How To: 5th Gen LED interior conversion

jester243 · Mar 30, 2017

inocoma said: ↑

One of the best and most needed upgrades. Wish I knew what to change out the stock headlight and fog lights to? Suggestions???
Click to expand...

I agree, Toyota should have sent them from the factory with the LED interior lights. Check with @Dark Knight, I'm pretty sure he changed headlights but I'm not sure on his fogs, maybe pop in his build thread and see. I had a little too much fun last night and I can't seem to remember the brand he went with right now.

44357 · Jul 6, 2017

Great write up!

jester243[OP] initial post: ↑

I think Toyota did great with the 5th gen 4runner but they really missed the mark with such an amber colored interior light choice,

It's just not bright enough for me so this is what I did:

I purchased a set of interior LED's from member csjumper2003 on tacomaworld with 9 total lights, the 2 map, 4 lower door, dome and 2 rear door dome lights:

and then the fun began!

First up was the 4 lower door lights, I really like that they are there but again just had such a poor light output they might have well been non-existant. You can use an interior pry tool if you have one or as I did a small standard screwdriver for most of it, just be careful but I had no issues using one.

Start by prying in the mid part of the light on the right side

and the assembly will pop loose

disconnect the power clip from the light assembly

once you have this there is a small tab you will pry up and slide the grey part and the cover apart

now gently pop the grey hood off and you will have access to the light...finally

pull the stock light out and insert the LED

***at this time plug the light back into the door just to make sure it turns on, these LED's will only work in one direction, if it doesn't light up pull the LED out and turn it 180 degrees and put it back in the holder, it should light up now, I would do this step on each light otherwise you could have to take it apart just to turn the light around.***

if that works then pop the grey hood back on

and reattach the cover to the assembly

reconnect the power cable and insert the left side of the assembly first and push the right side back until is pops into place. Congrats only 3 to go, once you get the hang of it you can do a door in about 2 minutes.

Next was the rear door dome lights

they both come off the same way, you want to push your pry tool or small screwdriver on the drivers side edge up, you are going to be pushing a metal clip back to allow the light to come out

once it is free it will just slide out and hang by the power cable

pop the cover off, there are 4 tabs on the edge, be careful these didn't feel too sturdy.
the light is held at two points, one of them is flexible and you can push it down to release the light, in this case it is the tab on the bottom of the light

insert the LED, make sure the LED's are pointed out so they will put the most light out, sounds simple but I have done it wrong in the past
test the light by flipping the switch to the on position and if it lights up reattach the clear cover and reinsert the power cable side first. them just press the side with the metal clip back and it will pop into place. Both drivers and passenger sides come apart the same, the clip is on the drivers side.

Now onto the interior dome light, same type of bulb however you only want to pop the cover off, the light assembly stays mounted to the ceiling
there are 2 spots on the side with the switch facing the front of the 4runner to pop the cover off of

this has the same flexible metal tab inside holding the light, it is a tight fit if you have larger hands but just take your time putting the light in. If it tests good and lights up you just have to pop the cover back on

Finally onto the map lights, start by using your pry tool or screwdriver and start at the side closest to you

you will remove this

in a perfect world where engineers gave you room to work you would just reach up and pull the lights out of the console, if you can then hats off to you and you're a better man than I am. I tried needle nose pliers with electrical tape wrapped around them to grab the bulb...no luck. I tried using a wad a various tapes to stick to the light and give me a boost pulling them out...no luck. Finally I just pulled the upper console, so much easier and it took about 5 minutes start to finish.

I started on the windshield side of the crawl control box, there are two openings to pry down on, it really did not take much force so don't over to it

then the crawl control box will come down, disconnect it and set it aside for the moment

there are two (I think 8mm bolts) to undo in the opening where the crawl control box was

now pull down, there are two connectors that it will pop loose from, just don't go too crazy, this is attached by a cable you don't want to break
you now have a panel that is loose and you can finally get to the lights and in my case a wife that came in and gently reminded me we have only made one payment so far and to knock my shit off

on the back side there are two black connectors, turn them about a half turn and they along with the installed light will come out

insert the LED's and for gods sake check to make sure they work so you don't have to do this again, if they do then reinstall the upper console the reverse of they way it came out

If everything went well you will have much brighter and more usable light, good luck!

