I searched and found threads on the license plate lights, but nothing on reverse bulbs...

are they easy to swap out or a PITA??

anyone who has pics, or advice, let me know. thanks.

 

I put HIDs in mine. Biggest PITA is to get the liner off without tearing apart every single plastic hinge holding it.

If you managed not to rip the liner off it's fairly simple after that.

Did I mention I tore mine up so bad I ended up putting holes in it and screwing it in?

yeah...

 

and another silly fact, no matter what LEDs you put in they will not be as bright as stock bulbs.

I still have my 7443's from my early attempts.

 

I bought $40/pair CREE LED bulbs. they are supposed to be super bright.

I managed to pull the liner back somewhat... saw one clip that I was not able to get out without it looking like it would break... and I have a full set of plastic pull tools for cars... I'm not a pro at using them, but they are soft'ish plastic...

the other part I can't get apart is the overhead map light cover in the front interior. i see a smal slot where I can put a tiny flathead screwdriver in.. but when I pry, it only comes down a millimeter or so.. and I'm afraid to pull too hard and break it..

do I just pry harder on that? it looks like the only way to get it out is to pull harder...but i figured I'd ask/verify first before I yank it and break it...

 

ok... i pulled hard and got the cover to come off the front interior dome lights... got those bulbs in.. what a PITA to yank them out... hard to get at them with fingers up there... but I did it.

I still, however, can't see how to replace my reverse lights. I have pulled back the linder behind the tail light and whre the bulb is, there is NO socket/plug. I suspect I may have to remove the tail light to access the bulbs in the tail light itself???

the license plate lights.. yes, I access those by pulling back the liner on the trunk lid... that was not too hard... but the reverse lights do not appear to be accessed from behind the tail light via the liner... where the bulb shoudl be.. ther is just bare metal plating...

anyone install REVERSE lights into their RL? how did you get to them???

 

I don't know about super bright but I would definitely check the lumen rating on them. The best LEDs I could get were not even half as bright as the stock bulbs.

As far as the liner, I was thinking that 06 would be similar to 09...I could be wrong. Might be a good idea to grab a parts manual or something to see how it looks.

here's trunk lining even though I can't tell if it's the upper or lower parts



http://parts.sonsacura.com/showAssem...chString=trunk

 

the backup lights for 09+ are in the trunk... on the 05-08 they are inside the tail light assembly which is part of the body... on either side of the trunk.

i have changed out bulbs before on cars.. and usually the tail lights are bolted to the body and the bulbs then insert into the tail light from the back.. so to change a reverse or tail bulb.. you do it from inside the trunk.. and you don't need to mess with a tail light assembly at all.. you just twist out the bulbs and swap them out.. just lke the license plate lights on the RL...

It didn't appear that way on my 06 RL. I was putting them in at night... using a flashlight... i'll check today in sunlight and look again... but it didn't seem as easy as I had planned...

 

On 05-08

Changeing the reverse light is pretty simple. On the inside of trunk, left or right, there will be a cover that you uncover. Once taken out, there will be a bolt that you need to remove (Only bolt that sticks out and be careful when removing because mine snapped off =O) Next, remove the weatherstrip along your trunk. With that removed, you can access on a panel either on left/right side along the taillight. I think its held in by 2 snap in bolts so just pry up carefully. That will uncover 2 more bolts that you loosen and you can remove the taillight. Same procedure for the left or right side. If you got questions or need some questions, let me know!

 

thanks. figured this out via the take apart diagrams.

new reverse bulbs look nice. they are not as "bluish" looking as the license plate bulbs.. but they are by FAR not as yellow as the OEM bulbs.. and just as bright in my opinion.