I recently had a self inflicted incident requiring replacement of the passenger rear tail light assembly.(I stumbled while carrying a jack and cracked the side of the lens). After searching around I found there is not a lot of info out there on how to do this, so I have documented the process to hopefully help others.
Notes:
This is a long process due to the number of parts you have to remove, but not hard and does not require lifting the car. It can be done solo, though an extra pair of hands can help when handling the rear bumper.
What you will need:
-T20 socket
-8mm socket
-Short socket extension(maybe 3 or 4 inches)
-Flat blade screwdriver
Step 1: Remove the rear bumper
I have seen some suggestions to only pull out half the bumper for the side you are replacing, but it will be much easier and less effort to just pull the whole bumper.
1A: Remove bumper fasteners.
There will be 5 T20 in each wheel well, 4 down the outside edge and 1 on the bottom, see the blue circles below. Remove from both sides of car. The were only about finger tight.
- Wheel well bolts
- Under bumper bolts locations
- Under bumper bolts
Starting at the right side wheel well. Pull the bumper straight out from car until clips release. I suggest using the top of the lip on the wheel well as a grabbing point. This might take a good sharp tug. For the bumper clips always try to pull straight away from the car body to prevent damage. Work your way under the tail light pulling and releasing clips. You should not need to use any prying tools.
There is an electrical connector for parking sensors(if equipped) in the bumper below the right taillight Once you have the right side of the bumper pulled out, remove the electrical connector for the parking sensors. Use the flat bladed screw driver to press in the release tab and wriggle the mating connector to release. The connector may be slid toward the wheel well to free it from its mount and give some more room to work.
- Sensor connector
- Sensor connector 2
Once both sides are released the bumper should pull straight back and off. Set aside taking care not to scratch the paint or damage any sensors.
Step 2: Remove first body moulding
The body moulding directly under the tail light contains the radar unit, be careful when handling Remove the 4 8mm bolts holding the moulding in place. The moulding should now be able to be moved out of the way. I just flipped it down and let it hang from the harness. Be careful to not hit the radar unit (large box in center of moulding) when removing bolts.
- Radar mount bolts 1
- Radar mount bolts 2
This one is a bit trickier. Remove the 2 8mm bolts along the top edge. You will then need to pull straight down on the top edge to release the pins from the holes in the body, then while pins are out pull top edge toward you, away from the vehicle until clear of the body. This will take a bit of force to do. You can then lift straight up on the moulding to remove from the center retaining post.
- Wheel well bolts
Remove the panel used when changing bulbs. It should just pull out.
- Light change panel
- Pin to remove
- Pin release tabs
- Carpet pulled back
Step 5: Remove tail light assembly.
Remove the electrical connector from the back of the tail light.
- Tail light connector
- Tail light Connector disconnected
- External tail light bolt
- Tail light bolts 1
- Tail light bolt 2
Pull assembly straight back to remove.
- Tail light clip 1
- Tail light clip 2
- Removed light
Going in reverse order, reinstall everything you removed. When reinstalling the bumper remember to re connect the sensor cable and re mount it to its mount. 2 people will make this step easier but with some careful maneuvering you can do it solo. I also found the bumper clips along the side of the car like to bend down under the clips on the body and may need to be pulled up a bit to guide them in correctly.
- Misbehaving clip
You have completed your task, hopefully successfully. Grab a cold one and relax.
