2007 Tail light removal instructions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by msoengineer, Jan 6, 2008.

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  1. msoengineer

    msoengineer Junior Member

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    Tail light removal instructions w/ pics

    Long story short the top layer lens cracked on my left tail light. You can't replace just the lens it's all one complete assembly as others have mentioned in other posts.

    I decided to take a few pictures to help out others.

    Tools you will need-
    1-10mm 2" long socket and wrench plus 3" extension
    2- Smaller width flat blade screw driver.
    3- Strong fingers
    4-Gentle Touch

    Steps to reach tail light assembly (mine was the driver side tail light).
    1-Fold Down the rear seats
    2-Remove the privacy trunk blind bar
    3-Remove three seperate 10mm bolts as shown in pictures:

    Pull the silver toggle out once you pull the bolt
    luggage strap bolt.jpg

    Bolt 1.jpg



    Inside that hole is a super long bolt-Use the wrench extension here
    Bolt 2.jpg



    4-Pull the trim away from the car to expose the hidden retention clips and pull out the clips:
    Pull 1.jpg
    Ret. Clip 1.jpg

    Ret. Clip 2.jpg

    5- Pull the plastic trim apart:
    5a- Start in the back
    Pull 1.jpg

    5b- Pull down and out in the middle:
    ] Pull 2.jpg

    5c- Pull back, down and out at this area. I grabbed where the shade slides into- this will require extra force:
    Bolt 2.jpg

    6-Remove the trunk light wiring clip:
    Trunk light.jpg

    7-Un-clip the tail light harness using a small width flat head:
    T.L. Elec. Clip.jpg

    8- now that everything has been separated from the wall you can pull/push the carpeting away from the tail light assembly and remove the two bolts for the tail light using the 2" long 10mm socket:

    Bottom Bolt
    T.L. Btm Bolt.jpg

    Top Bolt
    T.L. Top Bolt.jpg

    Tada- now just push the assembly out from the inside and put the the new one in place.

    Follow the steps in reverse to put it all back together.

    Remember to be gentle yet firm when you pull all this stuff apart. I've pulled off trim in the past and it takes some finesse and skill to not break stuff.

    This should be a 15 minute job to do .
    It cost me $165.00 to get a replacement assembly from my buddies auto body shop.

    I used my cell phone to take these pictures so I apologize if they may be poor quality

    Feel free to PM me with any questions/issues.

    Tom
     
    #1 msoengineer, Jan 6, 2008
    kmsbanr, Bjorn45, BBBruce and 13 others like this.
  2. seasalsa

    seasalsa Active Member

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    Don't apologize about the pictures, great info.
    Thanks
     
    #2 seasalsa, Jan 6, 2008
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  3. notmyrealname

    notmyrealname New Member

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    Dear msoengineer- I had a small break in my driversside taillight that I had patched with clear ducttape and it was just fine. But my 07 didn't pass inspection (FY TiresPlus PA). TP wanted $350 to replace it. Well, thanks to Your excellent instructions I ordered the part on Ebay for $130 and replaced it myself! Took this girlie about an hour; first repair I ever attempted. Thank you so much, I did not break anything in the process and it was a great boost of self-confidence. Bless you dude!
     
    #3 notmyrealname, Sep 7, 2009
  4. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Well done notmyrealname and thanks to the OP for posting this thread.
    PriusChat has saved me thousands of dollars, it really has. Thanks everyone!
     
    #4 patsparks, Sep 7, 2009
  5. zinndeadly

    zinndeadly New Member

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    MSO

    just wanted to say thanks for your clear explanation and pictures...thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge....Got my replacement tail assembly on EBay for $110 and installed it in under 20 minutes!!!

    be easy

    Zinn
     
    #5 zinndeadly, Oct 3, 2009
  6. splunge

    splunge New Member

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    Thanks a bunch for the great article.

    I was able to replace a broken driver's side brake light; however now the turn signal the light itself doesn't work! Any ideas how to troubleshoot this problem?

    Thanks in advance.
     
