# 2003 Lexus ES300 getting inside headlight cover?.



## jigsaww (Jul 26, 2015)

I've spent over $200 on headlight kits in the past 2 years. Being cheap and not wanting to pay $169 each for some headlight covers, then since the bumper has to be removed (i've heard people saying its a headache and u have to use some special tool for that. So i'm figuring my total for 2 lights installed would run me at least $500. i just spent big on my 120k full tuneup, 4 new tires, led lights on the inside and though i prefer keeping radios and rhems factory. i had to take my factory cd player out because it came with a tape player. I'm very retro but didn't like that particular look....So i've spent a lot of money lately on the car and other things. My headlight covers weren't horrible, probably a C-. some kits did help but i always felt if i could get to the inside we'd see a real change. Long story short....on a roadtrip, police officer pulls me over notifies me a headlight is out, i informed him i had a spare in the trunk. So its 1am i make it to an open gas station, i slightly burnt myself trying to change the light, so i went on a mission looking for a backyard mechanic in a county i know absolutely nothing about at 1am. Finally! i find 3 guys outside drinking, 1 appeared to be working on a car, they confidentally said they knew how change bulbs.. well 2 hours later i had working headlights but the iditots couldn't get the rubber black piece back in, they said it wouldnt hurt anything 1 side was already torn. In hindsight the side torn was the blurriest headlight. Basically without the rubber pieces i guess water had been getting inside the headlights. So i go to drive thru car wash. i guess the soap got on the inside of headlights and dried up. Now my headlights really look like crap, they are awful. i've tried 10 junkyards no luck. i hear dissembling and assembling is a headache and i'm not mechanically inclined so it sounds like a nightmare. 

Just in thinking, do you think, i could cut the headlight cover out, clean it and glue it back on using a clear glue usually used for glass would work? 
Any suggestions other than buying 2 new ones or going to the dealership? Thanks


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## Marqed97 (Mar 19, 2011)

I'd just buy 2 new complete headlight assemblies and pay the hour or two labor to replace them. Pretty much all cars these days require the front bumper cover to be removed to remove a headlight unit...it's not that big of a deal. 

A quick search of Depo and a few other body shop supply warehouses show pairs of new complete headlight assemblies for $200-400 (for a pair). It you want oem Lexus units, then yes, you're going to pay extra for them. 

On a side note: Paying '3 guys outside drinking beer' to work on your Lexus, and then being unhappy with the results, is just.........wow. 2 hours messing with a headlight? They probably weren't even qualified to put on deodorant.


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## jigsaww (Jul 26, 2015)

Thanks for your response.


i haven't seen a pair for $200 i think the lowest i saw was around $140 each......is there a drawback to not getting OEM headlights? i've never had to buy a headlight and this is my 4th Lexus. Though the car is paid for i don't see myself having it in 3 years so i will avoid OEM headlights at all cost but i had a friend with Pontiac tell me he bought some non oem's and 2 different shops couldn't get them sealed properly (whenever washed or rain) you could see proof of an entrance on the inside of the headlights.

Far as me paying the wino's, like i said this is my 4th Lexus, Tires Plus, a local shop and Jiffy Lube have done all of my work with the exception of lights. I've usually gone to guys outside the auto store until I found out Jiffy Lube changed lights cheaper than wino's. But, i had because i had 4 hours left on the road, a cop stopped me, i hate when i driver is behind me with 1 light, i definitely wanted to get the light changed and nobody not even a couple of wino's ever had trouble putting on a light. Then these guys said it with the ultimate confidence. Unfortunately, i'm not mechanically inclined, the car had been running for hours and i've been burnt twice under hoods thankfully both healed but early in life i made the decision under the hood isn't for me. 


If plastic and fiber glass can be cut or drilled i don't see why i can't cut a piece of the of the headlight cover clean inside and glue back together.


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

Dude, go here>> http://www.autolightsbulbs.com/2003/Lexus/ES300/automotivelights.aspx It takes a week to get them but I've been using them for a while now. Nice lights and no hassle.:thumbup:


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