I was swapping out my back lights on my 2012 GX 2nd Gen and as I removed the bulb socket from the housing, the bulb fell into the tail light cavity . This sucks. I spent over 2 hours trying to get the bulb out with the smallest set of needle nose pliers and no luck. It got late (and I was getting frustrated), so I placed the new LED bulb in for now. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get it out? FYI, this is the passenger side. I'll post a picture when I get to my computer.

 

Maybe a shop vac and a piece of hose small enough to fit into the opening in the housing?

 

Try using a piece of magnet to drag the fallen bulb back up to the socket opening.

 

Double sided tape or gum on the end of something you can down to the bulb area with.

 

I have been there and it worked for me.

 

These are all awesome ideas! When it's midnight you loose all sense of creativity. I tried the tape idea but it was pretty short and then I lost the tape inside the cavity. It took me about 30 minutes to pull that piece out with needle nose pliers.

Here are some pictures of the bulb. It's in the bottom right corner.

 

Can't you just remove the lamp and tilt it so the bulb comes out of the hole?

 

That thought crossed my mind, multiple times. I looked all over the Internet for a method to remove it, but no luck. Looking inside, I belive this assembly is held by 2 - 10mm bolts. The top bolt has barely any room to get a socket. Also the owners manual identifies the method of going from the bottom up.

 

I used the magnet idea. I was able to find a small magnet and taped it to the end of a piece of wire. With a little patience, I got that bulb out!!!

 

You need to have a tool like this

http://tinyurl.com/kccxykl

Craftsman 23-1/2 in. Pick Up Tool

You can find them in a lot of places