GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

2003 . i still need to replace the license plate blubs. question = i can see in advance that i,m gonna break something prying the rear hatch cover material off. any of you guys broke plastic snaps,etc.?? whatever happens i hope it,ll be cheaper than a $100. traffic ticket.

I broke the bottom immediate left (if you are looking at the back of the Vibe with the hatch shut) of center when I was taking it off to do my Herculiner. The one just to the right of it pop off with a lot of force and ended up snapping that one right off. Just be patient and controlled when removing it and you should be ok.

All you really have to remove is the access panel that's in the center of the hatch trim panel. Just stick something narrow in there and pry out. From there you can gain easy access to the bulbs, if you can't twist them out of the light assembly you can just squeeze on the tabs that hold the assembly in and let it drop to the outside. Here's some pics I took of the operation oh so long ago if you need them.

I kinda figured that was the proper way to do it, but since I was taking the whole panel off anyways, it was just as easy lol.

Easiest thing for me to do (even though I have a Matrix), was to pull the back panel and actually remove the light cover entirely. Then I was able to easily untwist the bulb and then put the new one in, replace the lens cover and then connect the wire. The space back there is very minimal.