I have not removed the tail light unit myself, but I understand the rear bumper cover has to be removed in order to do it. Apparently after the bumper cover is removed it will expose one bolt just below the tail light lens and there are 2 nuts on the inside that need to be removed and the lens has three pop clips that unsnap the lens assembly into the sheet-metal portion of the body. As always I'd recommend purchasing a two-day subscription to Toyota's Technical Information System at $15 for those two days of access. It's worth it! If you do the work yourself and document it with pictures I'll post up a link to it in the DIY Modifications & Maintenance sticky.
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2008 Highlander Base 4WD
2002 Avalon XL
1987 Suzuki Samurai 4X4 - Treading where no Jeep can follow....
remove the 2 nuts from the inside, then pull straight back from the outside. There is a little plastic thingy that slides into a groove along the side, and takes some force but will pop out. The rear bumper cover does not need to be removed!
remove the 2 nuts from the inside, then pull straight back from the outside. There is a little plastic thingy that slides into a groove along the side, and takes some force but will pop out. The rear bumper cover does not need to be removed!
Good piece of info to know....thanks for the update!
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2008 Highlander Base 4WD
2002 Avalon XL
1987 Suzuki Samurai 4X4 - Treading where no Jeep can follow....
I ended up going ahead and removing the tail light lens myself. I can confirm that you do need to at least partially remove the bumper cover to access and remove the 10mm bolt at the base of the lens which is normally covered by the bumper cover. The upper inside trim panel came out fairly easily when pryed away allowing access to the upper nut with a 10mm deep socket. The lower inside trim panel proved more challenging to fully remove. I left it in place but I managed to bend it out of the way just enough to get a 10mm deep socket in place to remove the lower nut. Before actually removing the inside nuts, I used a small mirror and a flashlight to see where the nuts were located. You were right about the 2 or 3 pop clips lens assembly but once the nuts were removed, the lens came out very easily. I will follow-up with the dealer tomorrow and order a replacement lens. I will report back with a replacement cost and any further notes on installation.
Thanks for your help!
Chris
I ended up going ahead and removing the tail light lens myself. I can confirm that you do need to at least partially remove the bumper cover to access and remove the 10mm bolt at the base of the lens which is normally covered by the bumper cover. The upper inside trim panel came out fairly easily when pryed away allowing access to the upper nut with a 10mm deep socket. The lower inside trim panel proved more challenging to fully remove. I left it in place but I managed to bend it out of the way just enough to get a 10mm deep socket in place to remove the lower nut. Before actually removing the inside nuts, I used a small mirror and a flashlight to see where the nuts were located. You were right about the 2 or 3 pop clips lens assembly but once the nuts were removed, the lens came out very easily. I will follow-up with the dealer tomorrow and order a replacement lens. I will report back with a replacement cost and any further notes on installation.
Thanks for your help!
Chris
Hi,
The cost of the replacement tail light lens was a whopping $327.50 (CAD) list. The dealer gave me a 15% discount.The part is being shipped from Kentucky as we speak. Should be here in the next few days.
Hopefully the installation goes smooth.
Chris
Hi,
The cost of the replacement tail light lens was a whopping $327.50 (CAD) list. The dealer gave me a 15% discount.The part is being shipped from Kentucky as we speak. Should be here in the next few days.
Hopefully the installation goes smooth.
Chris
Not bad at all as they are charging you $47.50 CAD for labor cost. I checked other no name shops they charge anywhere from $40-80 CAD to this job. So to get it done from the dealer for that price is EXCELLENT!!!
Keep us posted, I'm in no rush to change mine as its just cracked a little so lights function okay just don't like the way it looks :P
I should clarify that the cost quoted above was for the parts only. I removed the old lens and installed the new one myself. Installation of the new lens took about 1.25 hours.
Overall the job went fairly smooth and my wife is happy her truck is looking new again! ;-)
Chris
Hmm, I didnt have to remove my bumper cover at all to remove my lens. As for the bumper cover, its super simple to remove, and you can have it off in about 10 min or less.
@ cdnands aka chris, i found another place for 08-10 Toyota Highlander Tail Light Rear Lamp - Left (Driver) $73.95 USD and Shipping & Handling to Canada: $38.24 USD Total: $ 112.19 USD
@ nov0798, could you please advice me how to take off my rear bumper, as i also need to put that into place, as its kinda out of its groves, thank God the clips are still in tact when i reversed into the tree
I am on the same boat (Left rear lamp) but don't want to use an aftermarket replacement. I know it cost a lot less but wonder if it will change color in the future?!?!
First, remove the turn signal lamp, in a separate gray plastic socket with a 2-inch long rectangular plastic stem on the back of it, to give you something to twist, counterclockwise and out. Then, the black plastic carrier unsnaps with four tabs you squeeze inward.
Rear bumper is cake.
Remove the screws along the inside edge around the wheel well.
Remove the 2 black corner plastic pieces under the rear of the vehicle.
Remove the two screws on either side of the lenses once you open the hatch.
Remove the 2 clips that hold on the rear bumper piece in the center of the bumper.
Pull the bumper away from the body on either side. Start at the wheel well, and gently pull outward. The plastic panels will snap out. Stop once you get close to the rear of the bumper.
Simply grab the bumper and slide it rearward, and the whole thing will fall right off.
I can get mine off in less than 5 minutes.
remove the 2 nuts from the inside, then pull straight back from the outside. There is a little plastic thingy that slides into a groove along the side, and takes some force but will pop out. The rear bumper cover does not need to be removed!
When you say "2 nuts from the inside" what are you referring exactly?
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