LEDs, qty 2. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded, with heatsinks, into the entire OEM 81360-50030 'Lamp Assy, Spot.'
Rear Vanity (Courtesy) Lights. DE3021 3w Festoon/Double-End/Fuse Type, qty 6. Installed LEDs: https://amzn.to/3yVzTzl . The festoon LED I selected for the rear dome interior light (per above) has too much diameter, with its heatsink, to be applied here. So I went with this traditional, thinner, just 3-LED, solution.
Trunk Interior (In-Cavity) Light. #194 3.8w T10 wedge, qty 1. [NOTE: The only difference between 194 & 168/2825/W5W is the wattage.] Installed LED: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V .
Trunk Interior (In-Decklid) Light. #194 3.8w T10 wedge, qty 1. [NOTE: The only difference between 194 & 168/2825/W5W is the wattage.] Installed LED: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V .
Exterior Lighting
Front Turn Signal Lights. #7440NA (NA=Amber) 21w T20 wedge, qty 2. LED sources: https://amzn.to/3wuBFWg , https://amzn.to/3hNqBhy , https://amzn.to/3xv6jAl , https://amzn.to/3AKgFOB . LEDs installed in this location may also require installation of a load-resistor or flash-relay to defeat 'hyper-flashing.' The sources I provided above all claim to have sufficient internal load resistors to defeat hyper-flashing … but I suggest you read the reviewer comments reporting mixed results. DIY instructions in the 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (pages 553-554). DIY instructions for installing bulb are also posted at https://bit.ly/2Vukw2h . I did not want to deal with hyper-flashing issues, resistors that may overheat or digging-deep into the dashboard to install a custom flash-relay … just to gain a brighter turn signal. So I installed incandescent #7440A amber Sylvania SilverStars, $12/pair. https://bit.ly/3rvkqU9, https://bit.ly/36Klude . The only place that stocked them, online or off, was AutoZone; they came chromed. ('Chromed' deletes the 'fried egg' appearance of an amber bulb housed within a clear lens & silver reflector; the chrome coating is thin enough so that they still illuminate as amber.) They supposedly deliver a much brighter & whiter light (at the expense of delivering only 300 hours of expected life).I find them to indeed be much brighter than the stock/OEM incandescent bulbs.
Front Parking/Clearance ('Nike Swoosh') Lights. #2825 5w T10 Wedge, qty 2. [NOTE: 168, 2825 & W5W are equivalent 5w T10 bulbs, simply bearing differing nomenclature depending upon the enumeration source.] I have not yet modified. LED source: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V . The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement. DIY instructions for installing bulb are posted at https://bit.ly/3ws7TBq , https://bit.ly/3xuA8Rg , https://bit.ly/3hTB0ID .
Front Side Marker Lights. #194NA (NA=Amber) 3.8w T10 wedge, qty 2. [NOTE: The only difference between 194 & 168/2825/W5W is the wattage.] I have not yet modified. LED sources: https://amzn.to/3k3vAgS , https://amzn.to/3k3m9Or , https://amzn.to/3qXD4Uj , https://amzn.to/3e2cUu8 . The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement.
Front Side Turn Signal Lights. Well, actually, there are not any. Even though the 2007 LS460 Owner's Manual erroneously references their existence as 5w amber bulbs (page 615) … and advises dealership and/or professional replacement (page 557). The errata reference to the existence of front side turn signal lights at page 615 was deleted in the 2008 LS460 Owner's Manual (page 677). However, the errata reference at page 557 remained uncorrected.
Outer Foot Lights (Side Mirror Puddle Lamps). #2825 5w T10 wedge, qty 2. [NOTE: 168, 2825 & W5W are equivalent 5w T10 bulbs, simply bearing differing nomenclature depending upon the enumeration source.] I have not yet modified. LED source: https://amzn.to/3xzH13V . In order to gain access to replace the bulb, the side mirror must be tilted all the way up, then snapped out of its assembly by pulling on its bottom, then the rest of the assembly must be disassembled. DIY instructions are posted at https://bit.ly/2PW6vIa , https://bit.ly/2T12cge , https://bit.ly/3k2xVc7 , https://bit.ly/3wziEC9 , https://bit.ly/3yKtwPe .
High-Mount/Third Brake Light. OEM LEDs. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded into the entire 81570-50070 'Lamp Assy, Center Stop' LED strip. The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement. DIY instructions for installing 81570-50070 are posted at https://bit.ly/3hpeAzT .
Backup Lights. #921 16w T15 wedge, qty 2. Installed LEDs: https://amzn.to/3yHXzH7 . Extremely white & bright! DIY instructions in the 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 555).
