jpv7774

To any DIYer this is a punch in the gut. We helped a friend by picking their car up and storing at our house....I drove their car...my wife drove mine....scary. I like to see my car on the road anyway so I went along with it. So I am following my car at night and I see...... Bummer......my passenger side inner tail light was flickering and out. No prob....I will pick up a bulb and done! Nope!!!! A quick search on the club and learned these are LED fixtures. Well mine lasted 135k thats not bad......but $150 to replace the whole inner fixture is rough......not well thought out. I am surprised no ebayer has come out with a quick snap in replacement from China..........I sucked it up and purchased one tonight...but I would have preferred a nice pair of sunglasses or a round of golf and a few beers for my $150

Tom57

Filament bulbs and LED bulbs are both susceptible to damage and failure from slamming the trunk lid.

BradTank

I agree, it is a pain. Mine is on its way out.

Give me an old school bulb any day. They usually last 100k miles and cost a couple bucks to replace.

I'm sure for flagship luxury customers that buy new, they could care less, but it looks like they could make these LED lights have some sort of universal socket so consumers won't have to shell out big bucks to remain street legal and safe.

Some of these cars that have real elaborate brake light assemblies on newer models are going to be brutally expensive when it comes time to replace. I know on some models like Mercedes it's over a thousand dollars.

I can't even imagine how mad I would be if I had to shell out a thousand dollars instead of a $2 bulb for my brake lights.

jayclapp

The new lights are an example of technology gone wild. Who really needs such? Just companies driving up the price of new vehicles so they can make more profit. When is enough, enough?

jpv7774

I love my car...I really do. But I cant believe how many DIY repairs I have done on my flagship that were never ever necessary with my other cars.........most of the DIY stuff was kind of fun...and this tail light thing is cake......but just crazy to replace the entire lens and fixture for a simple little circuit board. But in 2004 this wasnt just a simple little circuit board......oh well.......Hope thats all my girl wants for a while.

Slvr surfr

iTrader: (1)

I've read somewhere that most of the time its a diode or solder failure on the circuit boards. Someone fixed thiers by re-soldering and replacing a few little components. May be worth the time if all you need is a $1 diode or resistor vs. $150.

jpv7774

I will def take it apart once I have the new one installed. It was flickering so I suspect a bad connection or solder joint as well........maybe I can fix it and sell for half price to get some of my money back...........I will let u guys know

xtr3me

Do a search for disassembly instructions... I've done quite a few head lights, mainly Dodge Ram. You will need to place lens assembly into oven to break and reset seal...
Make sure the wife is gone, she will think you are impaired beyond any rehabilitation