Click to expand...

@inocoma https://www.4runners.com/threads/what-have-you-done-to-your-5th-gen-4runner-today.2261/ #632

HarveyElmore · Jul 1, 2017

jester243[OP] initial post: ↑

I think Toyota did great with the 5th gen 4runner but they really missed the mark with such an amber colored interior light choice,

It's just not bright enough for me so this is what I did:

I purchased a set of interior LED's from member csjumper2003 on tacomaworld with 9 total lights, the 2 map, 4 lower door, dome and 2 rear door dome lights:

and then the fun began!

First up was the 4 lower door lights, I really like that they are there but again just had such a poor light output they might have well been non-existant. You can use an interior pry tool if you have one or as I did a small standard screwdriver for most of it, just be careful but I had no issues using one.

Start by prying in the mid part of the light on the right side

and the assembly will pop loose

disconnect the power clip from the light assembly

once you have this there is a small tab you will pry up and slide the grey part and the cover apart

now gently pop the grey hood off and you will have access to the light...finally

pull the stock light out and insert the LED

***at this time plug the light back into the door just to make sure it turns on, these LED's will only work in one direction, if it doesn't light up pull the LED out and turn it 180 degrees and put it back in the holder, it should light up now, I would do this step on each light otherwise you could have to take it apart just to turn the light around.***

if that works then pop the grey hood back on

and reattach the cover to the assembly

reconnect the power cable and insert the left side of the assembly first and push the right side back until is pops into place. Congrats only 3 to go, once you get the hang of it you can do a door in about 2 minutes.

Next was the rear door dome lights

they both come off the same way, you want to push your pry tool or small screwdriver on the drivers side edge up, you are going to be pushing a metal clip back to allow the light to come out

once it is free it will just slide out and hang by the power cable

pop the cover off, there are 4 tabs on the edge, be careful these didn't feel too sturdy.
the light is held at two points, one of them is flexible and you can push it down to release the light, in this case it is the tab on the bottom of the light

insert the LED, make sure the LED's are pointed out so they will put the most light out, sounds simple but I have done it wrong in the past
test the light by flipping the switch to the on position and if it lights up reattach the clear cover and reinsert the power cable side first. them just press the side with the metal clip back and it will pop into place. Both drivers and passenger sides come apart the same, the clip is on the drivers side.

Now onto the interior dome light, same type of bulb however you only want to pop the cover off, the light assembly stays mounted to the ceiling
there are 2 spots on the side with the switch facing the front of the 4runner to pop the cover off of

this has the same flexible metal tab inside holding the light, it is a tight fit if you have larger hands but just take your time putting the light in. If it tests good and lights up you just have to pop the cover back on

Finally onto the map lights, start by using your pry tool or screwdriver and start at the side closest to you

you will remove this

in a perfect world where engineers gave you room to work you would just reach up and pull the lights out of the console, if you can then hats off to you and you're a better man than I am. I tried needle nose pliers with electrical tape wrapped around them to grab the bulb...no luck. I tried using a wad a various tapes to stick to the light and give me a boost pulling them out...no luck. Finally I just pulled the upper console, so much easier and it took about 5 minutes start to finish.

I started on the windshield side of the crawl control box, there are two openings to pry down on, it really did not take much force so don't over to it

then the crawl control box will come down, disconnect it and set it aside for the moment

there are two (I think 8mm bolts) to undo in the opening where the crawl control box was

now pull down, there are two connectors that it will pop loose from, just don't go too crazy, this is attached by a cable you don't want to break
you now have a panel that is loose and you can finally get to the lights and in my case a wife that came in and gently reminded me we have only made one payment so far and to knock my shit off

on the back side there are two black connectors, turn them about a half turn and they along with the installed light will come out

insert the LED's and for gods sake check to make sure they work so you don't have to do this again, if they do then reinstall the upper console the reverse of they way it came out

If everything went well you will have much brighter and more usable light, good luck!