Rear License Plate Lights. OEM LEDs. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded, with heatsinks, into the entire OEM 81270-30261 'Lamp Assy, License Plate.' The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement. I installed a 12-LED Bolt-On Light Bar: https://amzn.to/3APafhm , https://amzn.to/3hw1sZY . Just splice red & black to existing license plate light wiring (not the trunk release wiring), then run the two license plate bolts through the two bolt holes on the light bar.
Rear Side Marker Lights. OEM LEDs. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded into the entire OEM 81561-50170 (LH) & 81551-50170 (RH) 'Lens & Body, Rear Combination Lamp.' The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557) advises dealership and/or professional replacement.
Rear Turn Signal Lights. #921 16w T15 wedge, qty 4. (It takes TWO per side, in 2007-2009.) LEDs installed in this location may also require installation of a load-resistor or flash-relay to defeat 'hyper-flashing.' DIY instructions in the 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 556). I did not want to deal with hyper-flashing issues, resistors that may overheat or digging-deep into the dashboard to install a custom flash-relay … just to gain a brighter turn signal. So I installed incandescent #921 blue-coated Sylvania SilverStars, $11/pair. https://amzn.to/3yGIGVB, https://bit.ly/3r3PABO . They supposedly deliver a much brighter & whiter light (at the expense of delivering only 175 hours of expected life).
Brake/Stop Lights & (Nighttime) Tail Lights. OEM LEDs. Individual LEDs not replaceable; embedded into the entire OEM 81561-50170 (LH) & 81551-50170 (RH) 'Lens & Body, Rear Combination Lamp.' Further, from The 2007 Lexus LS460 Owner's Manual (page 557): "The stop lights consist of a number of LEDs. If any of the LEDs burn out, take your vehicle to your Lexus dealer to have the light replaced."
Ambient Lighting
There are small ambient lights (1) in the front & rear foot/toe-wells, (2) above the door release handles, (3) in the glove box (as noted above) and (4) shining down on the center console from the map/dome assembly. As delivered, they are quite dim.
From looking at various photos of the front dome assembly (over on feeBay and such), I am pretty sure these are LEDs just soldered directly onto the greenboard. And that a bunch of disassembly of the front dome assembly would be required to access them … even if there were a reason to do so. So there's really no fix there; they are just dull, dim amber and that's the way it is. In my own LS460, you have to hold your hand right up to them to even see that they are throwing off any light. Useless.
The front & rear foot/toe-well LED assemblies are ambient due to being covered with translucent orange rubber caps (as with the glove box). Just pull off the orange caps and they illuminate as brighter-white. DIY instructions for accessing the orange caps for the rear foot/toe-wells (under the front seats) are posted at https://bit.ly/3hPhk8I .
To gain access to the door handle lights, you have to actually remove the door panels, then there are white plastic assemblies with orange-filmed bulbs inside.
T5 vs. T10 vs. T15 vs. T20
When it comes to these little automotive bulbs, the "T" stands for 'tubular' (that being the general shape of the bulb) … and the number after the T refers to the size of its wedge socket. Think of "T5" as small socket, "T10" & "T15" as medium sockets and "T20" as large socket.
So the "T#" part of a bulb description is NOT about the wattage or voltage specified for a bulb, it is about the type/size of the wedge SOCKET specified. For example, 168 (5.0w) bulbs & 194 (3.8w) bulbs, both always come with a T10 socket. While a 7440 (21w) bulb always comes with a T20 socket.
The wedge socket on the T10 & the T15 are actually the exact same size; the difference, in incandescents, is that T15 BULBS are physically larger and deliver higher wattages. So you can apply a T10 incandescent into a socket calling for a T15 but it probably won't be as bright, being of lower wattage … and if you try to put a T15 incandescent bulb into a T10 socket, the socket will fit, but the BULB may be too big to fit into the allotted space.
CANBUS error-free LEDs & Hyper-flashing
THE MAJOR TAKEAWAY: CANBUS error-free LEDs are designed to resolve CANBUS bulb failure reporting errors, NOT to simultaneously resolve hyper-flashing issues (though they sometimes do so).
THE UGLY DETAILS: A CANBUS bulb error is when an LED (replacing an incandescent) causes the vehicle's "Controller Area Network Bus" to falsely report a bulb failure to the driver. CANBUS systems are mostly found in European vehicles. A hyper-flashing error is when an LED (replacing an incandescent) as a turn signal cycles its flashing much more frequently than normal, perhaps as much as 2 times per second.
