Illuminated Door Sill Upgrade

[Gtownsman]

If your like me, the best part about owning a Lexus is the nice toys and technology that Lexus offer.

I've recently swapped my IS220D SE-L for a IS250 SE, The SE-L was fitted with the illuminated door sills that light up "Lexus" when you open the doors, a really nice feature which should be standard in my opinion.

Unfortunately my 250 SE only had the basic plastic sills that look a bit cheap on a Luxury car so i pulled off the plastic ones to find that the cars are fitted as standard with the plug for the illuminated sills, so I thought I could just buy the illuminated sills and plug them in.

Unfortunately it turned out that this is not the case, all the cars do indeed have the plug however the plug is only wired in on the Luxury and sports spec models, to get around this problem you need to do some basic home wiring which I will show you now.

Please note: I take no responsibility for any damage done to your vehicle while following this guide.

For this modification you will need the following:

1-2M of Auto Wire

4x Scotch Locks

A Pair of Bull Nose Pliers

A Pair of Snips

Stanley Knife/Craft knife

Step 1:

Remove the existing door sills to reveal the wiring loom underneath ( A bit of brute force pulling straight up will remove the sills)

Step 2:

Using a Stanley Knife or Craft knife, carefully cut away the electrical tape that covers the wires that go into the door sill connector (Be particularly careful not to cut into any wires in the loom).

Step 3:

Take your Auto Wire and 1 scotch lock and Scotch lock your auto wire and the White wire going into the Door Sill Connector together (Leave the blue wire as it is).

Step 4:

Remove the interior trim that covers the seat belt tensioner system (to aid this process put the seat in the fully back position and the backrest all the way back, and open the rear door. Again some force will release the clips holding the panel on).

Step 5:

Locate the wire that connects to the Door switch, it sits on the inside of the pillar behind the switch. (A White Wire on the drivers side and Purple on the Passengers side, shown in the image above).

Step 6:

Trace your auto wire around the current loom to reach the Door Switch wire behind the seat belt panel. (when doing this ensure that your auto wire cannot rub on the seat belt as it moves back and forth during use).

Step 7:

Take a Scotch lock and scotch lock the Door Switch wire and auto wire together (Ensure you don't short out the wire on the vehicle's body work while using metal tools. I also wrapped some electrical tape around the scotch lock to ensure nothing metal would contact the bodywork in the future).

Step 8:

Plug in your illuminated door sills to ensure they are working correctly, when you push the Door switch the Sills should shut off and then light up when the switch is released. (If your Sills don't light up please check to see if you have your interior light switch set to come on when the doors open).

Step 9:

When you are happy that everything is working correctly, push the interior trim panels back into place. Some pressure on the areas should clip everything back in to place.

Finished Product.

I hope this guide was helpful, if i've missed anything or you have any questions please post here and I will endeavour to help the best I can.

[stevet]

Excellent step-by-step instructions but like you say why aren't they standard? Small cost on a luxury car.

[bluenose1940]

These illuminated door cills aren't even standard on the IS300h Premier. You can buy them apparently.

Agree they should be standard across the range

[is200 Newbie]

Good job

[normski2]

Nice one Goerge

How about copy and pasting your write -up here.....then it will be easier for others to locate

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/tutorials/category/6-lexus-is-2005-onwards/

[Gtownsman]

It really is a shame they aren't standard, because it's such a simple thing and really stands out from the crowd, you wouldn't find these on a BMW or Audi without spending some ridiculous sum of money. Just another thing that Lexus can charge extra for I suppose.

The real challenge is getting the actual parts, Apparently they are discontinued by Lexus in the UK. you can buy them in the US however they don't ship here. So I found someone on eBay breaking the car and brought from them.

[Gtownsman]

Nice one Goerge

How about copy and pasting your write -up here.....then it will be easier for others to locate

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/tutorials/category/6-lexus-is-2005-onwards/

Thanks Normski I didn't realise there was a section for guides otherwise I would have posted there first!

[agent_dess]

Awesome timing!! I bought my illuminated sills a few days ago, just waiting for post man to turn up with them over the next couple of days.

I remeber seeing the plug when I pulled the plastic sill off... Didn't know it wasn't wired!! Why give u the plug if they didn't even pre-wire the damn thing!

Your guide shall prove very useful indeed :)

[stevet]

Most RX's had them as standard so might be easier to find at a breakers

[Gtownsman]

Awesome timing!! I bought my illuminated sills a few days ago, just waiting for post man to turn up with them over the next couple of days.

I remeber seeing the plug when I pulled the plastic sill off... Didn't know it wasn't wired!! Why give u the plug if they didn't even pre-wire the damn thing!

Your guide shall prove very useful indeed :)

It does seem strange to have the plug there but stopping it from working on SE models only, I thought it might just be a fuse missing to start with but apparently the same fuse that does the courtesy lights also powers these.

I hope the guide is helpful, it's a nice upgrade to have.

[Ishaq]

I installed some LED Lexus Logo lights which are plug and play - 3 sec install and they look great - Thanks Normski for the recommendation.

eBay £15 job done!!

[agent_dess]

installed mines last night after I got home from work.

Well happy with the result and running the extra cable was super easy :)

[Ishaq]

Hi Agent, how much did you buy the sills for and where? I remember they were so expensive when I was searching.

Must say looks good :)

[agent_dess]

I managed to pick them up on eBay for £36 delivered... You could say it was a steal lol

Really happy with them, they were a bit filthy when they arrived but i spent a good while cleaning them up.

[Gtownsman]

I managed to pick them up on eBay for £36 delivered... You could say it was a steal lol

Really happy with them, they were a bit filthy when they arrived but i spent a good while cleaning them up.

Agent That really was a steal! I paid £65 for Mine delivered.

They are hard to find in the UK, Although you can still buy them brand new in the US (They don't deliver to the UK, I already asked. )

If you are forced to go down the eBay route and getting used ones, a bit of cutting compound on the brushed aluminium and some boot polish on the plastics make the world of difference.

[Guest bigbullhead]

To replace the bulb do you just remove the plastic sill cover and change bulb??

[Shahpor]

I would assume so.

It does just pop off with clips, so it should be easy enough to find out.

[Britprius]

The sill lights are illuminated by LED's, and as such are not made for replacement. They normally will outlast the life of the car. I fitted some to my Prius about 5 years ago. From memory they cost about £30 for a set of 4 on eBay.

John

[Guest bigbullhead]

Checked underneath trim and the connector was off so everything is all good now thanks

[Jello]

I just installed a set on my 2022 ES350.  $400. from dealer, $270. DYI, I found them on sale @ a dealership in Hollywood FL, a long way from N CA.  Couldn't be happier, easy install.  Final cost about $210.  (Front doors only)