Replacing tail light bulb 2005 Rio

[grayhawk]

How do I get to the taillight to replace the bulb? Popped the little panel door out in the boot, but can't seem to get to the bulb to replace it . . . what am I doing wrong?

[Ken99]

Originally Posted by grayhawk

How do I get to the taillight to replace the bulb? Popped the little panel door out in the boot, but can't seem to get to the bulb to replace it . . . what am I doing wrong?

Should be three screws you remove and then the taillight housing pulls away from the car exposing the backside. The attached bulb bases come out by a quarter trun CCW.

[grayhawk]

I've taken the nut off of each of the screws, but must still be doing something wrong. The screws holding the housing in place are set at an angle so I obviously need to slide the housing away in order to see the backside, but now my fingers are sore after an hour of trying to slide the housing out. Is there a trick to this? I don't want to just bodily try and wrench the cover off, but I'm getting to the point where the use of a hammer is looking very appealing

[Ken99]

Originally Posted by grayhawk

I've taken the nut off of each of the screws, but must still be doing something wrong. The screws holding the housing in place are set at an angle so I obviously need to slide the housing away in order to see the backside, but now my fingers are sore after an hour of trying to slide the housing out. Is there a trick to this? I don't want to just bodily try and wrench the cover off, but I'm getting to the point where the use of a hammer is looking very appealing

Yes, they are a tight fit. Take a long phillips screwdriver and use it like a punch to push the exposed ends of the screws where the nuts were removed. Tap on the butt end with the palm of your hand. Yes, you can take a small flat blade driver wrapped with masking tape to pry around the outside edges, but you need to pry around the entire fixture in small increments and go around it several times.

[grayhawk]

Thank you Ken99 - just put it all back together . . . I didn't resort to the hammer but did have fun with the flat blade screwdriver. Thanks for your help!!