MarkedMan

Has anyone had any experience replacing the taillight assembly on a 2009 TSX? How hard is it? I cracked mine backing into one of giant mounds of ice we had stacked everywhere in Connecticut this year

87MustangGT

One of those lovely mounds has left a number of reminders on my rear bumper

It should be relatively easy to replace. You'll have to remove all the panels inside the trunk, and remove 3 or 6 nuts maybe. I haven't replaced one on a TSX; that's going from other vehicular experience.

KillerG

you are probably going to need a brand new car

KillerG

you could ask your dealer or if you really wanna DIY it then buy the assembly and get a membership at the helms honda website so you can view the service manuals and see how its done

MarkedMan

KillerG,
Thanks for the tip on the helm online manuals. I'll try that. I just want to know how much I have to disassemble before I decide to DIY or go to the dealer. On the pre-2009 model, you have to take off the bumper cover in order to access the bolts.

KillerG

hmmm. i dont think anyones done any taillight mods to my knowledge, so you might be in uncharted territory here. a 3 day sub to helms costs 10$ so thatll tell you if you can DIY it or not

MarkedMan

Thanks for the tips. I got a 3 day subscription and found it is more than I want to tackle. Removing the bumper and a trim panel, with lots of delicate looking tab fittings.

KillerG

make sure you find out anything else you ever dreamed of learning before the sub is up lol

MrOtocinclus

I will say that removing the rear bumper is not as hard as it looks... I did it after some lady backed into my bumper and I replaced it with the Aero bumper.

At the time, I was still a total car noob (maybe I'd done a tire rotation or two), but it wasn't bad at all!

eta_vu

Hi all-

Bought my car used and just noticed water leaking into my taillight assembly after taking the car to the car wash! Anyone else have this problem? How did you fix it? Seal the entire taillight with new sealant?

Can someone provide me with a step by step on removing the back bumper? I know I just need to remove one side but not sure how many bolts/clips need to be removed. Any info greatly appreciated, thanks!

eta_vu

It stormed here today...water leaking into the tail light and some got into the trunk trickling down to spare tire compartment.

I noticed the 1st generation had this issue. People replaced the seal between the body and tail light to fix it.

Anyone having this issue with their 2009? Please help!!!!!!!!!!!

ressling

Whatever you do make sure everything is sealed before you put it all back together. Have you tried a search in the forums?

Most of my experience with taillights was from my '95 Maxima...wish I could help but I'm sure someone else is more knowledgeable.

eta_vu

So I decided to solve the problem myself and not take it into the shop. I first looked at the little access door in the trunk and found that the seal between the tail light and car body was torn. Next, remove the tail light.

To remove the tail light I needed to take off the bumper. I found a page from the repair manual for the 1st generation https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/how-do-i-remove-rear-bumper-569062/on this forum but it pretty much works for my 2009. The removal of the bumper was fairly easy but I only did one side.

Took the tail light out and called local dealership for the part. I was expecting to pay $25+ for the seal but luckily it only cost me $10.50.

The previous owner had told me about some minor body work done to that quarter panel. I guess when the shop pulled off the tail light to paint the panel they tore this seal. Damn body shop, hard to find honest people to treat your car right!

I'm drying the tail light right now just setting in the sun during the day. I hope all the moisture evaporates out. I guess the water was leaking through the seal and into the tail light through the bulb sockets and down into the spare tire well. I hope this solves the problem.