Hello, Scionlife!

I'm a Honda guy, but my girlfriend has a 2011 Scion xB.

We just looked at 2012 xB Release Series model, and we're interested in retrofitting a few of the parts that look better.

First: The front and rear badges. These are the ones that light up. We got to play with a Release Series this weekend, and it appears that the badges do not stay lit during driving, but rather fade up when the keyless entry 'unlock button' is pressed, and fade out when the car is started. They are very cool, and APPEAR to be the same size as the base model badges. I figure that retrofitting them would be rather easy, and wiring them to the corner lights so that they stay on during driving, but turn off after the car is stopped.

Second: Bear with me, because I don't any pictures to back me up on this one. On the front bumper, on the left and right side, there are two black plastic inserts that Toyota calls 'side moldings'. They APPEAR to be the exact same size and shape as the base model, and they have a honeycomb pattern, which matches the grill. I imagine that those pieces are totally interchangeable with no modification.

Has anyone retrofitted any of these three parts?

I currently have Toyota checking on the availability of these parts for purchase. I don't think that getting them will be much of a problem, but I wanted to know if any of you xB xPerts have already done this.

Thanks in advance!

 

I saw a Scion emblem on Ebay that lights up for around $19.99 plus shipping. I'm willing to bet that you won't get that price from Scion if they would sell them to you. I haven't seen the RS emblems light up in person so I don't know if they are white or blue. If blue the police won't let us have them on while driving.

I believe that those lights on the new RS is for finding your car in the dark better as they work when you unlock your car using the remote.

 

You're probably right about the police thing. But I'm not all that worried about that.

As for the color, even though the Official Scion pictures show them to be blue, in person they're much more of a whitish blue. Like LEDs. White with a hint of blue. And they're also not terribly bright. I doubt they would attract much police attention, especially since my girlfriend's xB is EXTREMELY lightly modified (wheels and a few Toyota accessories).

 

I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that unless you have a VIN from an RS, Scion won't sell you the parts. I guess it's their way of keeping the rest of us from trying to make our xB's look like an RS.

 

Grab a VIN from autotrader or ebay. Problem solved

 

I'm waiting to call Toyota back til tomorrow.

At first, the worker told me that the Technical Division asked for the VIN. But I explained what I wanted to do and he said no problem. Toyota wants to sell parts, right?

Anyways, he also said that replacement parts for the Release Series might not be available yet. I've gotta call him back in the morning. Any additional insight is welcome. Thanks for the responses!

 

Search salvage yards in a few months and ebay to see if you can't find a wrecked car and swipe those might be cheaper.

 

RS VIN will be needed to order the parts but not needed to get pricing of said parts.