Does your Toyota Avalon have burned-out headlight? Are the taillights not working? Not a big problem. They are pretty simple to change. Here is how to replace your headlight and taillights.

Toyota Avalon Headlight and Taillight Replacement Guide

Are your Toyota Avalon headlights not working as well as they should? It is time to change them, here’s how. 

Get Avalon lighting parts here.

Before you begin working on your Toyota Avalon make sure you park the car in a well-lit location and you have ample time to complete the job. Rushing through a job or having a dim work area can lead to mistakes. Also, remember that you should wear gloves when working with headlights. The oil in your skin can cause them to not last as long.

How To Change Headlights

In order to change your headlights, you will need to pop the hood and locate the headlight assembly behind the headlights. Toyota has made various changes over the years, here is a general guide on how to replace all the Avalon models headlights:

  1. First, locate the headlight housing by opening the hood.
  2. Look for any bracing that prevents you from removing the lights. Remove these braces.
  3. Next, find and trace wires that come from the headlight housing. There is normally a tab that keeps them connected, find this tab and disconnect the lights.
  4. The wires connect to the bulb. Find the plastic housing and twist to remove the bulb.
  5. Carefully replace the bulb by matching up the slot where the old one came out from.
  6. Insert the headlight housing back and twist the bulb back tight.

Here's a video that might help, too.

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Now that you have replaced the bulb, it is always a good idea to check your alignment as well. Here is just one of many ways to check the alignment.

  1. First, park the Avalon approximately 20 feet away from a dark, vertical board or a garage door. Also, make sure it is on a relatively level surface. Lastly, push down on both sides of the car to make sure the suspension “resets.”
  2. Next, measure the distance from the ground to the headlight. Either draw or mark with masking tape a horizontal line across the board and/or garage door.
  3. Then, measure the distance between your headlights and mark that point.
  4. Turns on your headlights. Then, using the adjustment screws on the headlight assembly, adjust the lights until they shine on the masking tape and are an equal distance apart.

The rule of thumb is that you want your headlights to shine below center and off to the right a bit.

How To Change Taillights

In order to replace your taillights, the first step is to make sure you know which one is out. Often this means, someone told you or you will need someone to stand behind you while you turn on the lights and/or tap the brakes. Then, it is an easy process of buying the right bulb and replacing it.

For taillights:

  1. Locate the taillight bulb housing.
  2. Trace the wires to right bulb.
  3. Remove the bulb and swap it out.

Pretty simple.