How the heck do you get at the backup lights?

Body kits, spoilers, lights, and anything on the exterior of the vehicle
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NUBlackshirts
Posts: 509
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:14 am

How the heck do you get at the backup lights?

Post by NUBlackshirts »

Crawled under the car to change the bulbs, but there isn't enough room to get my hand up to where the light is. Any ideas?PS: Changed the license plate bulbs to LED's, and they work great!
'04 Frosty GT <---Click here!Tein S-Tech springs; Tokico HP struts;Progress rear sway bar; DC Sports strut tower bar;Scion TC wheels; K&N Typhoon intake;GG Racing ground wires; JAW voltage stabilizer;FilterMAG SS-250; Militec-1; Sirius Satellite Radio
nygiantzz1
Posts: 701
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 8:32 am

Re: How the heck do you get at the backup lights? (NUBlackshirts)

Post by nygiantzz1 »

Did you remove the cover in the rear hatch(behind wheel well)? I never reached in there and fished around, but I'll bet you can get to the socket.Edit: Forget that, i just realized you were talking about the lights in the bumper.
satur9
Posts: 1127
Joined: Sat Feb 01, 2003 2:42 am

Re: How the heck do you get at the backup lights? (nygiantzz1)

Post by satur9 »

its a pia but yeah you hafta reach up under the car. its a little easier if you jack or ramp the rear up. the sockets are half turns so just fish a couple of fingers or a pair of channel locks up there and twist.
look my sniggies, i had a strizz-oke in my brizz-ain okay,you know what im saying. so i cant move all good. but thanks for mentioning that .thank you very much.athf4evr. click here! you know you want to!!!
NUBlackshirts
Posts: 509
Joined: Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:14 am

Re: How the heck do you get at the backup lights? (satur9)

Post by NUBlackshirts »

Guess I will try to mess with it again this weekend. Looks like you need fingers like E.T. to get to it!
'04 Frosty GT <---Click here!Tein S-Tech springs; Tokico HP struts;Progress rear sway bar; DC Sports strut tower bar;Scion TC wheels; K&N Typhoon intake;GG Racing ground wires; JAW voltage stabilizer;FilterMAG SS-250; Militec-1; Sirius Satellite Radio
sjbourg
Posts: 77
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:33 pm

Re: How the heck do you get at the backup lights? (NUBlackshirts)

Post by sjbourg »

I just changed my reverse lights and figured I'd add to this old thread just in case someone else searches for this info. It's really easy if you remove the light fixture. To do this, use a long screwdriver (about 11" including the handle). When you look up at the fixture from underneath the car, you will see a little clip on the medial side of the fixture. This is one of two clips that hold the unit in place. Use the screwdriver to lift up on the clip while you push on the back of the fixture with your other hand. It's actually not nearly as hard as it sounds. Once the fixture is loose from that medial clip, remove the screwdriver and then just push from the backside of the fixture with your hand. The entire reverse light housing will just pop right out of it's place. Then you can change the light bulb quite easily. Once your bulb is changed, just push the fixture back in place. When you hear/feel the fixture "click" back in place, you're done.
awdVibeNoobie
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:56 am
Location: Michigan

Re: How the heck do you get at the backup lights? (NUBlackshirts)

Post by awdVibeNoobie »

sjbourg wrote: Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:46 am I just changed my reverse lights and figured I'd add to this old thread just in case someone else searches for this info. It's really easy if you remove the light fixture. To do this, use a long screwdriver (about 11" including the handle). When you look up at the fixture from underneath the car, you will see a little clip on the medial side of the fixture. This is one of two clips that hold the unit in place. Use the screwdriver to lift up on the clip while you push on the back of the fixture with your other hand. It's actually not nearly as hard as it sounds. Once the fixture is loose from that medial clip, remove the screwdriver and then just push from the backside of the fixture with your hand. The entire reverse light housing will just pop right out of it's place. Then you can change the light bulb quite easily. Once your bulb is changed, just push the fixture back in place. When you hear/feel the fixture "click" back in place, you're done.
I just this not too long ago because I bought new reverse light assemblies to replace my old cloudy ones. One major step that's been left out is that there is one screw at the back of the light assembly that needs to be removed first. I made the mistake of not looking closely when I had the Vibe up on ramps trying to remove the light assembly. I had a hard time getting one of the assemblies out and marred up the bumper from using screw drivers to pry out the assembly. Once I got the assembly pried out, that's when I found out about the screw as it fell to the ground. Needless to say for the other side, it was a lot easier to get the assembly out once I removed the screw first. The said screw that needs to be removed first is a 10 mm hex head.
03 awd Vibe my backup vehicle
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