New baja designs squadron fog light upgrade on 4runner limited nightshade

Hi! A couple of weeks ago i upgraded my 2020 4runner limited night shade’s fog lights with the baja designs squadron fog lights. I have a couple of things to say about it:

1. the final result: i love the new lights. They are quite powerful! Lol. Now im almost hoping to be in white out conditions just to give them a proper test! To be honest i dont even know if they are street legal so i just use them when im by myself on the road or keep them off altogether just leaving them for what they are intended. But i totally like them.

2. The installation process:
All the youtube videos i found about the installation of these lights were done in TRD or SD5 models and they only mentioned that the “bumper on the limited was different so installation steps could be “slightly” different”
Well, not quite and thats why i used quotation marks within quotation marks because the differences are not slightly at all. Lol. First of all the wheel well guard removal is a bit different than the more general 4runner model, in fact, in all the videos they perform the mod with the tires in place. I removed them and i think it is if not totally necessary it will make your life a lot easier while you do this. Second, the installation on the driver side is a pain in the ass! In the standard 4runner model, the fog light can be removed from behind underneath the fender, with no housing to remove. The limited is different, it is necessary to remove the whole housing from the foglight itself and that is done through the outside front of the vehicle grill. For that, the fog light housing has three interior plastic clips that have to be removed (plus a screw) in order to free the fog light housing and pull it from the front of the vehicle. Well, releasing the clips is a bitch! Lol... took quite a while to accomplish that. Once you do that you have to wedge your way out to pull the housing but it then comes out.
Once that is done, then removing the fog light and installing the new ones is not quite a big deal and is quick. Side brackets have to be mounted on the lights but it is also straight forward to determine which way they go. The lights come with a harness adapter in order to fit with the factory electrical vehicle plug. Caution must be taken to keep the right polarity. The harness comes with a brown and black wire. The brown must go with the white and black with black. then you think the worst is over and putting everything back together will be a piece of cake, well not quite either...
after several attempts of pushing the foglight back in place, it would not “snap” in place. Well, i dont know if the 2020 model is different than the previous. But part of the new bracket sticks out and is in the way between the housing and the vehicle light opening. So, i had to saw off a little bit of the plastic of the vehicle opening where the fog light housing goes in order for it to snap back in place properly. Not a big deal but necessary none the less. After that the reassembly is straight forward. I just tie wrapped the new fog light cable to keep it in place since it will now be longer due to the adapter.
The passenger side installation is quite easier since all necessary parts are more accesible. (Still had to remove my tire)
And last but not least, the baja lights are advertised as compatible with all 4runner models, however i did find that the new spot light did cover the whole spot light area in my 4runner housing. A little gap is noticeable. Not a big deal and again i dont know if this was just different in the 2020 model, but if you are a perfectionist or care a lot about details, the little gap might drive you nuts. I had to really “therapy” myself to “not care” about it.

all and all from afar the lights look great and the illumination is incredible.

if you have a limited model, just be prepared for a “more fun” installation process.

cheers from Canada.

 

Thanks for the write up. I have a limited and looking at doing these or diode SS3's. There is a pretty good youtube video of installing new fogs on a limited. Sure looks like a pain, especially the drivers side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrm5Cr9AqXs

 

Yeah, i did see that video, and inwas thankful for it, otherwise i would not have been able to do the upgrade myself. But yeah those clips on the driver side are a complete pain in the ass! Lol...
Good luck with your upgrade and if you go with the SS3 lights would be nice to know how you liked them!

 

Thanks for the write up, great job. That mis-spacing would drive me nuts, so maybe the factory LEDs for me...

 

Nice OP! They are great off roading lights or for back roads with no traffic!

I just switched out my bajas for the diode dynamics SS3 fogs PRO.
Right is the baja, left is DD. You can see the light spill from the bajas on the right. Reason I switched was because the bajas were not street legal, and were incredibly bright and would blind oncoming traffic. SS3 are just as bright, but have a proper cutoff and are street legal!
FYI, the SS3 was not properly aligned yet, it sits lower since then.

 

Very interesting, good pic. How was the fitment with the SS3s?

 

Exact same as the bajas. Slight gap due to lights being aimed down to where they’re supposed to but not noticeable.
side by side shot, baja left SS3 right.

 

While I am bummed to hear that the installation and fit and finish were not up to your standards and hopes, I am very appreciative of the feedback. Being that this kit is compatible with a few different Toyota platforms, it does make some roof for variation and inconsistencies.

I have already sent this to our Engineering team so that they can take into account some of the setbacks that you experienced during installation. Once they get a chance to review your feedback, they will update our printed instructions.
I am also waiting to hear back from them with any feedback they may want to share with you/the forum.

Thanks for supporting Baja Designs and being forthcoming with your experience.

-Chris F.

 

thank you for your comment, i appreciate it! i love your product, the lights are really nice. In general im happy with my purchase, but like you said because the kit fits different vehicles, i kind of expected to find some minor issues or differences.
I do hope that my feedback helps you to keep improving your product.
Thank you!