    #6 splunge, Sep 14, 2010
  7. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    The turn signal is a regular bulb. Make sure that it is good, and properly installed.
     
    #7 vertex, Sep 14, 2010
  8. splunge

    splunge New Member

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    Gah. Yeah. I replaced the part and forgot to install all of the other light bulbs. Once I did that it works like a charm.

    Thanks for the pointer. :)
     
    #8 splunge, Sep 14, 2010
  9. krg03

    krg03 Not expert, just experienced

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    Re: Tail light removal instructions w/ pics

    Great job. Another "how to" to add to my list.
     
    #9 krg03, Sep 14, 2010
  10. Speedwing

    Speedwing Junior Member

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    Bought a new unit on E-Bay to replace my cracked lens (parking lot tap, crack and run). Thanks for the write-up and pics. My passenger side replacement went very smoothly.
    BOB
     
    #10 Speedwing, Oct 5, 2010
  11. donalmilligan089

    donalmilligan089 Member

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    Is passenger side about the same? I just bought new lens on ebay for 98.95. Seems to be a good deal. thanks for the write up and pics .My 2006 looks different -no interior light
     
    #11 donalmilligan089, Dec 26, 2010
  12. josfjr

    josfjr New Member

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    Hello all,
    after removing the bolts i still can not push the assembly out. On the last pick showing the bolts there is a pink (top) and black (bottom) cap that are next to the bolts. Are those suppose to come off? thx
     
    #12 josfjr, Feb 11, 2011
  13. archiveman2977

    archiveman2977 archiveman2977

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    Good News, Guys...Amazon.com stocks 2009 Prius taillights! I ordered Wed. through Amazon Prime and received the driver's taillight today, Fri., 2-day air free shipping and no tax. Price $98.82.

    And along with the great instructions and pictures, it is now installed.

    When in doubt, consult PRIUSCHAT.
     
    #13 archiveman2977, Mar 25, 2011
  14. tdcaum

    tdcaum New Member

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    Thanks for putting these tail light lens removal instructions on the forum. Saved me a lot of money.
     
    #14 tdcaum, Apr 17, 2011
  15. jdrogers2

    jdrogers2 New Member

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    Thank you so much for this excellent and most helpful post.
     
    #15 jdrogers2, May 10, 2011
  16. 2004and2010

    2004and2010 Junior Member

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    Re: Tail light removal instructions w/ pics

    Regarding 2007 Tail light unit: Thanks for your clear directions and excellent photos. The LED stoplight went out on my 2004 Prius and needed replacement. When I discovered it was not just a simple bulb replacement, I felt stuck, but you made the stops clear. Thanks. 2004and2010
     
    #16 2004and2010, Oct 23, 2011
  17. jimdsm

    jimdsm New Member

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    Another post I read on the internet said you should disconnect the battery before doing this. Is that really necessary?
     
    #17 jimdsm, Nov 28, 2011
  18. BostonPete

    BostonPete New Member

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    Thanks for the nice directions. Got a drivers side unit to replace weakly glowing LED stop light from AM autoparts on eBay. $80 free shipping. Got 2 days after I ordered. Seems to work OK and looks the same as the other one.
    I was a little surprised by the white nylon bolt caps that had to be pryed off the 2 bolt heads on the old unit, but other than that it went pretty well. I found it easier to use a 10mm end wrench to loosen the nuts on the lamp unit bolts. The socket was fine for the interior nuts and bolts.
     
    #18 BostonPete, May 5, 2012
  19. stillageek

    stillageek Junior Member

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    Hmm Pried off Nylon bolt caps? I replaced my 2004 tail lamp with an aftermarket unit....it was one for one. I think I just moved over the other bulbs from the old unit.
     
    #19 stillageek, May 5, 2012
  20. tlessard

    tlessard Junior Member

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    Excellent thread! Just swapped my 2005 RH tail light in less than half an hour for less than $70 shipped from modernautomotiveparts.com. That was waaaay too easy! Thanks! :)
     
    #20 tlessard, Jun 16, 2012
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