jcallows

Ok, I give up. So how do I replace the tail light bulb (i.e. brake/stop/rear light bulb) in my 1997 SC300? Seems like an easy thing to do but I just can't get to the bulb. I found an article discussing how to replace the entire tail light enclosure but nothing on replacing just the bulb itself. Do I have to remove the enitre tail light enclosure to replace the bulb or is it much simpler than that?

Thanks,

Jerry

mikeloc24

Jerry, you have to pull back the trunk carpet (remove the little lastic plugs/clips and pull it back) then remove the entire taillight to change the bulbs. The taillight is held in by nuts so you'll need a wrench/socket to get them off. Change ALL the bulbs while you're in there because you won't want to go through this procedure again in a couple of days/weeks should another bulb fail.

In the future please use the search feature to answer commonly asked questions.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Crowbar and WD40

Xevuhtess7

..... um please dont use a crowbar on the tail light haha i hope you're kidding olt

there's four bolts you need to take out (all 10mm) two of them are on one end of the taillight, two are on the other. like mikeloc said you're gonna need to take the trunk's side carpeting off to get to the bolts. after that its just swap out the bulb

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Mike gave a good enough answer before me.

neurocity

iTrader: (17)

Removing the tail-light housing seemed like I needed a Crow Bar.

jcallows

Thanks, Mike. Looks like I'll have to remove the entire tail light enclosure. Bummer. But just FYI, I did do a search in this forum first and found nothing about replacing the bulb itself. Thanks again.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

I literally used one......and wd40. If your lights have never been removed, they are "stuck" to the body. Shooting a little wd40 around them and lightly wiggling a crowbar around the edges will take a lot of cursing out of your day. You will find stories of people beating them out because they were stuck in there even with all the screws removed.


.....................everyone always thinks I am joking, search!

np20412

weird, my taillights had NEVER been removed and when I first took them out a couple weeks ago to paint them they came out no problem. 4 bolts took all of 30 seconds each to remove, then I just had to hammer them out using the socket wrench lol. Took me like 4 minutes to remove both of them.

neurocity

iTrader: (17)

I had a problem with my passenger side, the driver side "popped" right out. Pass side needed a torch!!!

But props to this site,
When my tail light "out" light came on, Checked out which side was out, Ran to NAPA, then before I even opened the trunk.

I "searched" how to change the bulb, read the four or five postings, and went at it.

By just walking up to the car and looking, I would not have known what to do.

You cant beat instant knowledge like this!!!
The Acura MDX site...BLOWS!!! Nothing but "Whats that noise?" and "Will these 22"s fit?" I pretty much have to rely on the dealer for that thing.

Since I been on this, I've gone to the dealer for ebay spare key's to be cut (which they did for free) and a owners manual, Which I also got for free cause I registered my car on the Lexus website....(FYI anyone can do this, they send one owners manual to you for free.)

Sorry for being long winded, but its my way of thanking everyone "good guys" and "bad guys"!!!

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

hehehehehehe................
Too much risk of cracking the plastic for me, I decided to pry a little gently.

jcallows

Wouldn't using a screwdriver or crowbar to pry out the tail light enclosure damage the plastic enclosure and the paint on the car? Couldn't I just tap out the enclosure from inside the car? I was thinking of tapping on those bolts that come out of the enclosure through the trunk.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Has no one ever heard of technique? If anyone screws something up prying on it, it's not the prybars fault.

Tapping from the inside is something I have done myself, but sometimes they stick very hard to the body and you'll tap the studs right through the back of the lens. .......... but again... technique.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Actually it is "remove bolts, and pull car off of taillights."

mikeloc24

Jerry, tapping them is an option, but I wouldn't recommend it. The bolts have threads and where they enter the trunk of the car the sheet metal they stick through is thin. When you tap the bolts and they begin to back out the threads can get hemmed up on that thin sheet metal and cause you problems. Best to wiggle the entire taillight enclosure out from the exterior of the car. I didn't need a crowbar, but it did take time and patience as I didn't want to crack the plastic housing of the tails.

Getting them back in is just as much fun