Click to expand...

Great write up, thanks

Webfoots · Jul 6, 2017

Great write up. Just did my SR5. I removed the upper console for the map lights. Be aware with no crawl control, there are 2 screws holding the console up. They are in the sun glass holder.

HarveyElmore · Sep 14, 2017

HarveyElmore said: ↑

Great write up, thanks
Click to expand...

Thanks for the removal instructions, now for the map lights.

Enraged Medic · Sep 16, 2017

I switched out my interior lights with LED's from superbrightleds.com and used them before when I had my turd gen taco and also used them on the wife's Camry. Reasonable prices, lots of different light models, and fast shipping.

My question is, did anyone have any issues using the 31mm festoon for the dome light and tailgate lights? I used a 30mm but didn't realize it was only 17 lumens, so basically, it sucks. Other festoon options are 67 lumens and 95 lumens but are 31mm. I remember having to jimmy/squeeze in a 31mm on the Tacoma but it seems like the T4R can handle it as the 30mm festoon's seemed loose in the dome and tailgate lights.

HarveyElmore · Sep 16, 2017

Enraged Medic said: ↑

I switched out my interior lights with LED's from superbrightleds.com and used them before when I had my turd gen taco and also used them on the wife's Camry. Reasonable prices, lots of different light models, and fast shipping.

My question is, did anyone have any issues using the 31mm festoon for the dome light and tailgate lights? I used a 30mm but didn't realize it was only 17 lumens, so basically, it sucks. Other festoon options are 67 lumens and 95 lumens but are 31mm. I remember having to jimmy/squeeze in a 31mm on the Tacoma but it seems like the T4R can handle it as the 30mm festoon's seemed loose in the dome and tailgate lights.
Click to expand...

These below fit fine in the rear rear and the center dome. A little more difficult getting them in the dome but fine.

Festoon: Morimoto XB LED 2.0 LED-M-FESTOON 3
Festoon Size (+/-1mm)
1 x 31mm Festoon: Morimoto XB LED 2.0 $15.00

Ordered the map light bulbs last night.

Enraged Medic · Sep 16, 2017

HarveyElmore said: ↑

These below fit fine in the rear rear and the center dome. A little more difficult getting them in the dome but fine.

Festoon: Morimoto XB LED 2.0 LED-M-FESTOON 3
Festoon Size (+/-1mm)
1 x 31mm Festoon: Morimoto XB LED 2.0 $15.00

Ordered the map light bulbs last night.
Click to expand...

Thanks for letting me know the 31mm fit in the domes and rear. The map lights and doors are super bright for me so it was the dome and rears that were really lacking.
I also highly recommend for anyone to use these plastic pry tools so you don't damage your doors or housing for the lights. KINGLAKE® Portable 4Pcs Auto Car Radio Door Clip Panel Trim Dash Audio Removal Installer Pry Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U8OTU3Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_wOzVzb1MEXZEH

HarveyElmore · Sep 20, 2017

Jpro256 said: ↑

Looks great! Good write up. I did mine about a month ago. I didn't pull the crawl control out. If you wrap the tape around the bulb and twist it up it gives you something to hold on to. I cussed at it for 20 min and used a lot of tape but they came out.
Click to expand...

Question: when you say twist it up you mean tighten it tighter to the bulb so you can pull them out? I assume they pull directly down ?

HarveyElmore · Sep 20, 2017

SLKVIC26 said: ↑

I went to PrecisionLED. They have a kit for interior LED's and they also have a great install video. Check it out.
Click to expand...

https://www.precisionled.com/video-chart-list
Good install video my problem is the bulb had black tape goo on it so the clear tape would not stick. I guess I could clean the bulb with alcohol or remove the console.

