Interior LED Upgrade (2nd Gen)

Thought that I would share the pros and cons of my interior lighting experience for us all. This was specifically done on a 2015 Tacoma but I would imagine this is applicable to all second gen Tacomas.

First off here are the bulb sizes and quantities that I replaced:
Map Lights: #168 x2
Dome Light: #578 x1
Visor/Vanity: #6641 x2
License Plate: #168 x2

The whole job takes maybe 30 minutes.

I would highly recommend a phone repair tool kit. Luckily I had one and it made the job much easier. They are about $10 on Amazon. Hint: save the money on expensive bulbs and get the right tools!

Parts List:

Map/License plate bulbs (pack of 10, only need 4)


These are by far the best out of all the lights I got! They are bright, white, and cheap. Get these. You'll have some spares.

Dome Light:

These are garbage. DO NOT get these. At first, I had all Sylvania ZEVO bulbs in my cart but glad I didn't go that route. They are about $10 each. I thought with the brand name they would be good but that is not the case. Although, they do have a lifetime warranty, not sure I would even mess with that. Go with a cheaper #578 LED bulb. I will be replacing this one with something similar to the others with "non-covered" LEDs. This light is probably the most important because it is what lights the vehicle when doors are opened.

Visor/Vanity:

These are good but they are bright. I got the 6 panel LED option. I would recommend going with the 3 panel LED option



Here is the phone repair kit. The tweezers with bent tips will be very useful for the map light bulbs and the flat plastic pry tools to the left of the cleaning cloth were helpful.

How to:
Map lights - use plastic pry tool to remove plastic cover between the two map lights. Let it hang there. Remove lens cover by prying from the inside out. Then pull down. Use the tweezers to remove the bulb. The tweezers were the ticket. If not I would've had to think of something else. I couldn't get the bulb out with just my fingers.


Before and after. As you can see they were a hell of an upgrade. Much cleaner and brighter light now.

Vanity/Visor - Easy. Pry the little cover off with the pry tool from the small slot. Replace bulb.

Before

After
pretty darn bright. Go with the 3 panel LED instead

Dome Light - Easy as well. Pry the dome light lens cover off from the little slot. It will just hang there. Replace bulb.

No picture but you get the point. Just don't go with Sylvania bulbs (or any other expensive bulbs)

Going to do license plate bulbs today. They look easy as well. Just a small phillips head holding the cover on.


Key take-aways:
1. The right tools for the job make an job easier
2. Don't get expensive bulbs. If I didn't get the Sylvania ZEVO bulb the whole job would've been around $25
3. I can't speak on the longevity of the bulbs, but I have plenty of spares.
4. Vanity bulbs are blinding bright. Go with a 3-panel or maybe even 1-panel LED

Hope this helps someone out there looking to replace their interior bulbs.

Here is another cheap mod I've done for $10 that was worth mentioning. Climate control knobs. Got them on Amazon as well. See pictures below.

Now on to the real upgrades!

Before


After

 

Thank you so much, nice to see an article on the 2015, I have the same one. I'll def follow your lead and replace all my bulbs as well, keep up the articles - good job

 

I installed a few different lights here is the dome light.

$9 LUYED 2 X 570 Lumens Super Bright 3014 48-EX Chipsets 569 578 211-2 212-2 LED Bulbs Used For Dome light,Xenon White

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0177DD3E2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_14?smid=AFMX1PQASD9NH&psc=1 I like the output and it doesn't stay dimly lit like the LED I had in before it when the truck was off... only thing is when it does fade out to black the fade isn't smooth other than that good.

 

What kind of climate knob are those

 

@BuildbyBarz

$10 JessicaAlba Set of 3 - Control Knobs Dials Heater A/C or Fan for Toyota Tacoma

https://www.amazon.com/JessicaAlba-...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

Thanks

 

Hello,

Do these lights work on an 07’ TRD Sport?

Thank you!

 

Well. Guess I should’ve read this thread BEFORE ordering the sylvania bulbs...

 

I just did this upgrade with your help. Thanks. By the way, the 168 lights also work as the Front Side Marker bulbs, so I used 6 of the 10 I bought. Of course the exact bulbs you mentioned were not available on Amazon anymore but what you posted helped me find what I needed there.

Also, I don't seem to have the vanity lights. I wonder if that was an option my original owner did not choose.

 

The back up lights take 921, didn't see those mentioned. Highly recommended in northern states, mtns and Canada
LUYED 912 921 LED Bulbs Reverse Lights Xenon White 2200 Lumens Extremely Bright Canbus Error Free W16W T15 906 3030 20-EX Chipsets with Lens for Backup Lights, Pack of 2
Got these because they have a backward pointing lens as well as the sides.

 

I'm waiting on my 921s.