How-To: Remove the Rear Bumper

[Blue Solrac]

How to Remove the Rear Bumper
By: BlueSolrac

(Note: This How-to is intended for 2003-2005 models only.)


Before you begin it is recommended that you read through all the steps.

Removing the rear bumper is actually easier and faster than the front bumper, however it requires removing the tail-lights. It should take somewhere between 20-30 minutes to completely take off. Before you actually start removing the bumper you need to get your tools ready.



Tools and Supplies
- Philips and Flathead Screwdriver
- Needle Nose Pliers
- 10mm Wrench
- Soft towel or something to rest bumper on
- 5/16 in. Wrench or Short Philips Screwdriver (Recommended)
- Plastic Bag (Recommended)
- Jack and Jackstands (Recommended)

Now we can begin…

Step 1: Be sure that your e-brake is engaged and jack up the rear end of the car. Place your jackstands. (Note: This step is not required, but you will need to remove a few fasteners and screws later on which will be easier if you jack up your car.)

Step 2: Open the trunk and hood, then disconnect the negative battery cable. If your trunk is full of items it would make things easier to remove the items or at least push them as far back as possible.

Step 3: You will need to remove the tail-lights. To access the back of the tail-light you will need to pull back the trunk carpeting on each side. However there is a black plastic piece that is holding back the carpeting. It is attached by four plastic fasteners, two on each side.



Using a flathead screwdriver remove the four fasteners and place them inside of the plastic bag (these fasteners are very easy to lose in the trunk.) The plastic is still held on by two tabs which need to be aligned straight. Pull upwards and then out to remove.




Step 4: Pull back the trunk carpeting behind the tail-light. Remove the two bolts shown using the 10mm wrench.



The tail-light must then be carefully pulled/slid outwards. Notice how the end of the tail-light is attached in the picture below. Remove the two plugs attached to the tail-light using the needle nose pliers and place the tail-lights in a safe place.



Step 5: Now head to the rear wheels and look at the fender liner. Look for two screws directly behind the wheels and remove them. I could not fit a standard Philips screwdriver in without removing the wheel (a short one might fit.) Instead I used a 5/16 in. wrench to remove the screws with ease.




Step 6: Follow the same rear fender liner down beneath the car and look for two more plastic screws and remove them.



Continued in post below...

[Blue Solrac]

Step 7: Head back up to where you were in the previous step and pull back a portion of the fender liner. Look for a hidden screw and remove it.



Step 8: Now directly beneath the center of the bumper you will notice two plastic fasteners spaced a small distance apart. Use the flathead to remove them.



Step 9: Go back up to where you removed the tail-lights. Remove the plastic fastener and screw.



Step 10: Make sure you have a place to set the rear bumper that will keep it from getting damaged. Now carefully pull each end of the rear bumper outwards.



While supporting the bumper, pull outwards along the top mid-section of the bumper (I had to fiddle with it a bit here to remove it.) Throughout this step make sure not to drop the bumper.




You are done!

This is my first How-to so if something is a bit confusing or incorrect let me know and I will clarify or make a change. Also, my camera wasn't focusing correctly so some of the pictures came out blury. Hope this proves useful. Thanks!

Ninjad Edit:
Here is a writeup from the old mazda6tech site to remove the FRONT BUMPER:Click HERE for Front Bumper Write Up

[HYPHY6]

nice write-up! but i have a hatch..

[repo2142]

Wow! Did the same guy that hit me hit you too? Same spot, same dent. We ripped my bumper off to beat it out until his insurance paid me for a replacement. Anyhow, nice write up!

[Blue Solrac]

nice write-up! but i have a hatch..
[/b]

I would think that maybe the only difference between a Hatch or Wagon would be removing the tail-light? But the process would be pretty much the same.

[Blue Solrac]

Wow! Did the same guy that hit me hit you too? Same spot, same dent. We ripped my bumper off to beat it out until his insurance paid me for a replacement. Anyhow, nice write up!
[/b]

Actually... I came back home for Spring Break and My Mom reverses into my car. She drives a durango and said she didn't see anything until she heard a cracking sound. My tail-light was damaged too but I replaced that.

[BoneKrusher]

Blue Solrac,
someone crashed into my 6 at the same exact spot than you got hit. . .what did you do about the bumper??
new one? popped it out?
I popped mine out without taking it off. Looks ok, but has some dimples in it still. . .

[vagrant10]

Nice work! Don't know if I'll ever need to do this, but your write up was very clear and easy to follow.

[Blue Solrac]

Blue Solrac,
someone crashed into my 6 at the same exact spot than you got hit. . .what did you do about the bumper??
new one? popped it out?
I popped mine out without taking it off. Looks ok, but has some dimples in it still. . .
[/b]

I have a new one ordered which should be in on Monday. I popped it out temporarily and it looks much better but it still has deep scratches a small dent. I will be replacing the bumper with the sports bumper. Hopefully the sport tips look ok. I'll take a picture of how the bumper looks now and post it later.

[mr.stephens]

You Rock Solrac!! I am going to have to do this soon so you have no idea how much this helps... I was actually about to start a thread asking how to do this very thing today, lol.

A question though. Is it really necessary to jack up the car? That's the only part I don't understand