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Hey, this was pretty easy to do after all. I'm not sure where the confusion is, but it only took me about fifteen minutes per side (and that was taking photos along the way). As mentioned in this thread, I tapped into the footwell lights on each side.
There are three phillips screws that need to be removed to drop the panel under the dash on the driver's side. Once the screws are out, the panel falls away easily.
Once exposed, look for the two wires that connect to the foot-well bulb (reddish and blue):
Those will be the wires you use to connect the illuminated door sills.
Don't connect the wires just yet, you need to run the door sill wiring loom. Remove the old door sill. I used the new one to easily locate where the snap-mounts were located. With a pry bar and/or panel tool, the old sill just pops out.
You'll see that the rocker panel was also moved out of the way to make routing the sill wiring a simpler task:
Once the cable is routed correctly, use the included wiring splitters:
Tidy things up (the kit includes zip ties), optimize the cable path, reinstall the rocker panel and molding...then snap the new illuminated door sill in place.
The passenger side was even easier, as there are no screws. Pry the old sill out using the same method as before:
As before, the rocker molding pops off and makes routing the new door sill wiring a breeze;
The passenger side panel snaps away from the underside of the dash (no brute force needed):
Locate the foot well light, that's your target power source. I removed the housing from the panel in order to make the new wiring connection a simpler task:
Here's the foot well light's housing removed from the panel:
Now route the new door sill wiring:
Tap into the wiring like the driver's side and tidy up the cables:
The pictures don't really do the new sills any justice. They look much better in person:
I also did the rear sills, but didn't take any pictures. Just snap the old ones off, and snap the new ones in place. Okay, it was a little difficult to get things lined up perfectly, but still very straightforward.
I'm still very confused why there wouldn't be an option for the rears. BTW, the night time photos make the lighting look a little blurry, that's not the case in-person.
AND, I was concerned about using the footwell light as a power source since the light will stay on while driving. I think it's perfectly fine. When the doors are opened, I like the way the sills glow then get brighter (just like the dome/foot well lights do). It's a nice side effect, if you pay close attention.
Hey, this was pretty easy to do after all. I'm not sure where the confusion is, but it only took me about fifteen minutes per side (and that was taking photos along the way). As mentioned in this thread, I tapped into the footwell lights on each side.
Awesome posts DallasDave and thanks for the quick DIY pics!
I may have to tackle this one of these days or if I'm ever in the Dallas area, I may have to contact you to make this easier
Where is the best place to get the illuminated door sills kit (that comes with everything you need)?
Many Thanks for this guide. It was perfect and took around 40 minutes to do both sides. The Lexus instructions are 25 pages!! Not sure why they say to remove the centre console trim it is not necessary. These are an expensive option here in the uk maybe they make it look complicated to justify the cost!!
10-08-16, 12:20 PM
