If you are going to start playing with plastic interior parts on ANY car, do yourself a favor and go to Harbor Freight and get yourself one of those interior molding removal tool sets. They are about $5.00, and work so much better than a screwdriver, and being made of neoprene, they don't scratch.

But for the lower door courtesy light, the passenger door pry's from the rear of the lens, and the drivers door pry's from the front of the lens. Look close. You'll see just a little bit larger gap at the pry points and the screwdriver should pop them right out. Maybe you were prying from the wrong end?

You'll need to shop around at the LED bulb places and get yourself some like these in the following pictures. They offer the most directional light. Good luck though. I had to order these from Japan and they weren't cheap. But they do make a much brighter, whiter light, and with the sills, it would look great.

 

thank you TheAirman, you are a life saver! and you were correct I was prying from the wrong end
have you looked into v-leds.com? they have a few looks similar as the one you suggested
http://www.v-leds.com/Interior-LED-B...orLanding/true
not sure if those will be as bright as yours though.
BTW, I followed your post for the dome light and trunk light~ they look fantastic afterwards! thanks for the great post

 

I agree. HS was designed with similar design cues to Rx. HS was also first Lexus to show the front end styling seen later on the CT and now the GS and soon to be revealed ES. We have red 2010 RX and white premium HS. My only complaint with HS is the power brake pump that is annoying and very unlexus in nature. We have had 4 RXs. This HS is our first hybrid. Camry hybrid is the better buy for the technology but we love the Lexus dealer pampering and loaner cars too much I guess!

 

HS introduced the new front end styling we now see on the CT, GS,and soon on the ES. Rx and HS share many design cues.

 

Good post. A dealer told me just about the same thing regarding the styling.

 

Hi, we also have an RX and a white premium HS like you. The cars Share a number of design cues:
The chrome strips down the side rocker panels
The side view of the hood and front fender
The mirror details
The tail lights sorta

My only long term dislike about the car is the annoying electric pump that energizes the power brake booster! But otherwise I love the high tech aspects and the mileage, usually 36 around town and 38 to 40 on the road.

 

I agree with you~ RX & HS feels similar in so many ways.
my only dislike is I have yet to find a comfortable spot when I take the car for a spin once in a while... no complaints from my wife...yet~
it was fairly easy to find the sweet spot in RX..for me anyway