Update: took 5 minutes to pull down the crawl control, change the bulbs, and put back. I suggest this method. Just follow the instructions in prior posts. Very easy, just after you easily pry down the crawl control button panel and unplug it and take the two screws out pull down the back side which is just held by two pins that come out with just a little force.

Enraged Medic · Sep 20, 2017

HarveyElmore said: ↑

Question: when you say twist it up you mean tighten it tighter to the bulb so you can pull them out? I assume they pull directly down ?
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you used regular scotch tape? I used packing tape (clear tape used for closing up cardboard boxes) that was purchased from the post office. It has much more adhesive. Also you have to tear off just the right amount of tape to get it around the entire bulb. Press firmly on the tape and tug. Bulb should pop right out. This process worked for me on my Tacoma and 4 Runner.

alext2280 · Sep 21, 2017

Does anyone know if the light in the glove box is replaceable?

allthescottsweretaken · Sep 21, 2017

jester243[OP] said: ↑

thanks it's made a nice and noticeable difference, I'm hoping to do the puddle lights on the door mirrors soon as well.
Click to expand...

Let me know how the puddle mirror light swap goes. I've been wanting to do that on mine too.

HarveyElmore · Sep 21, 2017

Enraged Medic said: ↑

I'm assuming you used regular scotch tape? I used packing tape (clear tape used for closing up cardboard boxes) that was purchased from the post office. It has much more adhesive. Also you have to tear off just the right amount of tape to get it around the entire bulb. Press firmly on the tape and tug. Bulb should pop right out. This process worked for me on my Tacoma and 4 Runner.
Click to expand...

I think I got too much glue from the other suggestion of electrical tape. I did you packing tape but it would not grab. It was real easy to drop the console.

sjd78 · Nov 3, 2017

Those of you who used the PrecisionLED lights did you use the premium or standard LED's?

Rector15 · Nov 4, 2017

sjd78 said: ↑

Those of you who used the PrecisionLED lights did you use the premium or standard LED's?
Click to expand...

I used standard. The difference between stock bulbs and regular LEDs is quite substantial. I think it was a good purchase - I can’t imagine having the lights be brighter by going premium, if that’s the difference (other than price).

Rector15 · Nov 4, 2017

HarveyElmore said: ↑

I think I got too much glue from the other suggestion of electrical tape. I did you packing tape but it would not grab. It was real easy to drop the console.
Click to expand...

I was having trouble keeping the tape on the bulb so I used a longer piece of scotch tape, wrapped the end of the tape around the bulb and held the tape on the bulb with one index finger. I then used my other hand to pull the tape and the bulb came off immediately.

Rector15 · Nov 4, 2017

allthescottsweretaken said: ↑

Let me know how the puddle mirror light swap goes. I've been wanting to do that on mine too.
Click to expand...

This one was scary because of the fear of breaking the glass but it was pretty straightforward. A plastic pry tool works great. The mirror actually comes off very easily when the vehicle is new but I would think that the build up of dust on the clips holding the mirror may may it tougher over time. I’m a novice when it comes to this kind of stuff and it wasn’t very tough for me.

sjd78 · Nov 5, 2017

Rector15 said: ↑

This one was scary because of the fear of breaking the glass but it was pretty straightforward. A plastic pry tool works great. The mirror actually comes off very easily when the vehicle is new but I would think that the build up of dust on the clips holding the mirror may may it tougher over time. I’m a novice when it comes to this kind of stuff and it wasn’t very tough for me.
Click to expand...

Which bulbs fit the puddle lights?

siblue · Nov 5, 2017

sjd78 said: ↑

Which bulbs fit the puddle lights?
Click to expand...

194/168 fit

craigp40 · Nov 22, 2017

Gents, first post here but I wanted to share a quick lesson learned from the great directions provided earlier. Many were complaining about the difficulty taking out the map lights and the resulting need to remove the entire panel or use tape. I was able to do it in about 30 sec per light by simply popping off the lens covers. The key was using a set of inexpensive mini picks I bought from Harbor Freight (pictured below). Using the one with the 45 degree angle, I gently inserted the end behind the bulb and with a little pressure forcing the tip into the base of the bulb while lifting up I was able to simply pop it out easily. I did this with the doors closed so the lights were out while I was probing with the pick. These tools also make pulling out the other fixtures much easier than the plastic pry tools. Just be careful not scratch the plastic. Hope this helps.

deanf · Nov 26, 2017

You know what would make this thread great? I mean make it the best thread ever on the internet? A bulb list . . . .

