MESO Customs Ultimate Dome Light for the 5th Gen 4Runner

Add a Dual Color Interior LED with the MESO Customs Ultimate Series Dome Light – Install and Review for the 5th Gen 4Runner

When it comes to your dome light, you’ve likely been unsatisfied with the dim, halogen bulb. Not only does it provide inadequate overhead lighting, but it’s also a lame color.

So, what are your options?

You can either replace them with super bright, white LEDs, or some red ones if you want to be a little more unique. Up until now, I’ve had the latter in my 4Runner. The problem with red is that it may not be street legal or even worse, not spouse approved.

The MESO Customs Ultimate Dome Light

MESO Customs aims to fix this with their ultimate dome light. Their dome lights are offered in several options:

• V1 – A single-level brightness array of white LEDs.
• V2 – Comes in either dual brightness or dual-color and has a low profile toggle to switch between the modes.

With the dual brightness, you’ll get only super white LEDs and the ability to choose from a normal or high-output setting. With the dual-color option, like the one we’ll be talking about here, you get a single light output, but the ability to switch between white and red. The red array of LEDs is the center row while the white array comprises the perimeter.

There is a matching dual color map light set for upfront, however, availability seems to be limited.

Find It Online

• MESO Customs Direct: Ultimate Dome Light V1 (Single Output/Color)
• MESO Customs Direct: Ultimate Dome Light V2 (Dual Color or Brightness)
• MESO Customs Direct: Ultimate Map Light (Dual-Color)

Why Dual-Color?

White and red lighting has two very different use cases, and it’s nice to have the ability to easily switch between both. With the former option, it’s obviously much brighter and better used for finding dropped items or when you just need more visibility.

Red lighting, however, is easier on your eyes at night time. This allows you to retain a better vision of your surroundings when getting in and out of your vehicle. As an added benefit, red lighting is less attractive to mosquitos (who also love to come out at night).

I also like to have red lighting at night time because it’s less jarring to kiddos if we get back in the evening and they’ve been napping on the ride home.

Installing the Dual-Color Dome Light

Installation is pretty straightforward and can take anywhere from 5 – 10 minutes.

Tools Needed

• Flat pry tool, or flat head screwdriver
• Gloves (optional)

Step 1. Remove Factory Dome Light Cover

The clear plastic cover is super easy to remove. Take a flat pry tool and slide it along the toggle-switch side of the housing to disengage the retention clips.

Step 2. Remove Current Bulb

If your light has been on, I would advise using gloves to remove the single festoon-type bulb.

Step 3. Install New Connector

The MESO Customs dome light has a wired festoon-type connector that replaces the old bulb. This connector is non-polarity specific, so the install direction does not matter.

Step 4. Install MESOCustoms Dome Light

Line up the new dome light retention clips with the factory housing slots and press the unit into place.

That’s it! You won’t need the old plastic dome light cover anymore, but I would keep it in a drawer just in case you ever need to return it to stock. Enjoy the dual-color goodness!

Overall Impressions

This is an excellent mod for two main reasons. One, it gives you the option of white or red lighting, depending on your situation. Two, it doesn’t break the bank and is plug-and-play. There doesn’t seem to be much on the internet in terms of installation, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Fortunately, this dome light took literally 5-minutes to install and looks super clean. They even matched the plastic housing of the dome light to the tan color of the OEM housing! No details were overlooked here.

The light output of both modes is plenty adequate in my opinion, with the white mode easily being 3x brighter than the stock halogen. I can’t imagine what the high-output setting of the dual-brightness model is! A nice touch that not all LEDs have is the ability to dim on and off. Fortunately, the MESO Customs one does and gives the dome light a super OEM look when you open and close the door.

What are your thoughts on this dual-color dome light? Would dual-brightness be a better option? I’d love to hear whether you think the use case is there, or if this is just a frivolous spend.