Toyota Corolla Corner Lights

Taking Care of Issues with Toyota Corolla Corner Lights

Corner lights provide additional lighting to the side of your Toyota whenever it maneuvers like turning around a corner or taking a U-turn. This will help you be aware of any object to your side, objects that are not normally illuminated by your headlights. As a result, accidental collisions are prevented, making driving much safer. This is why it is important to keep these lights well maintained. Although a number of problems could strike, rendering the lights ineffective, you can diagnose the cause of these troubles early on. You can apply the appropriate solution right away. Here are some issues with Toyota Corolla corner lights that you should be aware of:

One of the corner lights doesn't work.

If one of the corner lights does not seem to work, you'll need to check the light bulb, the electrical connections, and the relay. Open up the corner light assembly first, detach the bulb, and inspect it. If the filament inside is broken or if there are grayish deposits covering the inside of the bulb, it means that it's burned out. If the bulb looks just fine, check out the bulb socket and the wires. Be sure that the connection between them is tight; fix the connection if otherwise and try to reinsert the bulb securely to see if it functions normally. Check if the socket or the wires are damaged and corroded; they need to be replaced if that is the case. If they all work properly, then check out the relay. Just swap it with a new one and see if the lights will work after. If that does the trick, then just leave the new relay in.

None of the lights are working.

If all the corner lights aren't functioning, there is something wrong with the electrical system. The first thing you should do is inspect the fuse. Just pop up the hood of your Corolla and remove the appropriate fuse. If it's burned out, replace it with another one before testing out the corner lights. If the fuse looks good, check out the relay next. Switch it with a new one to see if that will make the lights work.

Turning corners at night has become safer when the corner lights came along. These lights switch on and light up the side of your vehicle as you take a turn, revealing possible road hazards that could be in the way. If not maintained properly, these lights could go out prematurely, leaving you squinting in the darkness as you try to make a U-turn. To prevent that from happening, here are some important things you should do for your Toyota Corolla corner lights:

Polish the lenses of the corner lights when they become too hazy.

The lenses of most modern automobile lights today are made of polycarbonate plastic. While cheap and sturdy, they get hazy after some time, reducing the brightness of the light emitted. When that happens, it's time to polish the lenses of these lights. A rubbing compound and some wet paper will usually do the trick, but there are also plenty of headlight polishing kits out there that make the process quicker and easier.

Inspect the corner lights from time to time.

Occasionally, you should check up on the lights to determine their current condition and performance. First off, inspect the lenses of the lights and determine if there is any damage, crack, or haze. Next, turn on the vehicle and trigger each of the corner lights to see if they will turn on. Check the brightness of the lights emitted and determine if the illumination provided will give you enough visibility when driving through dark roads. Check if the lights are aiming in the right direction as well. Automobile lights could misalign if your car hits a bump or a pothole too hard. If a corner light is too high, it could blind other drivers, if it's too low or if it's aimed too much to the left or to the right, you may not get enough illumination at the right spot when taking a turn. To test the lights in an actual driving situation, take your Corolla out for a spin around your neighborhood at night time; turn at the corners of an intersection and trigger the appropriate lights to see if they are functioning as intended.

Replace the light bulb.

Light bulbs won't last forever. Eventually, the filament inside the bubs will burn out and refuse to light up again. When that happens, replace the light bulb immediately.