What did you have to do to get them to work on your 08?

 

The new headlights made the car look 7+ years younger. Unfortunately, one of my DRL bulbs(? - the inner halogen looking one) seems to have died in the process, despite being handled carefully, so that will have to be corrected. I may even try to turn them off, any suggestions?


FYI the car is due for a car wash, so ignore the dirt and grim

 

You will need a new bulb to make sure your highbeams work correctly..

To disable DRL function you will need access to Techstream software via OBDII

or maybe the dealership you purchased the lights from can assist with getting them turned off for you..


Joe Z

 

Hi Joe,

I went to check on the car to figure out what was going on. The high beams worked perfectly after the swap and currently. The light that was out after I did the swap is on when I checked last. I believe this may be the parking light.

 

Tangential but related...
I was rummaging around in my fender well a couple weekends ago, and it seems the only way to replace the front turn signal bulb is to remove the bumper and then the headlight assembly. Can you confirm?

 

Yes, you are correct.

 

Yes, bumper removal is necessary for headlight access.

 

My car's headlights were well on their way to looking like top left, but I was able to restore them using the 3M 39008 . It took me ~5hrs per headlight to get all the pits and spots ground down and clarity to my satisfaction. The Trizact disk is the key step. I used up two kit's worth of these disks before I found out they are sold separately in bulk as . The 3M 39162 is a decent product for quick removal of minor yellowing, and Mother's 08808 polish leaves a nice gloss.

Everything else I tried is useless or worse.
RainX's kit is the worst, put scratches on my other car that took me forever to remove with Trizact. Avoid at all costs.
Meguiar's G3000 kit with PlastX doesn't have enough cut and the sanding tool cannot begin compare to 3M's drill setup for efficiency.
Anyways, I went into a headlight restoration deep-dive last May for two cars, just wanted to pass along the findings...

 

@ChpEng get some clear bra / PPF on the cleaned up headlights..!!

Its the only way I roll..

I still have MY08 original lights with PPF sitting in a storage closet, with 40k miles on the PPF.. Installed at 75 miles

Lenses are likely flawless once the film is removed..

I need to redo my PPF on my current OEM lights and front clip too..

Joe Z

 

I hear you @Joe Z . After the restoration deep dive last summer, I bought a Headlight Armor PPF set for headlight assembly and fog lights. I installed the PPF on the retro-fitted 2014 LED fog lights (really they are just stickers).

But I have not done the headlights yet. The headlight PPF is a wet application process, and by most accounts is not very forgiving. Do you DIY your own PPF's, or have a shop to recommend? Do you have PPF on front bumper (plastic), or just leading edge of hood and fenders?

Late last year Griot's Garage released a ceramic coating product line which includes a headlight coating, but given the fog light's and headlight's tendency to shot peened by road detritus, I think PPF offers superior protection.

 

@ChpEng I never got into the DIY portion of the clear bra / PPF install..

I always had a goto place 12 plus years ago but they now only focus on special products, training and distribution. "AeroTect"

I know there is a ton of shops now doing this work.. I had "Impressive Wrap" in SGV, do my 2014 LED fog lights many years back.. Those were done wet and easy of course.

Originally when new in 2009 my F had a 30" curved bikini cut full front done which included hood, bumper, fenders, mirror caps and the full side skirt valance on both sides. (by AeroTect) The curve was introduced to help with the straight line film shadow on the hood which was a common complaint.

Now you can get precut Half & Full hood kits.. And most shops have all these templates in their systems.



Front Kit types reference only...



A couple years later, we redid whole hood in "Frost" at the time, now called matte clear PPF and it gave my car a unique look.. We somehow came up with the spindle grill effect before it was even a thing for Lexus

My PPF needs a complete overhaul / redo.. It's almost 12 years old and it has done its job very well..

IMHO beats repainting the font clip..!! Already replaced the pitted front windshield..

Here is my F in its prime approx 8-9 years ago or soo..

Pre-headlight & fog light & wheel updates.. I still have these original HID / AFS housings property stored in my garage.



Older pic from many years ago...


Joe Z