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DIY: Changing the License Plate Lights

83K views 37 replies 25 participants last post by  jonnyess 
#1 ·
Guess I'm first. The bug has bitten and more mods to come.

This is a very simple and easy mod to do and makes your rear license plate illuminate much better.

First open your trunk and start removing the black circular clips holding in the trunk liner on the lid.
If you have never worked with these clips before, take a small flat head screwdriver and pry where there is a crack in the piece until it pops out. Then just pull them out.
You will also need to remove the black hand grab plastic part on the right side. This is done by putting a screwdriver under the inner side of the piece and gently prying.
*See attached Image*
This should loosen up the trunk liner enough to have some wiggle room. If it is still tight, remove more of the clips. I have to take about 7 or so off.
Next, take a flat head screwdriver and unplug the wiring from the bulb housing.
*See attached image*
Next, pinch the inside of the bulb housing horizontally and they will pop out to the outside of the trunk lid.
Finally, pry open the light housing and replace the bulbs. I put LED's in mine and remember, if you attach them and try the lights and they don't work, try reversing them. Sometimes this does the trick.
*See attached for difference in LED vs Standard*
REVERSE STEPS
Pop the housing back in
Attach wiring
Attach circular clips. To do this, make sure the gap between the two parts are as wide as they go naturally. Then press it in like this and then press the center part to secure it.
Pop the plastic hand hold area in.

Stand back and marvel at your bright and beautiful license plate lights. WOOO
 

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#2 ·
Definitely first thing I'm doing to mine too - Just curious though, don't those plastic caps on the outside of the car just pop off like all the other generations?

I only took a quick look at mine but seemed fairly straight forward.
 
#4 ·
I just looked into the owners manual and they do advise just using a flat head screwdriver wrapped in a cloth to pry open the housing from the outside. Guess I was just curious and did it the scenic route.
 
#13 ·
Pls note there's absolutely no need to remove the trunk lining or any clips to change the rear license plate lights to LEDs! Removing the license plate lights housing takes 3 seconds and is well described in the car manual. After that just pop in the LEDs (I have pure white with 3 LEDs in each unit) and you are done.

Please note that due to the limited height of the lights housing you may not be able to fit some LEDs like those with 5 LED per unit. I could only fit those with 3 LEDs, the other ones in the shop were too tall. But 3 LEDs is still brighter than the original bulbs, and has a very nice look from the back, pure white :)
 
#15 ·
I just replaced all interior and plate bulbs with LEDs, all bought from Amazon.

The T10's for the plate lights came in a pack of 8 for only $10.50 with free shipping (and no tax) if you're an Amazon Prime member. The T10's are the same type for the courtesy door lights as well, so they could all be used if you thought 8 bulbs was overkill.

Here a link: Zone Tech 8 pcs 8-SMD T10 12V Light LED Replacement Bulbs 168 194 2825 W5W - White
 
#21 ·
I just replaced all interior and plate bulbs with LEDs, all bought from Amazon.

The T10's for the plate lights came in a pack of 8 for only $10.50 with free shipping (and no tax) if you're an Amazon Prime member. The T10's are the same type for the courtesy door lights as well, so they could all be used if you thought 8 bulbs was overkill.

Here a link: Zone Tech 8 pcs 8-SMD T10 12V Light LED Replacement Bulbs 168 194 2825 W5W - White

Be careful about these. I just ordered and received mine. A third of them were blue instead of white.



 
#20 ·
Easiest mod

I did mine this weekend with a LED bulb i found at O'reilly's. They are a lot brighter than i thought they would be:grin2:
 

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#23 ·
LEDs too long

Just a heads up, I recently swapped all of the OEM bulbs (vanity, dome, courtesy, and license plate) for LEDs and found that they all fit fairly nicely except for the license plate lights. The LEDs that I purchased were a bit too long and I had a little bit of trouble getting the caps to fit back on. The LEDs that I bought were 20 SMD, so I would recommend getting some that are 5 or 10 SMD so that you don't ruin some of the diodes (like I ended up doing) while you're trying to cram an LED that's too large into the housings.
 
#25 ·
Just a heads up, I recently swapped all of the OEM bulbs (vanity, dome, courtesy, and license plate) for LEDs and found that they all fit fairly nicely except for the license plate lights. The LEDs that I purchased were a bit too long and I had a little bit of trouble getting the caps to fit back on. The LEDs that I bought were 20 SMD, so I would recommend getting some that are 5 or 10 SMD so that you don't ruin some of the diodes (like I ended up doing) while you're trying to cram an LED that's too large into the housings.
That's why I always go with the "wide beam" LEDs from Autolumination. They're very short, and they emit a wide beam of light that covers the entire plate. I don't mind spending the little more from them because I've only had a single bulb burn out on me in 5 years of using their products.

Pic for reference:
 
#31 ·
No problem, sir. I've had mine in for 3 years and 4 New England winters and they're still going strong.

Only "issue" I had with one of the bulbs was that the metal connector had become a tiny bit loose, so the bulb flickered a little from time to time. I simply pushed the connector back in and the bulb has been perfect since.
 
#34 ·
Why would you need an "upgrade"?
 
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