How to Remove a Tail Light from a Volkswagen

Applies to: VW PASSAT (1998-2005) JETTA (1999-2005)

 

View our helpful video detailing the instructions for removing a VW tail light assembly. We have also listed out a step-by-step guide as part of our VW tail light assembly removal instructions. For your convenience, our step-by-step Volkswagen tail light assembly removal guide is also available for you to print.

This Guide is for 1998-2005 VW Passat and 1999-2005 VW Jetta models

Pull Tip: Other VW models have a similar tail light removal process. The more trunk liner you remove, the easier it'll be to pull the tail light. Also, take care not to drop the 8mm nuts!

Estimated Pull Time: 10 minutes

Recommended Tools

  • image of needed socket pull tool at Pull-A-Part 8mm Socket
  • Use a ratchet to make your repair with help from Pull-A-Part. Ratchet

Instructions

  • 1

    To access the fasteners that hold the tail light in place you will need to pull back the trim cover in the trunk. You can pull back even more of the trim cover if you lift up and down on the trunk liner. This should give you plenty of room to work

  • 2

    Remove the three 8mm nuts. Be careful it is very easy to drop them down behind the trunk liner and very hard to retrieve them

  • 3

    After the three nuts are removed, start to work the tail light out.

  • 4

    Once the tail light is away from the body of the car, disconnect the electrical connector

Hey, everybody, Charles for humblemechanic.com back with another DIY and drive tutorial with pull-apart used auto parts. Today, I'm going to be showing you how to take out the taillight of a Volkswagen Passat. The only tool you're going to need for this job is an eight-millimeter socket and ratchet. To access the fasteners that hold the taillight in place, we have to pull back this trim cover inside the trunk. And actually, what we can do is, we can pull more of this back if we just lift up and down on the trunk liner. And we can really get that out of our way, and now we have plenty of room to work. So we're going to go ahead and take the three eight-millimeter nuts off. Be careful taking these off the studs. It's really easy to drop them down behind these liners and really hard to retrieve them from the abyss that is the bottom of the Passat. Once we have the three nuts off of the taillight studs, we can go ahead and work the taillight out. Once the taillight's away from the body of the car, we just disconnect it, and we're good to go.
All right, guys, this is Charles from humblemechanic.com. Thank for watching. And I will see you next time.

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