2007 Toyota Sienna cloudy headlight lenses

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Is there REALLY a good way to clean clouded headlight lenses.
Cost of replacing mine is $500

2

Yes, there all kinds of kits on the market and you tube videos showing how its done. Also many shops, detail places and even dealers will do the head light for a reasonable fee.

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3

Shop around. New headlight assemblies for your vehicle are available from Rock Auto ranging from under $100 to over $700.

4

I’ve seen good results with the 3M kit ($18 at Walmart). Take your time; figure 1 hour per side.
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5

If you try a restore kit, be sure to mask the area around the headlight with something sturdy like cardboard or plastic milk jug. One slip of the drill onto the painted metal and you have a new problem. Been there, done that.

6

Let me add that by the time the headlamps are over ten years old, the innards have probably lost some transparency and reflectivity. I put new inexpensive ones from Rock Auto on my 2007 Town and Country in 2016 and they make the vehicle look new - at least if you don’t look anywhere else. And they light up the road better than the original ones I had “restored.”

7

It seems the most important part of restoring is to have a final protective anti-UV coating. Otherwise, the work of removing the oxidized stuff is easily lost.

8

Best thing is to get new ones.These kits you see everywhere are useless because once the original lens protection coating is gone you cannot bring it back. Clearcoating plastics with a petrolum based clearcoat is the absolute worst thing you can do because the solvent will permanently burn the plastic lens.
Meguiars PlastX plastic restorer has very mild abrasives and is great for removing yellowing on the lens.It does not offer a permanent fix.

9

I had a 2004 Sienna. I had the headlight lenses sanded and clear-coated at a collision shop for $50 each. I sold the van three years later and the headlights still looked brand new. That was the best $100 I ever spent.

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10

Yes,bodyshops can do a terrific job because they use a factory coating on the lenses.

11

not necessarily one has to go for a professional help at bodyshop

here is something I did on my daughter’s car before:

I used DupliColor clear, available at any car parts store

The only thing to add to my prior instruction: never try to get back and “touch up”: it will make fresh clear to contract and will make for “cracked/vintage” surface appearance, go with even wide strokes, side-to-side / top-to-bottom

1 Like
12

Thanks for the helpful and thoughtful reply

13

Thanks for the helpful reply.

14

Thanks, again.

15

good advice. thanks.

16

thank you. good to know

17

makes good sense. thank you

18

thanks - best advice I’ve received.

19

good to know thank you

20

Absolutely. Any local body shop and some detailers will use the kits everyone mentions above or they will use their own sanding and polishing stuff and with one hour of labor per side dramatically improve the headlights. Just had it done locally on a 2007 Honda Fit for about $200 and the results were excellent. Sorry for not having pictures, but this story explains the real options (skip the bug spray).