Both of these errors are effected by electrical resistance issues. LEDs use less power than incandescents, and less power means higher resistance (P=V²/R). In the case of a CANBUS error, the CANBUS is polling the LED, finding a resistance sufficiently inconsistent with the incandescent specification and interpreting that as meaning the bulb has failed. In the case of a hyper-flashing error, the turn signal flash relay is not receiving from the LED the resistance required or expected. A thermal turn signal flash relay actually USES resistance to operate, opening and closing the circuit (based on its own resistor's heating & cooling) to create the flash cycles; hence a change in resistance effects a change in the rate of flash cycling. An (OEM) electronic turn signal flash relay behaves in similar fashion to CANBUS; if it senses a resistance sufficiently inconsistent with the incandescent specification, it interprets that as meaning the bulb has failed and (intentionally) generates hyper-flashing down the line, intended for the instrument panel turn signal display, as a means to advise the driver of the bulb failure.
CANBUS error-free LEDs attempt to correct the CANBUS issue with a small internal resistor bridging across the LED's circuit so that the LED will absorb some small amount of additional power, lowering its resistance 'just enough' so that the bulb will not be detected by CANBUS as failed. That bridge resistor is intentionally NOT specified to be sufficient to absorb ALL the incremental amount of power needed to fully mimic the resistance of the incandescent, as it would become very hot and likely cause damage to the LED and/or nearby objects.
Hence CANBUS error-free LEDs may well NOT generate sufficiently lower resistance to simultaneously resolve hyper-flashing issues, requiring instead larger, metal (and typically external) load resistors.
Those ARE designed to absorb the incremental amount of power needed to fully mimic the incandescent, and so will provide the correct degree of line resistance required for a thermal turn signal flash relay to operate at the correct flash cycling rate … and also the correct resistance so that the bulb will not be detected as failed by either an (OEM) electronic turn signal flash relay … or by CANBUS. Note this means that if you install an adequately large load resistor you should NOT also require a CANBUS error-free LED for that line. These large external load resistors, of course, get very hot. This is why they typically have huge heatsink fins and must be mounted onto metal … with metal.
Some LEDs claim to solve both issues simultaneously by having a larger load resistor installed internal to the LED. They typically have metal heatsinks, and sometimes even small fans, incorporated into the LED's design.
The above scenario explains why users experience & report such a wide variety of successes and failures in resolving hyper-flashing issues, across various LEDs:
* Some electronic turn signal flash relays, depending on their design, may 'see' (or may not 'see') the incremental lower resistance generated by a CANBUS error-free turn signal LED as 'enough' to not report a bulb failure via hyper-flashing.
* IF incandescents remain installed in EITHER the front OR the rear turn signal locations, some electronic turn signal flash relays, depending on their design, may 'see' their lower resistance on the line as adequate so as not report bulb failure via hyper-flashing … but will then hyper-flash if LEDs are installed in BOTH front AND rear locations … because the amount of lowered resistance provided by the incandescents has been removed.
* If a resistor get too hot, the IC (internal circuitry) will 'shut down' the resistor as a safety measure (so it won't catch something on fire, etc.) That means that even a turn signal LED with an appropriate resistor installed, external or internal, may STILL start hyper-flashing after being used for more than a couple of minutes, when it is being used on hot summer days, when the resistor is operating within a highly-confined space, and so forth.
* Some vehicles have thermal turn signal flash relays, others have electronic turn signal flash relays. Yet other, newer vehicles use the ECU software as the (electronic) relay (that can sometimes be re-programmed to tolerate LED parameters). Thus creating a variety of scenarios that users encounter, even when all are using the same LED.
Flash Relay to Defeat Hyper-Flashing
Here is the source for some Diode Dynamics hyper-flash-defeating flash relays, as recommended by other members elsewhere within ClubLexus: https://bit.ly/3B0ZF6K , https://amzn.to/3yQ6XIQ , https://bit.ly/3yXzpZr , https://amzn.to/3i6IQPb . The flash-relay sits behind the driver's instrument cluster; you have to remove certain trim panels so as to be able to unscrew the instrument cluster hold-downs, then set the instrument cluster aside and then swap-out the flash relay. DIY instructions for pulling the instrument cluster and installing a new flash relay are posted at https://bit.ly/3B04NrS , https://bit.ly/3i9wztD , https://bit.ly/3ecOpuz .
This dude seriously out here bombing posts with the same thing just to make a few bucks off Amazon referrals.
I am not a member of any Amazon referral program. I am just trying to make sure that all this information can be readily discovered by ClubLexus colleagues. Best wishes,
11-08-16, 04:30 PM
Front dome light help