HarveyElmore · Nov 26, 2017

deanf said: ↑

You know what would make this thread great? I mean make it the best thread ever on the internet? A bulb list . . . .
Click to expand...

deanf · Nov 26, 2017

Oh I'm aware of the owner's manual. Notice that most of the information is blank.

HarveyElmore · Nov 26, 2017

Morimoto will give you their replacement number if you email them. Here are a few I changed.

jester243 · Nov 27, 2017

deanf said: ↑

You know what would make this thread great? I mean make it the best thread ever on the internet? A bulb list . . . .
Click to expand...

the guy I ordered from didn't give me part numbers, I just told him what I needed and he got them for me...

craigp40 · Nov 27, 2017

Ok, for those of you who want things really easy without researching a bunch of crap that you don't care about... I have a standard 2016 SR5 and this is what I bought which worked out great.
If you're like me and get these you'll be perfectly happy. If you super picky and want to analyze lumen output, heat generation, MTBF, price comparisons, etc. you're on your own.

Go to this website: https://www.superbrightleds.com/

Order these bulbs exactly and the quantities listed below:

Lower Door Entry Lights (qty 4): Part Number 194-CWHP5 (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-led-tower-miniature-wedge-retrofit-lan/3305/)

Map Light (qty 2): Part Number 194-CWHP5 (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-led-tower-miniature-wedge-retrofit-lan/3305/)

Dome Light (qty 1): Part Number 3110-CW18-CB (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...s-led-bulb-18-smd-led-festoon-31mm/4015/8737/)

Rear Hatch Lights (qty 2): Part Number 3110-CW18-CB (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...s-led-bulb-18-smd-led-festoon-31mm/4015/8737/)

If you didn't notice, the map lights and the door lights are the same. And the dome light and rear hatch lights are the same.

As a side note, I decided to order one red colored LED for my passenger side map light. It's the same bulb, I just picked a different color. This was primarily so that I could put a light on at night to search for something or read without impacting my night vision.

Hope this helps.

WanderlostOverland · Jan 25, 2018

This video may shed some light on the subject;

https://youtu.be/uYW-PO1uiPQ

MeanDean · Feb 4, 2018

Can't thank you enough, Dan. Awesome how-to with great pictures. Made a huge difference and I probably would not have done this mod without the great write-up.

I got my bulbs through Diode Dynamics because I did the tail-as-turn module at the same time. Anyone needing more backup lighting should check this mod out.

If you decide to order from Diode Dynamics, their 168/194 replacement bulbs come in 3 different outputs. The SDM2 (24LM), HP3 (56LM) and HP5 (92LM). This bulb is the same in the doors, map lights, vanity mirrors and license plates. I didn't try the SDM2s, but what I recommend is the HP3 in all locations except the doors where I recommend the HP5.

4runningMan · Nov 1, 2018

MeanDean said: ↑

Can't thank you enough, Dan. Awesome how-to with great pictures. Made a huge difference and I probably would not have done this mod without the great write-up.

I got my bulbs through Diode Dynamics because I did the tail-as-turn module at the same time. Anyone needing more backup lighting should check this mod out.

If you decide to order from Diode Dynamics, their 168/194 replacement bulbs come in 3 different outputs. The SDM2 (24LM), HP3 (56LM) and HP5 (92LM). This bulb is the same in the doors, map lights, vanity mirrors and license plates. I didn't try the SDM2s, but what I recommend is the HP3 in all locations except the doors where I recommend the HP5.
Click to expand...

So is there a huge difference in the brightness/output of those 3 different 168/194 bulbs? Can our trucks run any of the three?

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